Knitting 101: Information
Knitting 101: Information
In this blog post, I will be teaching you the absolute basics of knitting. I will be going over things as simple as different needles and what to use them for, all the way to the specifics of yarn type and size. This should be a good simple introduction to the things that you need to know before you begin knitting.
WARNING: This post will not be teaching you how to knit, it will just be teaching you the information that you need to know to start knitting.
Needles
Knitting needles are a necessary tool for knitting. They hold all of your work on them, and they also help you to do the actual act of knitting. Below, I am going to talk about two kinds of knitting needles, these both come in either bamboo or metal. I will specify for both kinds of needles what my preference is and what I would recommend for a beginner.
Round/Circular Knitting Needles
Circular knitting needles are normal knitting needles that are attached. So basically these knitting needles are connected into one piece. I personally find these to be a good option when you are scared about your knitting project potentially falling off the end of your needles. Also, they are very nice to use because you don't have the annoying ends of straight needles poking out all over the place.
When it comes to the option of bamboo or metal I would go with bamboo if you are a complete beginner. This is because the bamboo needles are less slippery so your knitting is less likely to fall. I feel the same way when it comes to straight needles as well. When you get into what some people call speed knitting I would then recommend metal needles because they are more slippery, and they are really easy to work pretty fast on. For me personally, this option depends on what kind of project I am currently working on.
Another cool thing about circular knitting needles is that sometimes they come in a kit, I linked one bamboo one and one metal one above.
Uses:
- hats
- scarfs
- bags
- slippers
- socks
- sweaters
- blanket
- quilt squares
- even more
Straight Knitting Needles
Straight knitting needles are very beginner-friendly. When I say this, I mean that they are beginner-friendly because you don't have to worry about your yarn getting caught up in the connecting part of the circular needles. These needles are not my personal preference anymore, but when I started knitting and for about the first 2 years, I did heavily enjoy straight needles.
As far as the choice of bamboo or metal goes, either works. As I said above when you get into speed knitting, metal is a better option. When it comes to the durability of the knitting needles, I find bamboo to be better. This is because the metal can bend and the paint can chip off. I would again recommend that beginners use bamboo because it is less slippery. I have both options linked above.
Uses:
- scarf
- blanket
- quilt squares
- bag
- sweater (section by section)
- even more
Sizing
When it comes to knitting, sizing, is an extremely important thing to take into account. Sizing can be anything from needle width to yarn sizes, or even sometimes it is nice to know the length of your needles. I will teach you to know how to pick the right needles for your yarn. I will also show you what happens if the sizing is not correct.
Needle Sizing
As far as needle sizing goes it is pretty simple. When you buy a set of knitting needles they will have numbers on them. One of those numbers should be in mm and the other should be worded as US.
MM = US
mm US
2.0 0
2.25 1
2.75 2
3.25 3
3.5 4
3.75 5
4.0 6
4.5 7
5.0 8
5.5 9
6.0 10
6.5 10.5
8.0 11
9.0 13
10.0 15
12.0 17
16.0 19
19.0 35
25.0 50
Those are all of the needle sizes, now onto the yarn.
Yarn Sizing
When you go to the store and buy yarn, you can look on the back and see an image of a skein of yarn ( a skein of yarn is "a length of thread or yarn loosely coiled or knotted") with a number on it. That number is extremely important, it indicates the size of the yarn. The size of your yarn indicates what needles you should use, but I will get into that later. For now, I will list below the different yarn sizes.
Yarn Weight = USA
0 or lace thread, cobweb, laceweight
1 or superfine fingering
2 or fine sport
3 or light DK/ light worsted
4 or medium worsted
5 or bulky bulky
6 or super bulky super bulky
Needle Size = Yarn Weight
Even though I have typed this out for you, you should always check the back of your skein of yarn for the exact needle size that they recommend.
I really hope that this was helpful. Let me know if you would like to see more knitting posts, I plan to start a mini-series for knitting 101, but it would also be really helpful if I knew what kind of content you guys would want to see.
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