We know that learning how to knit can seem like a daunting task. With our videos and step-by-step written instructions, you can learn the knitting basics at your own speed, and on your own time!
1. Cast On & Cast Off
Hi everybody, I'm Julia from Darn Good Yarn and today I'm going to teach you how to cast off using the longtail method. So, I have a pair of knitting needles u.s. size eight.five millimeters, a yarn bowl, and this yarn which is the worsted weight silk roving yarn which you can all get on darngoodyarn.com
So, first to start off you want to figure out how many stitches you're doing. So, for this video we are going to do cast on ten stitches. So you want to start off with a tail about twelve to fifteen inches long and then from that point you're going to wind around your needle ten times so and then from that point in the yarn is where you want to make your slip knot. First slip knot I like to have the yarn coming between my middle finger and my ring finger and then wrapping around towards my pointer finger and bringing it back through middle finger and ring finger and then with this yarn coming down on my palm I bring it up through this hole like the loop and I take all my fingers and pull the loop. So, I will do that again. The nice thing about slip knot is when you undo it just comes apart.
So, again coming in between your middle finger and your ring finger wrapping around towards your pointer finger down through this same section here. Gonna pull a loop up under here like that release your fingers and pull it through. So then when you have this slip knot here you're going to take one of your needles, put her through and pull one of the ends and you'll be able to tighten the slip knot. So coming off of the slip knot you should have two pieces of yarn, one going towards your ball and one at the long tail that we measured out previously. So from here you're going to take your pointer finger and your thumb and you're going to put it in between these two threads here and your move your hand around to the other side. So, we should kind of be like a v-shape so you're going to have these two coming off your thumb and then to string this coming off of your pointer finger.
So to start your first one you want to go under the string closest to you and then under the string that is closest to you from your pointer finger. So that should be coming through and then you're gonna pull these two threads and tighten them up. And that is second stitch. so again we're gonna have your pointer finger and your thumb finger coming through these two threads and flipping your hand over and this needle is going to go through the front piece of yarn. And I'm gonna grab on to this other one and come back through and then tighten. I'll do it slow one more time. So you have the two pieces of yarn coming from your needle pointer finger and your thumb. Gonna go through here and then flip your hand over. You're gonna have a needle going under the first string and then grabbing on to that third string, pulling through, and then tightening. Alright so we're going to make ten of these. Okay so here we go ten cast it on stitches. So now I'm going to knit a few rows and then show you how to cast off! [Applause]
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Okay, so now I'm going to teach you how to cast off. So, if this was your whole project this is what you do. So first you need to knit two stitches just as you would regularly and then you're going to take the left needle put it into the bottom stitch and bring it over the top stitch and off of the needle like that. So, you're going to bend it another stitch and then again with the left hand needle bringing it under the bottom stitch up and over the top stitch and off of the needle. And you're going to keep doing that until you get to the last stitch. Okay so now I have the last two stitches on the needle. So again I'm gonna pull that bottom one up over the top and then all I have is this hoop left. So, you're going to cut some of the yarn off then bring it through this loop here and then tighten it and you can make a knot.
So, when you're done with your project you'll have two ends that you can weave them back in with the tapestry needle or cut them off. Something that's really great about the longtail method is if you have to sew pieces together, say you were making a headband, I needed to sew the ends together, this is here for you to sew them together. Thank you for watching this video on how to cast on and cast off. If you're interested in learning more about knitting check out darngoodyarn.com
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To start knitting, we must first learn how to cast on. There is a lot of ways to cast on, but the most common method is the Long Tail Cast On. The Long Tail Cast On creates a nice stretchy edge that works well for stockinette stitch or for ribbing. To bind off or cast off knitting, you secure the stitches in the last row worked so they don’t unravel. Binding off and casting off knitting is also called finishing the edge.
2. Basic Knit Stitch
So, we're gonna do a simple knit stitch which eventually would become what's called the garter stitch. Which just means you knit every row that you do, but we're going to start with for folks who are just beginning. Just discovering knitting, the joy of knitting, and it is a joy~!
Basically, what you have to do first, you have to put the yarn on your needle. It has to get there somehow! So, what we do is we do this thing called a long tail cast on. Basically what it is you make a long tail. I like it because it creates a better starting stitch. It's easier to begin that way and I do a slipknot first and I tie it onto my needle and then I'm going to have the long tail on this side. I'm going to have my ball of yarn on one side and then I'm just going to put my thumb on the slip knot to hold it. I'm gonna wrap I put the long tail over my thumb. Okay, and then I'm going to wrap it around and then I'm going to put my needle right next to my thumb and under that. So, you can see what it looks like and then I'm going to take the yarn side. I'm going to wrap it around the top and then I'm just going to pull it right through like that and voila!
I have two stitches, wrap it around my thumb bring it up that way wrap around the needle and pull up tight, and I have three stitches around my thumb. Through around and I have four stitches wrap. I put the long tail over my thumb, okay, and then I'm going to wrap it around and then I'm going to put my needle right next to my thumb and under that so you can see what it looks like. And then I'm going to take the yarn side. I'm going to wrap it around the top and then I'm just going to pull it right through like that and voila! I have two stitches. Wrap it around my thumb bring it up that way, wrap around the needle, and pull it tight and I have three stitches around my thumb. Make sure you have that tail over there, okay? And I can tell you that I have knit with this several times and I realized that I couldn't go any further and had to pull everything out so just kind of be aware of that. Mm-hmm, you take your needle, I'm doing this loose on purpose just so you can see. You put your needle through just like that. Take yarn from the ball wrap it around and then bring that stitch through and then slightly tighten it. Don't go crazy with tightening it because it'll get too tight and then you won't be able to knit so through, around and bring that knit up like that through around and then take it right off the needle so you have created a knit stitch, a new stitch!
The basic knit instructions above will show you how to cast on and make a knit stitch, also known as garter stitch.
3. Purl & Knit Stitch
I'm telling you blink, you miss it! It's that quick! So, yeah knit side-now we got the purl side. So, instead of having that going on behind we're gonna have the yarn in the front for this pearl. So, we're gonna do the same four things. We're just doing things in the front, one in the front. I'm gonna take that under. Look like to go in, hey yeah and then take them off. Boom let's do it again! One, two, get him underneath three and then taking off. Oh, that's it you know how to knit!
You know how to purl, you can make whatever you want people. We gotta get back to what you was doing. So, we're gonna show you how to do the knit stitch. Right now this is super important! In fact, a forehand in tennis, it's essential. That's a word for the time in it. So, we're gonna go ahead and stick it in. Wrapping around now, just focus on that wrap around. Right, we gonna take that wrap around. We're gonna tell you dude. Hey, what up, and we gonna push him off. All right folks steps 1, 2, 3, 4 done. That's it that's all you gotta do 1, 2, 3, 4, that's it. Now, get back to what she was doing
Now is the time to learn how to purl and knit stitch. The purl stitch is an inverted knit stitch. It's best to think of it as a coin - there is a knit side (heads) and a purl side (tails).
4. Rib Stitch
In this video we will combine the skills that we have learned so far to make a ribbed stitch scarf. This is an example of rib stitch right here. Rib stitch is every other stitch knit and then purl. So knit one stitch, purl the next. As you can see it makes a stretchy, quite dense fabric that is the same on both sides to begin. I have cast it on 44 stitches, using the longtail cast on method that I taught in a previous video to get a nice edge on our scarf. We will slip the first stitch of every row, this is called a selvage stitch. So, to begin you have to pretend like you're knitting the stitch. Insert your right needle into the first stitch and slide it off the left needle. You will then move your working yarn to the front and purl the second stitch. Move your working yarn to the back and knit the third stitch and then your working yarn back to the front to purl the next stitch. You will continue in this way across the row knitting one stitch and purling the next stitch.
Once you come to the end of the round, you will purl the last stitch and turn your work over. You will then work each, following round the same way you worked the first round. You will know when you need to purl a stitch because the little purl bump will be facing you. You'll know that you need to knit a stitch when the bump is facing away from you. So, again you will slip this first stitch and then you will move your working yarn to the front and purl. Move your working yarn to the back and knit and you will continue along this row working each consecutive row the same way to develop your scarf. When your piece measures about five to six feet long or your desired length. You can cast off as I taught in the previous video
Creating the rib stitch creates textured vertical stripes. The rib stitch consists of columns of knit stitches alternating with columns of purl stitches. To do this, you change from knit stitches to purl stitches within a row.
5. Continental Style
Hi guys, my name is Amanda and I'm from Attic 166. Today I'm here to teach you how to knit continental. This is Darn Good Yarns worsted weight merino wool yarn and I've cast it on to US size 11 knitting needles. I did cast on 20 stitches using the longtail cast on method, I will link the video tutorial in the show notes below. I also knitted a few rows of classic garter stitch just so I can solely focus on knitting continental today. Now, the two most common ways of knitting are the English style technique which is right handed and the Continental step technique which is left handed. For English style, you insert your stitch here take your working yarn in your right hand wrap it around your needle and pull through like so. Now there is already a video tutorial to this style of knitting which I will also link in the show notes below if you want to give it a try. For continental knitting goes much faster because you're always hanging on to your yarn and you don't have to pick up your right hand to grab it every for every stitch.
So, the first step is wrapping your yarn, take your working yarn here, pull it back like you would normally do for left for knitting you wrap it around your left hand. I like to wrap it around my index finger here and press it against the needle itself just to give myself some tension. Now, there's a lot of ways that you can hold your yarn, but this is probably the most comfortable, especially for me. So, again wrap it around your index finger here, press against the needle to get some tension. You see that here too on the back around my index finger and I'm pressing against the needle while I'm knitting. Next, take your right needle here, insert into your stitch like so. Take your left finger with your working yarn, wrap it around the right needle pull through and off your left needle, insert, wrap around your right needle, pull through and off your left. Now, I like to also pinch my stitch here just to keep it on the needle and it just works up a little easier that way.
So, again insert into your stitch on your left needle. I like to pinch the yarn here, wrap around with your left finger on the right needle, pull through and off your left, insert, wrap with your left fingers, working yarn pull through and off, insert, left fingers working yarn, wrap around, pull through and off. Now, I'm going to knit the rest of this row in real time just so you can see how much faster it will go once you get comfortable with this technique. Now, before you start your first project with this I would suggest practicing a few rows. Maybe even a full skein of yarn just so you can get a better attention because when you first start this technique your tension will be a little off and uneven, but the more you practice the more even it will get. I hope you guys enjoyed this video of how to knit continentally and I hope you guys knit all of your projects superfast now thanks for watching
When you knit Continental-style (as opposed to English-style, shown in videos above), you hold both the yarn and the needle with the stitches in your left hand. Both methods give you the same results. It's best to try each method and find the one that is most comfortable for you.
6. Arm Knitting
Hi! This is Vanessa from designs by Phanesa. I'm super excited to be making this video for darn good yarn. Today we are going to be arm knitting
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So, the materials that you'll need are: three hanks of their recycled silk chiffon ribbon and this is in watercolors and and then all you need are a pair of scissors. So you're going to be using your arms as your knitting tool. We're going to be working with two strands. These are approximately a quarter to half an inch wide, so they are quite thick and there they're category-five bulky weight, but as you can see your your arms are a really big gauge so we want to double up. So, we'll work with two strands and each hank is approximately forty yards, a hundred grams and we're going to be using three or less. Okay, so grab your materials and let's get started! So, what I'm going to do is take off my rings and my watch because I don't want it just snag on anything.
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So, we're going to start with the longtail cast on and the longtail cast on method means you need a long tail to start with and to determine the length of ribbon you need I would recommend holding the tip and then just pulling it all the way up to your shoulders
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Okay, so this is three arms length for me and you want to start with a slipknot. So, just start a slipknot. So, this strand here is going to be from my yarn okay and then the Strand down here will be my tail end. So, this would be your working yarn is this your tail end. So, holding your tail end with your hand you want to wrap the ribbon around overlapping this strand here and then so this creates a loop. And then you want to just spring it back up through the loop. Okay, tighten it slightly and then you want to take your right hand and insert it into the loop and tighten it at the bottom. Okay, so if you pull on the working yarn that's coming out of your ball, it'll tighten it for you. Okay, so now we're going to cast on and so to cast on you want to place your finger and your thumb together like this, okay. And you're going to place it in between the two strands and then grab the tail with your two or three fingers, whatever is comfortable. Okay, and then you want to swing your finger and thumb back it's sort of like a slingshot. Oo start casting on if you're going to go underneath this strand here and that's the strand on your thumb the closest turn to you. You want to take your finger and then insert your whole hand in there and then this strand here the strand closest to you. From your other finger you want to go from the top this time down okay and then you want to pull it back through that loop that you just went through on your thumb and let go. Okay, again, you want to tighten it so, just pull on the strands okay. Now you have two stitches, okay remember the two strands, cut us one stitch, so you've cast on two stitches. If you want to repeat that step again, okay, again underneath this strand here on your thumb and sit in your hand and then on this strand here you want to go from the top down and then pull this through that loop and tighten. Okay so that's for those three and so you want to repeat that for a total of 19 stitches. Okay so again under the first strand here and then over and down on this strand here and pull it through the loop. Okay, so if you need to slow the video down or watch it again go ahead and do that. I'm going to continue casting on the remaining stitches so you want a total of 19.
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Okay, so I've cast it on 19 stitches and this is the tail end. I'm just going to leave that and this issue a working yarn. Okay, so now you want to knit these stitches and they're going to transfer from this arm to this arm. Okay and I'll demonstrate how to do that. So this is your working yarn, again, know what to grab your working yarn, okay like this, okay and then grab your first stitch which are the two strands and just pass it over your hand. So slip it off of your hand and let go and then you're going to turn this. So, that the working yarn is closest to you and you want to insert your left hand in there and you want to tighten this on this side. Okay, so again, grab the yarn with your hand and you always want to hold if you get confused on which side you're working on, the side that you're transferring from is the hand that will be holding the working yarn. Okay, so now I want to grab the next stitch and slide it off okay and transfer get to my left arm. Okay, again so when your here's a tip when you're tightening this strand here you'll be holding the working yarn already so you want to just keep that position and grab your next stitch and pull it over and then insert your left hand into the loop and tighten it.
So, you're basically set up for the next step already. Okay, so you're holding the yarn, grab the next stitch pass it over and drop it, insert your left hand into the loop and tighten it. Okay, repeat that again. Remember you want to hold on to the working yarn, insert your hand and then tighten it so now you're set up for the next stitch. Okay. insert your hand into this loop.
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So repeat that until you've transferred all these stitches over to the side.
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Okay, so we're done with row 1, now we want to start row 2 and basically it's the same thing. You're what you're wanting to transfer the stitches from your left arm to your right arm and the process is pretty much the same in reverse. So, the first thing we want to do again is hold on to your working yarn and then you want to slide the first stitch over, okay. And again you want to make sure the working yarn is closest to you. So, turn it insert your right hand, then you want to tighten this, okay. So, now holding on to the working yarn again you want to grab the next stitch, slide it over, and insert your right hand in. Hold onto the working yarn, slide the next stitch over and insert your right hand in. Tighten that up. Okay, next stitch slide it open and insert your right hand in, okay tighten it up so just. Repeat this until you have transferred all of the stitches over to your right arm this time
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Okay, so I have one stitch left holding onto the working yarn. I'm going to slip the last stitch off, insert my right hand through that loop, and tightening the bottom so that is your row. Okay, so that is to repeat- you want to repeat rows one and two. Okay so I'll do another row. Don't work another row. So, holding on to the working yarn. Okay you want to slide the first stitch off and now that you have this, and you want to tug on the working yarn so that you tighten it. Okay, again since you are already tugging on this, you're set up to work your next stitch. Slide it off, insert your hand through that loop, okay grab this, tug. Okay, now you're set up for the next stitch. So this is just a way to go faster if you're really comfortable with it and it's just how I like to do it. Okay, so tighten it, next stitch, pull it over, insert your left hand through the loop, tighten this up, grab your next stitch and insert your hand through and tighten it up. Okay, so go ahead and work all of the stitches, moving all of the stitches from your right arm to your left arm
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Alright, so there's your third row. So you want to continue repeating row 1 and 2, rows 1 & 2. So, you can see because they're so large, each row if you ever get lost you can count them. So, this is the cast on row by care okay so you struck here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and then 15 on my arm. Let's work 16 rows. Okay, so hold your yarn, slide the stitch off, flip it so that the working yarn is closest to you, slip your hand and tighten this okay. Okay, so you want to repeat that all the way across and then I will show you how to bind off or cast off. It's the same thing.
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Okay, so I have my last stitch. Alright, alright! So, now I'm ready to cast off or bind off. So, you want to knit as you've been doing, transferring only to stitches over it from your right arm to your left arm. Okay, so there's the first one and suck at once. Okay, now that you have two stitches and you'll always just want to stitches on your left arm you're going to grab the first one and slide it off over that. Plus, when you just stitched on you just moved over. Okay, and you don't want to work this too tight. Okay, so now grab this working yarn again and move the next stitch over just like before and then grab always the one on the left. So, farthest away from your hand you'll slip that one over. Okay, and then work the next stitch from your right arm, again the stitch farthest away from your hand, slide it over, and drop it. Okay, we work the next stitch up from your right arm, slide it into onto your left arm, okay then grab this stitch here and slide it off. Okay, hold onto your working yarn, work your next stitch. Place it on your left arm, grab this stitch here and slide it off. Okay, so we'll continue casting off/binding off until we have just one titch left on our left arm okay.
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Okay, so I have one stitch left I'm going to move that to my left arm and then I'm going to slide this one over. So, now you have one stitch on here and and then measure double the length. So, okay, so double the length and then that's where you want to cut. You're going okay so now you want to run it through the remaining stitch that was on your left arm. So, we can tighten it okay secure it, okay? Like so, okay? So, this is the right side of your work, you can see the knit to the stitches. This is the wrong side, so you want to keep the right side on top and then you want to bring the edges together and then you want to match stitch each stitch from the edge. Okay, so this is, this would be the first stitch from the cast on edge and then this is the first stitch here from the bind off edge. Okay, so this is just the tail that we cut and you can pull it through by strand and I'll show you what I mean. So, you can insert it in the other corner and pull it through it like this, or you can be lazy. I like to waddle it up like this and then find my next stitch. Okay, hold it together and just shove it in there okay. And here's my next stitch and this one, it's a little hard to see because this - because of this fiber. If you're working with different type of yarn it's a little bit easier, but you just want to make sure that you sew it- the edges evenly. Okay, so when you get close to the end make sure so I've got make sure that it lines up. Basically, so got this and this and then I'm just going to take my wad up and then just put it through because the hole- the stitches are very loose and you can see it very well. This is my tail end from the cast on and I'm on my last stitch, so I'm going to weave it through this end and then weave it through the last stitch on this end. Okay, and what I'm going to do is tie these two together, just to secure it
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Okay, now you want to weave in your ends. So you're just going to run the ribbon through the stitches and this is the wrong side. So, this is the inside of your cow. So I'm just going to run the stitches through, just weave it in, and I actually like to tie another knot. Yes, I love knots. So, I'm going to just grab one strand, pull it through, and then tie this together, okay. Just so I know that it's not going to fall apart. Then do the same thing for the other one, just going to cut it so it's a little bit more manageable. So, I'm just going to leave this one through as well just through and you don't have to leave it too much. Okay, so now I'm going to take one strand and just wrap it around one of these stitches and then I'm going to tie a couple of knots. All right, so this seems really long but because it's arm knitted and it's it has a really good drape. So, you want to flip it over. Okay, so it seems like a really long piece for a cowl however if you just opened it's like a long tube okay. So, if you open it up that it's not really too thick. Okay, so this is how you would wear it around your neck, okay isn't that beautiful? All right, thank you so much for watching! I hope you've enjoyed this video
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Arm knitting is easier than traditional knitting because you don't have to deal with needles. Use a super bulky yarn and your arms to create your next project! Don't know what to make? Check out some of our arm knitting kits - 30 Minute Arm Knit Scarf & Arm Knit Blanket.
7. Raspberry Stitch
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Hey guys and welcome to this video tutorial where I'm going to show you how to master the raspberry stitch and also how to create smooth and neat edge stitches by creating a chain edge. So, the raspberry stitch consists of multiples of 4 stitches that are being repeated on 4 rows. And in order to create chain edges on both sides of your work we are always going to slip the first stitch knitwise and then purl the last stitch of every row. For this test piece I have cast on 14 stitches and I have already made a few rows so you can see how the pattern is coming along. But, we will start the knitting on the wrong side of the work where we will knit the first row of the raspberry stitch. So, we are going to start by slipping the first stitch knitwise and then we can get on to knitting the stitch itself.
So, the first step is to knit 1 then purl 1 and after that we still knit 1 all into one stitch and then you can pass it on to the right needle and the second step is to purl three stitches together and we will then keep on repeating these two steps until the end of the row and then the last stitch will be pearled
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And then we simply purl the last stitch to make the chain edge. You can tighten it a little and then we turn the work around on to the right side. Now, the right side of the pattern is much easier to knit since we are going to purl all the stitches aside from the first one. So, we start the row by slipping the first stitch knitwise and then we purl all the stitches until the end of the row including the last stitch as well.
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And then we will turn the work around onto the wrong side again and we will now need the third row of the raspberry stitch. So, we will start the row by slipping the first stitch knitwise as usual and then we will need the same steps that we did on the first row of the pattern, but we will just need them in the opposite order. So, we will start by purling three stitches together and it can sometimes be a bit tricky to purl all the three stitches together with the thick yarn, but don't get discouraged! You will eventually get there. So, then we will pass it on to the right needle and then we will knit one, purl one and then knit one into one stitch and we will keep on repeating these steps until the end of the row and then the last stitch will be pearled
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The fourth row of the pattern is exactly the same as the second row. As we are on the right side of the work, so we start by slipping the first stitch knitwise and then we purl the rest of the stitches, including the last one and voila! Here we have our raspberry stitch looking nice and squishy with the neat edge stitches as well. I hope you enjoyed watching this tutorial and you can find the raspberry dream baby blanket kit on the shop so make sure you grab one of your own and happy knitting
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The Raspberry Stitch pattern is a textured bobble stitch with staggered bunches of stitches that resemble a raspberry bush. This stitch quickly gives texture and character to any project. Also called the Trinity Stitch or Blackberry Stitch, it’s a great way to add dimension to blankets that you can see on our Raspberry Dream Baby Blanket!
If you're looking for more help, we have some helpful links below!