How to start knitting: kit and first stitches

The short answer: buy one ball of smooth, light-coloured Aran yarn (US worsted, weight 4) and a pair of 5 mm needles. Learn the slip knot and the long-tail cast-on until you can put 20 even stitches on a needle, then learn the knit stitch: in, wrap, through, off. Knit every row and you’re making garter stitch. Twenty to thirty minutes a day is ideal.

What to buy

You don’t need expensive yarn to learn. This is the whole kit:

• 1 ball of yarn, 100 g, weight 4 (called Aran in the UK, worsted in the US). Pick a smooth wool or acrylic in a light, plain colour. You need to see every stitch clearly.
• Knitting needles, 5 mm (US 8). Straight needles, 25–35 cm long. Wood or bamboo is easiest, because the stitches don’t slide off.
• Small scissors, a tapestry needle (a blunt needle with a big eye) and a tape measure or ruler with centimetres.
• 2 point protectors or a couple of elastic bands, so no stitches fall off overnight.

Read the label before you start

The paper band around the ball is called the ball band. It tells you what the yarn is made of, its weight (thickness, not grams), how many grams and metres are in the ball, the suggested needle size, the tension (US gauge) square, how to wash it, and the shade and dye lot. For your first ball, check two things: the weight number is 4, and the suggested needle is around 4.5–5 mm. When you later buy several balls for one project, make sure they all have the same dye lot number, or a stripe can show where the batches meet.

Step 1: cast on

Casting on puts the first row of loops onto your needle. The long-tail cast-on is a good first method because it’s neat, stretchy and quick, and it’s the one most patterns expect.

1. Measure out a tail. This method uses the loose end (the tail) as well as the working yarn (the strand to the ball). With Aran yarn and 5 mm needles, a tail of about 70 cm is plenty for 20 stitches.
2. Tie a slip knot. Make a loop so the ball yarn crosses over the tail, reach through and pull up a bit of the ball yarn, and pull both ends gently. Check it: pulling one strand should make the loop smaller.
3. Put it on the needle. Slide the loop onto the needle and snug it up so it still slides along. This slip knot is your first stitch, so count it.
4. Get into the “slingshot” hold. Needle in your right hand. In your left, the tail goes over your thumb and the working yarn over your index finger, both held against your palm. Spread thumb and finger apart into a V.
5. Up, over, down, drop. Needle up through the thumb loop from underneath, over and behind the index-finger strand, back down through the thumb loop, then let the thumb loop go and spread your thumb to snug the stitch. Repeat until you have 20.

Keep the stitches snug, not tight. New knitters almost always cast on too tightly. Stitches should slide along the needle easily, with a gap between them about as wide as the needle. If they grip, hold two needles together, cast on around both, then slide one out. Your first cast-on will look messy; most people pull it out and start again five or six times. That’s how the movement gets into your hands.

Step 2: the knit stitch

Hold the needle with your stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right. The working yarn hangs at the back. Then four small movements:

1. In. Push the right needle into the front of the first stitch, from left to right, so it comes out behind the left needle. The needles form an X.
2. Wrap. Wrap the working yarn anticlockwise round the right needle, so it lies across the top. Snug, but not tight.
3. Through. Bring the right needle back through the old stitch towards you, taking the wrap with it.
4. Off. Slide the old stitch off the left needle. One new stitch is on the right needle.

Repeat to the end, count your 20 stitches, then swap hands and turn. Two habits help from the very first row: knit with the working yarn, not the tail (the most common first-row mistake), and make each new stitch on the thick part of the right needle, not the narrow tip, or it comes out tight.

Step 3: garter stitch and counting ridges

Knitting every row makes garter stitch: a squishy fabric with bumpy ridges that looks the same on both sides. Each ridge is 2 rows, so count the ridges on one side and multiply by 2. Count your stitches after every row too. If your strip starts to fan out, extra stitches are sneaking in; see why is my knitting getting wider?

Step 4: the purl stitch

Purl is the knit stitch done from the other side. It has the same four movements, but the yarn is in front and the needle goes in from right to left, in front of the left needle. It feels awkward for everyone at first, and that passes within a few rows. Check before every purl: yarn in front? Purling with the yarn at the back gives you an extra loop and a hole.

Once you can do both, look closely at the stitches just below the needle. A knit stitch looks like a little V on the side facing you; a purl stitch shows a bump. They’re the same stitch seen from opposite sides.

A realistic first two weeks

• Week 1: read your ball band, tie the slip knot until you can do it without the pictures, then cast on 20 stitches, pull them out and cast on again, five times. Leave the last one on the needle.
• Week 2: knit 10 garter ridges on those 20 stitches, counting after every row, then purl a few rows. Short, regular practice works much better than one long session.

Questions people ask