Corrine: Welcome to Thread Head, your weekly DIY fashion haven.
Rob: Last week on the form as we are surfing around, we found this knitting question posted by EndureLife.
Okay so I used to know the very basics of knitting but forgot it. I would love to see a knitting basic video from Rob and Corinne and I need it fast. And we are going to be aunt in a few months and I want to needle something special for the new baby in the family.
Corinne: No problem EndureLife, I am going to show you some basic knitting techniques that I learned when I was 10 years old.
First, pick out your needles, the bigger the needle, the bigger the stitch. For this scarf, I used the size 11 needle so that is what we are going to use for the demo.
Next, pick out your yarn. I usually like getting it from old sweaters or blankets but I got these other gifts, so we might as well use it.
Now that we have our yarn and needles all picked out, the first step is casting on. Find the end of yarn and pull it out so you have a little bit of a tail. Make a slipknot by crossing the yarn over your finger like so and pulling the tail through to create a loop.
Pull one of your needles to create a loop and pull on the tail to tighten it but do not pull too tight. Now watch closely, hold the thread like this and use your index finger to create more loops.
The amount of loops you make will determine the width of your piece.
Keep in mind that you really wont see how wide it is until you have knitted your first row.
Okay, now you are ready to do the first row. This was the hardest so take it slow and keep it loose.
Pull your other needle through the first loop making an X. Now take your yarn and pull it down through the middle of the X, then use the second needle to pull the yarn through the loop and off the first needle. Watch again, X, down the middle, through and off.
Repeat these steps until you reach the end of the row. Now make many, many, many more rows until you have reached your desired length.
To cast off or end the piece do two stitches, then hold the second loop through the first so you have one loop on your needle.
Take another stitch so again, there is two loops on the needle; pull the second loop through the first and repeat these process until you reach the end, making sure to keep it very loose.
At the end, pull that last loop through so it becomes very big and cut the yarn here, then pull it all the way through and pull it tight and there you have it.
Rob: If you want a full download on modern knitting, make sure you check out the recently released book “Knit Knit”, that is a British one there.
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