A beginner’s guide to knitting
THE grandma trend is here in full force with tea drinking, baking and cat sweaters exploding in popularity with young people. And knitting is the next frontier! Emily Umstad has all the information to get you started on your own knitting project.
Photo: Megan Ong
No longer will you associate knitting with ill-fitting, itchy sweaters made from scraps of yarn that your nan had sitting around that you had to pretend you were elated to receive and just loved all those ‘funky colours’.
Knitting is an amazing way to get your creative juices flowing and to de-stress after a long day of uni or work. It’s also strangely cathartic and fun in its own way, with plenty of health benefits included.
Proven to reduce stress, and lower one’s blood pressure and heart rate, knitting is an amazing way to unwind and be creative at the same time while producing your very own handmade garments!
If you’re now sold on getting involved, you might be wondering to yourself how you can get a start on it.
Decide on your project!
Photo: Megan Ong
Before you can even begin, think about what you want to create first.A great place to get inspired and learn from others is Ravelry, a social networking site for needle crafts that have thousands of patterns and simple projects that you can potentially get a start on!
Purchase your tools!
Photo: Megan Ong
You’ll need a ball of yarn and some knitting needles in order to get busy with your project. Cheaper yarn is probably most ideal to get you started and these can be purchased at any Spotlight or Lincraft store. Alternatively, any reliable craft retailer both in-store and online will work. Metal needles are also the best to get started with.
Cast on!
YouTube will be your best friend when learning to knit. There are tutorials for just about everything on YouTube these days but if you still find these video tutorials a bit hard to understand, there are also heaps of local needle craft workshops run by experienced knitters who are happy to give you a helping hand!
So keep calm and cast on! You’ll need all the knitwear you can stitch together to rug up for this cold winter season!