Binding Off: How to end a beautiful thing before it goes too far!

Now that you have created 24 rows, and ended with a purl row, you are ready to stop with your swatch, and enjoy it off the needle.  Let's begin!

To start, go ahead and knit two stitches.  Now, before you go crazy and knit a third, stop, and here's how you can get that knot off of your needle.

Pull the first knot up and over the second knot on your right needle, and then let the first knot drop off the tip of the right needle.  Go ahead and knit another new knot, and then, continue your pull up, and over, and drop technique.

You can see the dropped stitch or knot makes a nice little clean row of its own.  It is a thing of beauty for sure!

Now that you have the row complete, and you have dropped all of your stitches off of the needle, go ahead and tie it of with a knot through the loop at the end.  Make a cut off of your ball of yarn, of around 6 inches.  You will want to weave the ends through your completed piece, so that the ends don't stretch it out.

What a nice stockinette sample you have!  Congratulations on your first knitting experience.  You are well on your way to a scarf!

Purl Away! The second stitch needed for Stockinette Stitch

Now that you have learned the knit stitch, (K), you now can take that 20 knit stitches, and flip it over and start with another stitch, purl (P). This great addition to your knitting will make you a knitting expert in the simplest and best knitting stitch,  the Stockinette Stitch, (ST ST).

Don't worry too much about tension or how your stitches look at this point, as you are learning!  Give yourself a big pat on the back for getting this far, and enjoy the next new step, as you are going to like the way the swatch looks when you are done.

Take the yarn, and place the ball in the front of the work.  Not in the back like the knit stitch.  Then, take your free needle, and push it into the first knot, with the tail hanging down in front, and then wind your tail around this new needle, counterclockwise, from front to back and around again.

Then, you are going to push, the new yarn into this inserted knot, slide your right needle from the left, and push your new knot out onto the right needle.

You can tighten the knot on the right needle, but keep it uniform as possible.  Continue with your new stitch until you have 20 purl stitches.  You should have a nice double row piece like this.

Yippee!  you have started the stockinette stitch, and great job!  Go ahead and complete 24 total rows, 12 knit rows, 12 purl rows, alternating with each row.

It will be easy to count rows, if you look at your work and count the bumps on the purl side up, or the little holes on the knit side up.

When you get to the 24th row, a purl row, stop, and go to the next step, binding off!

The First Knit Stitch! The Mystery is Revealed

The knit stitch is one of the building blocks you will need to knit any project.  For our newbie starter project of a square, you will knit the first row, and continue the second row with another stitch called a purl.  For now, we will be starting with the knit stitch.

You should have a row of 20 cast-on stitches to begin with.  Remember, we are just making a simple square for now, and it will make a great coaster for you when we are finished.

Here is a great picture of the 20 cast-on stitches.  This is a great start!



Now, you are going to take your other needle, and flip the needle with the stitches so that it points to the right.  Be sure to always leave your yarn to the back of the work.  This is important for knit stitch, and will be in the front for purl.

So, take the second naked needle, and push it through the first stitch on the needle with all of the cast-on stitching.  You will be pushing this through the back of the stitch, and keeping the yarn ball in the back.  Then, you will take the legs of the yarn, attached to the ball mind you, and bring it around the naked needle.

Do this motion in a counterclockwise, back to front motion.  This is called throwing your yarn, and you are almost there!

Now, take a breath, and take the right needle, the naked one, and be sure to push your needle, with the new thrown yarn, through and under the bump of yarn on the left needle, from back to front.

Now, you have this new knot on your right needle.  Pull it a bit tighter, and let that bump on the left needle, sort of drop.

Continue, until you have knitted all 20 of the stitches, keeping your yarn ball in the back of your work.  If you are having the darnest of times getting this going, don't worry, this is natural, that first stitch is so tricky!

Be sure to check out more about purl on the next page....

Knitting 101: Casting On Simplified

Here is a simple way to start with that slipknot, and to begin your first project.  Using the pictures, and the descriptions, you should be able to cast on (CO) enough stitches to begin your first swatch.

Place your needle point to the left, for this double cast-on method. Shown here is the stance for the cast on technique.  This is how you hold the ball of yarn end, to the right under your pointer finger, and the free limited yarn end between under and over your thumb.

Now, this is the tricky part!

Take your needle with your right hand, and find the yarn laying across the thumb. Pull it up with your needle and bring it over to the yarn near your finger.

Go up, and bring it around the yarn that is going under your pointer finger, but pull from the top and up.  Remove your thumb, and pull so that you get a nice loop on your needle.

Pull the loop up so it looks like this!  You should continue this beautiful dance, until you have 20 cast on stitches.  You can leave the knot tight, but not so tight!  Keep a nice tension for a uniform look, but don't tighten too much. 

Once you have 20 cast on stitches, we can continue our basic knitting instructions with the knit stitch.

Take a deep breath, as you have just made your first row!  

Knitting 101: Let's Knit! Slip Knots to start

This is a newbie course on knitting a small swatch for your first session of knitting. You should have a size 8 US knitting needle set, a scissors, and a skein of 100% wool yarn. The best kind of yarn is always a natural fiber, like wool, silk, or jute or cotton. You will find the effort much more rewarding with these fibers, but if you must save some money on bigger projects, acrylic is the most honest option, and sells more than any other fiber.

So, to

begin, you are going to need to make a slipknot. This will be your

first knot in your piece. As you see from the pictures, all this requires is a double wrap around two fingers, and then you pass the ball yarn side

through the wrap creating a loop. Then, you can place your needle through the loop and pull tightly. You now have a knot! Some tips before we place the needle on this knot: Make sure you have a generous amount of yarn on the end not connected to the ball, and have the yarn connected to the ball of yarn rest to the back of the legs of these ends.

Congratulations! You have a great start. Continued with a technique

called casting on....

To knit or not to knit?

A favorite pastime of mine, is to knit! It is the greatest feeling to have something you are creating and your expertise is focused on this next fantastic scarf, sweater or even something as big as a blanket. From your first starter swatch, to a scarf, you are the fantastic knitter, and it feels good to have some time to think of nothing but how the yarn feels, who you are knitting for, and when you should knit and when you should purl.

Stick with me, and we will move through the knitting world, at the same time exploring the many great options of hooking with crochet.

There are some many good ways to start a knit project, but the best is to buy the items you will need to start a simple square-for both tasks.

So, off you go to the craft store! Here are the supplies you will need for your first knitting project, and your first crochet project. After that, we can decide which way of knotting is your favorite, and how you feel about the process, as each option has benefits for any project.

A ball or skein of 100% wool in a very pretty and fun color, and one in a multi color that will fit in your decor easily.

A set of US size 8 knitting needles

A US size 10.5 crochet hook

A scissors, and alot of patience.

See you on the next page!