How to Get Started With Knitting

Author: Diane Palmer

Learn to knit, and get those creative juices flowing... I can still remember the moment I learned to knit. I was 6 years old, and my grandma sat down with me while my mother was busy with my new baby brother.

She taught me to cast on, and knit, and I was so excited I took my knitting everywhere.. it was all uneven and horrid, but I was excited that I had learned something new, and still love to knit to this day!

I am left handed, and always found many crafts hard to do because of it, such as crochet. But knitting can be done easily whether you are left handed or right handed.

Manhattan, New York - August 17, 2007 – Have you ever wondered why people who craft yarn into garments always seem to be smiling and happy? It turns out that the repetitive actions needed for knitting and crochet can bring the mind and body to a state called a "relaxation response" that is quite similar to what people experience with techniques such as repetitive prayer, yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, and other relaxation disciplines. Research at the Harvard Medical School Mind/Body Institute has found that when an individual is knitting her heart rate can drop 11 beats a minute and her blood pressure drops as well. These results can have significant health benefits for people who knit and crochet.

FRAMINGDALE, NJ - Teaching children sign language and how to give back to their community, as well as knitting and sewing helped three girls from Oakhurst, Wall and Ocean earn their Girl Scout Gold Awards.

Hoping to teach children basic knitting and sewing skills, Meaghan Ranieri stitched together the fabric of generations in the community.

Manhattan, New York - October 30, 2007 - The Lion Brand Yarn Company today released the results of an in-depth survey they recently conducted of online, knitting and crochet enthusiasts. The results were released through the Lion Brand podcast which can be heard via their new "Yarncraft" Web site at: yarncraft.lionbrand.com . The survey results describe a vibrant and growing community of tech savvy, hobbyists who are using the Internet to build and enrich their passion for yarn crafts.

What: Purl Jam 2008
When: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Where: Holiday Inn University, Blacksburg,Virginia
Cost: $85 to $395, depending on days attending
Contact: Mosaic Yarn Shop, 540-961-4462

Cornelia Tattle-Hamilton, Annie Modesitt and Jared Flood, major designers in the knitting world, will be in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Annie Modesitt
A native of Ohio, Annie taught herself to knit
at age 25 before a move from NYC to Texas.
The Texas tenure didn’t last, but knitting did,
and upon her return to the NY area Annie began
knitting for other designers and designing
for major knitting magazines. Her work has
appeared in Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting,
Knitters Magazine, Cast On, Family Circle Easy
Knitting, McCalls Needlework and several family

Loveland, Colo., January 9, 2008: Aspire Media today announced the launch of “Knitting Daily TV” on many public television stations around the country beginning in July 2008. Bringing a fun, contemporary new approach to needle arts how-to programming, this PBS magazine-format TV series is a makeover of Needle Arts Studio with Shay Pendray, the first and longest-running program on public television to focus on the needle arts, which Aspire Media acquired from host and executive producer Shay Pendray last year.

The current crochet craze in the blogging world is amigurumi. What is amigurumi? Amigurumi is the Japanese technique of crocheting dolls. By crocheting a chain, a few single crochet stitches, and creating some increases and decreases, different shapes are created. These different shapes are put together to make an animal or doll.

In order to start a cute little amigurumi one needs basic crochet skills. Besides knowing how to crochet a chain and single crochet stitch, one also needs to know how to make a crochet chain circle.

There is more than one way to accomplish this technique. However, I will start with what I believe is the easiest.

Chain two stitches. Then crochet six single chains in the second chain from the hook. This will give you the base of your circle.

I do not think my grandmother ever thought that I would want to learn anything beyond making a crochet chain. I think she secretly thought that would keep me entertained for a suitable amount of time.

I mastered the chain and my grandmother had to teach me the next step. The single crochet stitch.

When reading a pattern single crochet is abbreviated like this (sc).

If you do not know how to make a chain refer to the Start Crocheting Today article. After you are done making a chain, insert the hook in the second chain from the hook. Note that when you are reading a pattern, the pattern will tell you which chain to start in. For practice we will start with the second chain.