Knitting Tutorial - Starting Guide

I don't remember when exactly i learned how to knit, but both my mum and my nana were always knitting so i definitely have them to thank! I couldn't imagine life without knitting at the minute as it has been a really good support to me during my recovery.

I have just been knitting a baby cardigan and it gave me the idea to put some information down to help others start.

The first step is to get the right tools - there are many different types of wool and sizes and styles of knitting needles.  Most people who have no knitting experience really have no idea about how to choose either of these and the importance of getting it right.  Quite simply if you don't have the right size needles for the type of wool you are using it will not come out right no matter how hard you try.

I would suggest you start with a wool that is more of an acrylic mix rather than actual wool because it is much cheaper and easy to get. Also you would be best starting with what is called "double knitting" wool - this refers to the thickness of the wool strand.  Note this is the UK name, the US has different names for wool types.  Double Knitting wool will have this written on the label as shown below:

There is a huge variety of double knitting wool so you will easily get a colour you like.  To start off with you only need 1 ball of wool and 1 pair of knitting needles.  You will need to practice the stitches before trying to knit anything or you will be quite disappointed with how it turns out.

The knitting needles you will need to use with double knitting wool should be 4mm needles.  It will give the size on the needles - usually on the end.  Again there are different types of needles - plastic, metal, bamboo and wood are the main types - i would suggest you start with a pair of metal needles (although plastic ones are good for children to start with from a safety perspective).  You don't need to buy very long needles as you will be starting with some small projects, the average length of needles is approx 10-12 inches. If you are having any difficulty in choosing wool and needles a local wool shop will help you to choose suitable ones if you tell them you are a beginner.

A variety of needle types

Thats all you need to know for now - time to go and buy 1 ball of double knitting wool and 1 pair of metal 4mm needles :) Next time i will tell you how to start actually knitting! 

Big Plans

Well in my last post i mentioned some big plans so i thought i should elaborate on that a bit and let you all know what it is i have been up to:

Gosh there is so much i hardly know where to start!! LOL! Well let me see, i did mention my website before which was based around a craft fair calendar......well that one no longer exists :( BUT!! it has been replaced by a much bigger and better one :)

Really it is the original version but much more developed and with a better design.  I guess it is a sign of how my website design skills have been developing since first starting all this just a few months ago really.  The new site Craft Fair Central has been live for a while now, but i am still developing it.  The main task was to sort out a selling section and i wanted to do something that was on a pretty big scale.  I have now completed this and the new Craft Artist Shops area has now been live for just over a week :).

The concept for the selling area is based around ebay.  It is an auction site with the option for individual shops to be added.  It allows sellers to list their own products and receive notifications of sales as well as payment via paypal.  There have been a few blips here and there but overall the site has been received well and i now have 32 registered sellers and 96 items listed for sale.  The site has had one sale already and has also led to an order being placed.  The current traffic to the site is an average of 40 visitors per day at the minute and that is without much in the way of advertising.

In addition to the selling section i have also developed the main site to include additional resources such as the crafters directory, the calendars feature (which now includes NI, IE and UK events), a tutorial section, and a useful resources section.  Some of these areas still need additional work as i don't have much in the way of content added just yet, but it is shaping up well i think.

I do have more plans for the site, which i will be working on in the near future.  In the meantime i want to try and focus on getting the content added now because i know that will add value to the site for everyone!