Help For Determining Knitting Styles For Beginners

By Hank Roach


Lots of people want to learn to knit, and why not? It is a fun and relaxing way to spend spare time. It is also a useful hobby, because the items you eventually learn to make can be used as gifts for yourself or others. For example, a scarf is a great gift for others but is also useful for yourself if you live in a cold winter climate. Choosing knitting patterns to use for beginners enables you to make these gifts.

It is not advisable to just jump right into finding a pattern. The reason is that some are much more complicated than others. If you are just starting out, it is best to make sure anything you want to knit is to your skill level before taking up the knitting needle. If you try something too advanced for your skill level such an an intermediate item, disaster could rear it's ugly head.

Choosing a project that is above your current beginner skill level will have consequences. First, the project itself will likely come out wrong. This means wasted time, effort and yarn that could have been better utilized on a project that was more suited to you. It could also lead to frustration which may cause some to quit. If you quit you will never know all the advantages of knitting

The way to make sure you don't quit as a beginner is to only use knitting patterns that are in line with your actual abilities. Look through craft or knitter's magazines and find some that specifically say easy or beginner level. Likewise, looking through craft or knitter's books will yield the same results. They usually carry this information at the top of the project page or in a small sidebar.

The Internet is a vast resource for beginner patterns. All you have to do is visit one of thousands of websites and blogs devoted to knitting and do a search for patterns. Each pattern should have the skill level clearly marked on it so you are aware if it is the right level for you.

You can still determine if a project is beginner, intermediate or advanced even if they are not marked as such. Look at the instructions and find out the types of stitches needed. Are you familiar with these, can you do them relatively easily? Look for a yarn thickness of 3-4, anything else may be too thick for a beginner project and could unravel quite easily, ruining it.

You should also take a look at whether exact measurements are needed for the pattern, such as for a fitted sweater or vest. These types of exact requirements are far too advanced for someone new to knitting and can derail your progress. Look for items that can be made loose like a scarf for example.

Once you have located good beginner knitting patterns to start, all you need to do is print them out or make a copy. Print them from the Internet, since this is easier than reading from a screen. Make a copy from a book or magazine and begin knitting. It is fine to make mistakes, so don't beat yourself up over this. Just keep trying and you will eventually succeed.




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