How to... Knit!

Hey guys! 

I hope you have had a good week! Mine has been very long and tiring but at least I've finished the term and it's the Easter holidays now.

This post is another how to, it's how to knit. I'm sure many of you are very experienced knitters but for those of you out there who want to start but have no idea how to; this is the post for you. I'm very sorry if you can't understand it or the pictures are a little blurry, I had no idea how to take them and there are some stages that are a little tricky to describe. I wanted to do this post because it means that I can show you a really cute pattern that I found this morning.

To start off, you will need a pair of knitting needles, some wool and some scissors for the end. Both the needles I used were the same size but one was a different colour so it is easier for you to see the difference.

The first step is to cast on. Tie a loop knot but not pull it tight until it is on the needle, this is the first stitch.

You then need to push the 2nd needle through the stitch and wrap the wool anticlockwise around the 2nd needle. Then, twist the needle so that you can slip the 2nd stitch onto the needle. You can repeat this step as many times as you want to create as many stitches as you need. I find that when I cast on, it is easier to push the needle between 2 of the stitches on the needle and then cast on that way, but I'd recommend practicing the casting on several times. 

Next comes the actual knitting. Holding the needle with the stitches on it in your left hand, push the needle with no stitches on it through the loop of the stitch closest to the open end on the needle. Then, loop the wool through the gap (anti-clockwise). Push the end of the needle over the new bit of wool and through the loop and then pull the stitch off onto the old needle and onto the new one. This is just a plain knit stitch but there are plenty of other variations you can do. Repeat this until the end of the row and then swap the needle with the stitches on it into your left hand once again.

Once you have finished your piece of knitting (whether you are practicing or following a pattern); it is time to cast off. This can be done by knitting the first 2 stitches onto the new needle and then slipping the stitch closest to the closed end of the needle over the other and off the needle. Then, knit another stitch and repeat the slipping over of the furthest stitch.

When you are left with only one stitch left, cut the wool (with a few inches extra) and then thread it through the loop of the stitch. Pull it tight and your knitting is now cast off, you can then sew in the excess wool on the edges to neaten it up.

I hope this post is useful in some way! I tried to explain the best I could but explaining how to do things doesn't happen to be my strong point! However, now I get to post about the cute pattern I found!


I hope you have a lovely rest of the weekend, wherever you may be!

Until next time 

Grace

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