Knitting Links

Here are some Knitting Links and other pointers I've found to be invaluable:

KnittingHelp.com - My friends tried to teach me to hold the yarn with my right hand and I do better with the left... I figured that out with videos on this site.

Ravelry.com - You need to request membership. It's a WAY cool way to organize your supplies, ideas, and projects and also a great place to surf for ideas. I really like how you can see one project made by so many other people, along with their comments. Anyway, check it out. When you can look, I'm at SiouxzQzz.

Start with a natural fiber (cotton or wool) yarn and bamboo needles. Also, light or medium colored yarns will be easier to see your stitches on than dark colors. Seeing your stitches is helpful when you're learning what to do.

Lovely sets of bamboo needles can be acquired from SusanCraft6798 of SusanCraftDesign on ebay.

Lion Brand Yarn - Nice selection of free patterns, plus e-newsletters, and supplies.

Mary Maxim - good prices on yarn and supplies for all sorts of hand crafts (knitting, crochet, embroidery, etc.)

Manly Scarf Pattern - Free Online - GREAT for beginners, just uses three stitches (slip, knit, and purl). Just using this "basket-weave" idea, you can make each section as wide and tall as you like. Mine are all three stitches wide, but each section is a random number of rows.

Multidirectional Scarf Pattern - Another good beginner project, it had three stitches (increase, knit, and decrease) plus casting on. I think this looks better in a variegated / striped yarn than a solid.

Silver's Sock Class to help "see" how to make socks. This isn't a pattern, so much as detailed instructions for each step of making a pair of socks.

A good beinner sock yarn and pattern are Moda Dea Sassy Stripes Yarn, and the Knitted Socks pattern LM0131 by Grace Alexander.

I'm told that learning to crochet first is easier for most people; knitting first and then crocheting tends to be more difficult. So, if you already can crochet, you're half-way there! If you're new to yarn crafts, try picking up a crochet hook first, and then moving up to knitting.

I've found that being able to click or look at video or pictures over and over is really helping me along with knitting. I've also discovered that the natural fibers (wool/cotton) and needles (bamboo) are really big helps for beginning knitters! I hope these links help you as much as they've helped me!