Oh yeah, right. Like that’s really going to happen. You know how to knit? Great! You don’t? There are several ways to learn.
- The Gramma-will-you-teach-me method. Simply put, you go to your grandmother, or someone of that age range, that you know fairly well, sit down with her, and beg.
- The Yodel method. (Little Old Lady Who..) There’s bound to be one somewhere that you know. At church, at work, at the coffee shop. You’ll know her by the yarn bag and amount of knitted garments she owns.
- The FOF method. You’re talking with a coworker, and you mention you want to meet someone who knits, and your friend suddenly remembers a friend of hers that does….
- The “Bag Lady” method. Go to any craft and hobby store (Michael’s for example) and just hang out in the yarn department. Give it a couple hours in the early afternoon, Saturday. You’ll find someone who knits, and may be willing to teach you.
- The Pay-For-It method. Some stores (Michael’s for example) offer courses, sometimes an all-day workshop, other times a week-long 2-hour-daily course. You buy the supplies, they teach you, for a fee.
Then again, there’s always the “but I have a friend who’s been haranguing me to knit for so long” method. You know what? Go get an armload of yarn, divided equally between your fave and your friend’s fave colors, get a cute pair of knitting needles, size 9, and a lovely circular pair, size 7, of the conjoined variety, and haul this collection over to your friend’s house. Sit down and start knitting. It’s okay to mess up a few times. You’re not going to get everything right the first time. Oh yeah, and if I haven’t mentioned it, make sure you leave LONG tails when you bind off. 15-18″ is good for seams, 5-6″ for joinings. You can always trim them.
The Finished Sweater
You might notice, when knitting on straight needles, that you develop an intense burning sensation in your left deltoid. Put the knitting down, walk away, and stretch that muscle. It will continue this way for quite a while. Get the muscle stretched, go back to the knittin’, and when it gets bothersome, stretch. You might notice that knitting is more of a sport than crochet, as well. The left forearm can get tired really easily. When that happens, massage and stretch. Okay, now that we have that out of the way, here are the best books on Knitting: Knitting for Dummies, 2nd Edition, Wiley Publishing, by Pam Allen, Tracy L. Barr, and Shannon Okey; Knitting Patterns for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, by Kristi Porter; Stitch’nBitch, The Knitter’s Handbook, by Debbie Stoller, and finally, The Big Book of Knitting, Sterling Publishing, by Katharina Buss.
Okay, you’re learning how to knit. The body of the sweater is knitted, to be sure, but everyone knows that simple Stockinette Stitch can be a real pain in the rear, curling and wrapping itself around the row you’re working on… so I have a solution. Grab a length of yarn, and start crocheting this: ch8, turn, sc in each loop across (7 sc) ch1, turn, (working in back loops only) sc across, ch1, turn, repeat. When you have a length of ribbing that will reach around the bottom edge, about 220 rows, more or less, sc to the bottom edge of the sweater you’re working on. Yeah, I just skipped ahead a bit, but hey, you’ll need to have that crocheted ribbing. Better to make it now, and have it later when you need it. As in, the point at which you realize it’s driving you crazy having to unwrap your needles for every stitch. sc to the back of the work.
So the basic pattern is this: Cast on 175-200 sts. You might want it bigger. If you do, add 5 sts for each inch, measure your body, and add 20 sts. This pattern will fit around my 42″ hips with room to spare. (It also tapers at the waist.) Knit a row, purl a row, 2 times. The next knit row, take the straight needle in your left (or right, if you’re a lefty) hand, and grab a circular needle (I use one that’s 3 sizes smaller than my straighties) and knit the entirety onto your circular needles. (I use conjoined needles, makes things way easier.) Continue in the round using the knit stitch until you either run out of yarn or have reached the length you think is perfect. Measure from 1″ below armpit to pants line for short sweaters, to mid-thigh for tunic-length sweaters, and to knee for knee-length sweaters. If you have run out of yarn, and are picking up a new ball of the same color, simply knit in the new yarn, knit 3 sts in the old one, and pick the new one back up to continue the work. If you are changing colors, simply knit in the new color at the same place where you began the circular knitting. This is easy to find. There should be a separation of the 4-row piece that was knitted on straight needles. Run your finger up this line, and place a marker. Then knit til you reach the marker, and change colors. This places the color-change line where a seam would normally be, at the side, and not in the center front for all to see.
Front View
When you have determined that you have reached the perfect length, find the separation, run your finger up it, mark, knit, and switch to your old straight needles. Knit halfway across the work, turn, and start purling. Leave the circular needles where they are, holding the stitches on the other half of the work. Now you must make a decision: will you be making the front or back first? I chose to have a V-neck sweater with set-in sleeves, and a solid back. The front is worked in rib stitches, to accommodate for my bust. I think a 2-1 rib will suit best. I also chose to work the back of the sweater first, as I plan to make the front after I gain more confidence with increases, ribbing, and such.
Back: stockinette stitch: knit a row, purl a row, for 7 inches. Oh, roughly 30 rows. Bind off.
Front: 2-1 Rib Stitch:
Row 1. Knit 2 sts, Purl 1 st, repeat across, end with knit 1 st.
Row 2. Purl 2 sts, *knit 1 st, purl 2 sts* repeat across, ending with purl 2.
Now, for the basic pattern, I will have to (OMG) count the total front stitches, and if I can possibly find the center, I will mark it with contrasting yarn. Then, leaving the circular needles in the remaining half, I will knit only half the sts onto my straight needles, following the pattern above. If you have an uneven number of stitches on your needle, you will need to increase. I prefer the invisible K1 B (knitting into the stitch below the one you’re about to do) as it is the exact perfect mirror image of a decrease. It’s easy to mess up and get accidental eyelets (holes) with the other 3 increase techniques. It’s better to only increase one, maybe 3 times at the most, (unless your bust is significantly larger than your waist) because the ribbing stretches to accommodate all the curving.
Every other row, or rather when you reach the end of each knit row, decrease 1. That’s really easy. You simply knit 2 together, going up through the bottom of the second stitch on the left-hand (or right-hand) needle, and knitting both stitches as if it were one stitch. Then simply purl the beginning of the next row, and continue the pattern. If you end the row on a purl stitch, purl 2 together, going through the front of the next 2 stitches. Maintain symmetry! Be sure you keep the pattern straight, even though you’re decreasing. The crocheted neckband is going to cover up any edging flaws you might have. Of course, try not to have too many of these. 30 rows up from the beginning of the ribbing, bind off.
Side View
For the other side of the front, repeat the pattern, but remember the mirror effect: at the end of each purl row, or rather the end that is in the center front, decrease 1. Maintain the pattern. 30 rows, decreasing properly, then bind off. Now, turn your entire knitted work inside out. Using the tails you left on the ends of the yarn, thread a yarn needle, and seam up the shoulders. If you have any ends in the body, from a joining of new yarn, thread your yarn needle, and run the end through the back of the work, behind the bumps.
Remember I mentioned that you’d have a crocheted neckband? Remember also that you made a 220-row long ribbing for the waistband? Make another one, this time 5 sts for the width, and about 150 rows, or as long as you need to go around the neckline. The last 4 rows will need to be decreased, until you only have 1 st on the hook. sc this around the neckline, keeping the short row on the outside, and tucking the wider end behind.
Close-up of Ribbing & Neckline
Ah. Now we have a gorgeous vest without sleeves. You’re going to have all kinds of fun with this next part: Sleeves. Shells. sc around the edge of the sleeve edge. The next row, ch2 to begin, dc in the next sc, *ch2, sk 2 sts, V in the next sc* around. Join to the initial ch2. Ch2, shell in each V around. Join. Continue in rounds until you reach the bottom part of the wrist. This leaves you with a sweater with crocheted sleeves, neckline and hemline, and a fabulous new skill.