Nostalgia Trip

I keep running into people on the internet who have spent hundreds of dollars on knitting stuff and come away without the things they need to do what they want to do. So here’s what you actually need to learn to knit.

1. Desire. Without it, you will never get anywhere. Before you learn to knit, you need to want to knit, and (because very few people want to just play around with sticks and yarn to no particular purpose) you probably need to want a knitted object. A blanket. A shawl. A hat. Some socks. Whatever. If your desired object is seriously complicated, kind-hearted people will suggest some intermediate work - maybe a hat before you start on socks. Maybe something plain before you start on lace. You need some idea of what you’re working towards, or it will be hard to get there.

2. A plan. A pattern is a good place to start. Whatever you want, you can probably find a good pattern for free someplace on the net. Take a look at it, because it will guide you concerning materials. If you can’t knit that thing right now, you can find an easier thing using similar materials, or you can knit a bunch of practice swatches using the materials for your desired project.

3. Yarn. A nice-feeling, not-too-expensive yarn of appropriate fiber and quantity for the thing you want to make. If you want to experiment with dying, go for animal fibers. If you want to felt, you need unbleached wool and you avoid anything labelled “superwash”. If you want to put this item near a baby, spare yourself heartache by embracing washable yarns.

4. Knitting needles. Two to three sets of needles that approximate those called for by your pattern. It’s important to get the right kind - you can’t knit circularly on straight needles, but there’s nothing you can do on straights that you can’t do on circulars. If you’re making socks or a hat, you probably need some double pointed needles. There are two things you don’t want to do: you don’t want to bother buying needles you have no use for, and you don’t want to assume that you and the pattern designer will get the same results using the same size needles. Get one set in the pattern designer’s recommended size, one in the next size up and one in the next size down. Use the set that works.

5. A crochet hook. To fix mistakes. Get one in a size smaller than recommended for the pattern, because you’re likely to be a little cramped when picking up dropped stitches.

6. A yarn needle. For seaming. You may be able to put this off until later.

No matter what your pattern says, you do not need the following:
-Stitch markers (use safety pins, hair elastics, brace elastics, or spare bits of yarn).
-Stitch holders (use spare bits of yarn).
-The exact brand and color and dye lot of yarn that the designer used.
If you look at the object and think it resembles a safety pin, you can use a safety pin. If you think the item is too expensive, or if you can’t figure out when you’d use it, you don’t need it. Don’t buy it. Move on. Knitting is not a cheap hobby, but there’s no reason to make it more expensive.