For me, it all started with a lace scarf. But whether you’re looking to craft a scarf, a cabled cardigan, or a pair of cashmere socks, every knitter has their Patient Zero—the knit that precipitates a lifelong obsession with fiber.
“It’s such a great and useful hobby,” Tanis Gray, a designer and knitting teacher in Virginia, tells Popular Mechanics. “I love that I can make a sweater or knit someone a hat, and have it turn out exactly the way I want it.” Plus, you’ll never feel more productive than when there’s a project (or two) tucked in your bag. I’m often squeezing in a few rows while commuting, standing in line, or watching TV.
Driven by a collective need for simpler pleasures, knitting is experiencing a resurgence in these uncertain times. From Tom Daley, the British swimmer caught knitting on camera at the Olympics, to Michelle Obama, who started stitching during the pandemic, everyone seems to be hooked on knitting. Luckily, starting the craft has never been easier.
Here’s everything you need to know to learn how to knit for the first time, including the tools, materials, and tricks you’ll need to create your first project. As an added bonus, we’ve designed an exclusive pattern just for Pop Mech readers to help you knit a cozy, unisex beanie.
For those of us who like gadgets, there’s a knitting tool for every (st)itch. But at its simplest, knitting requires just two needles and some string. Start with the basics and add to your collection as your skills—and obsession—grow.
Yarn
With all the variety on offer (color, texture, fiber content), choosing the perfect yarn for a first project can be daunting. Narrow down the field of contenders by following a few simple guidelines.
- Material: Warm and water resistant, wool is great for beginners because its natural elasticity makes it easy to work with. Plant fibers like cotton and linen work well for warmer climates, but lack the bounce of wool. Knitting with them can strain your hands, but they produce garments that drape beautifully.
- Weight: Your project will dictate the ideal yarn weight, or thickness, to use. Use thinner yarn for smaller projects meant to be worn next to the skin, such as socks or baby items, and thicker yarns for larger projects that you want to whip up quickly, like sweaters or blankets.
Needles
Needles come in many shapes, sizes, and materials, and knitters can be pretty vocal about their favorites. Many love the warm feel of wooden straights, two separate needles that are tapered on one end. Others, like me, swear by their Addi Turbos, nickel-plated brass needles connected by a length of pliable nylon cord. Still others prefer double-pointed needles, a set of four or five needles used to knit in continuous rounds (rather than back and forth), making these needles especially suitable for socks, hats, and other tube-shaped items.
Addi Circular Turbo Rocket Needles (Size US 09)
Addi Circular Turbo Rocket Needles (Size US 09)
Stitch Gauge
This indispensable tool—essentially a ruler with an L- or square-shaped chunk carved out of it—could be replaced by a ruler, but its convenience-to-cost ratio is hard to beat. Slide your knitting underneath the stitch gauge and count the number of stitches and rows that fit in its window to measure the gauge, or number of stitches and rows per inch.
Take the time to knit a gauge swatch, or a sample square of fabric, to avoid unpleasant surprises. Remember to block (submerge in water and dry) your swatch the way you intend to block your final project.
Tapestry Needle
Unlike sewing needles, tapestry needles have a blunt point so that they don’t split your yarn. Used to sew together flat pieces of knitting, they come in a variety of sizes for different weights of yarn.
Cast On
There are many ways to lay down that first foundational row of stitches. One of the simplest is the knitted cast on. It’s versatile and yields a stretchy edge that doesn’t flare.
1.
First, make a slip knot and slip it on your left needle.
2.
Insert your right needle into the loop created by the slip knot from front to back.
3a.
Wrap the yarn in a counterclockwise direction around the right needle.
3b.
Pull the yarn through the first loop on the left needle—you now have a loop on each needle.
4a.
Pass the newly created stitch to the left needle by swinging the right needle behind the left needle.
4b.
Insert the left needle through the loop on the right needle from front to back.
4c.
Now there are two loops on the left needle and none on the right.
Continue to work in this way—creating new loops on the right needle and passing them to the left needle—until you’ve cast on the desired number of stitches.
Stitches
Knitting teems with variety—ropey cables, sheer lace, bobbles, and more. Yet this variety stems from two basic stitches—knit and purl—which are stacked, arranged, and configured to produce fabric with an astonishing range of textures and properties. For example, ribbing, made up of alternating columns of knit and purl stitches, is elastic and a popular edging for hats.
“There are so many analogies to metallurgy,” Karen Daniels, a professor of physics at North Carolina State University, who’s been knitting for decades, tells Popular Mechanics. In both disciplines, the properties of the material (yarn, metal) and its arrangement (stitches, alloys) affect the macroscopic behavior of the final product.
→ Knit Stitch
- Insert the right needle into the front of the rightmost stitch on the left needle (attached to the working yarn).
- Wrap the yarn counter-clockwise around the right needle and slide it down and through the stitch on the left needle. The right needle should now be crossed in front of the left needle.
- Lift the created stitch off the left needle, leaving one fewer stitch on the left needle and adding one stitch to the right needle.
→ Purl Stitch
- With the working yarn in front, insert the right needle from right to left into the front of the rightmost stitch on the left needle.
- Wrap the yarn counter-clockwise around the right needle and slide it down and through the stitch on the left needle. The right needle should now be crossed behind the left needle.
- Lift the created stitch off the left needle, leaving one fewer stitch on the left needle and adding one stitch to the right needle.
Decreases and Increases
Decreasing and increasing the number of stitches is an easy way to give your knitting a little shape.
→ Right-Slanting Decrease (K2tog)
Insert the right needle through two stitches on the left needle. Knit the stitches together. You’ve eliminated one stitch.
→ Left-Slanting Decrease (SSK)
- Slip one stitch from the left needle to the right needle as if you’re knitting it.
- Slip another stitch in the same way.
- Insert the left needle into the fronts of both slipped stitches and knit the stitches on the right needle together. You’ve eliminated one stitch.
→ Increase (Make 1)
With your left needle, lift the bar between two stitches and knit it through the back to create a twisted knit stitch. You’ve created one stitch.
Bind Off
All good things must come to an end. Binding off your knitting prevents the piece you’ve just completed from unraveling.
- Start by knitting two stitches.
- Take the left needle and insert it into the first stitch (the one further from the tapered end of the right needle).
- Lift this stitch over the second stitch and drop it off the needle. You should now have one stitch on your right needle.
- Knit another stitch from your left needle and repeat the steps from step 1 until one stitch remains. Cut your yarn and draw the tail end through the last stitch, pulling to secure it.
A hat is a great first project—fast, useful, and an ideal canvas to use that special skein of yarn. Worked as a continuous tube that’s closed at the crown, this hat is knit with four double-pointed needles and features a simple striped pattern.
Supplies
- Yarn: Plucky Knitter - Primo Worsted in If You Like Pina Coladas and Narragansett Gray
- Gauge: Five stitches and seven rows per inch
- Needles: Size 4 and 6 double-pointed needles
Instructions
To start:
- Using size 4 needles, cast on 95 stitches and distribute them roughly equally on three needles. Slip the first stitch that was cast on to the needle with the working yarn. With a fourth needle, knit together the first two stitches on this needle—you’ve made your first stitch (by combining the first and last cast on stitches) and joined your knitting in the round; 94 stitches remain. Work a 1-by-1 ribbing by alternating knit and purl stitches until the piece measures one inch.
- Switch to size 6 needles. Knit eight stitches, then make one stitch, repeating these two steps until six stitches remain. Knit to the end of the round. Arrange these 105 stitches on three needles—35 stitches per needle. Knit four rounds—one round is a complete circuit across the needles.
Begin the pattern:
- Knit six stitches, purl 23 stitches, knit six stitches, repeating this pattern across the remaining two needles until one round is worked.
- Knit all stitches for three rounds.
- Knit 13 stitches, purl nine stitches, knit 13 stitches, repeating this pattern across the remaining two needles until one round is worked.
- Knit all stitches for three rounds. Repeat steps 1 through 4 twice more. Then repeat step 1 once.
- Change to all knit stitches and continue working rounds until the hat measures 8.25 inches.
Begin decreases:
- SSK, knit to last two stitches on the needle, k2tog, repeating this pattern across the other two needles—six stitches are decreased.
- Knit all stitches for one round. Repeat steps 1 and 2 three more times. There should be 81 stitches left.
- Repeat step 1 for every round until 12 stitches remain. Cut yarn, pulling it through the open loops with a tapestry needle. Cinch close and weave in the ends. You’re done!
Want More DIYs?
→ Check out our guide on how to get started in sewing
→ Find more knitting work by the author at her Ravelry page
All videos by Olivia Chinchio.
Connie Chang is a freelance writer in the Bay Area -- covering science, parenting and health. She's a recovering scientist, inveterate knitter and fan fiction enthusiast.
