How Knitting Works

Knit fabric is a series of interconnected loops which we create in rows, but which appear to be connected in columns. Each column of stitches is built up row by row from starter stitches that are created by casting on (which we’ll cover in the next lesson).

Since I’m right-handed, all of my tutorials show only positions for righties, but the instructions are given with the non-hand-specific terms of working needle (the needle in your dominant hand that you’re working onto) and non-working needle (the needle in your non-dominant hand holding existing stitches that you’re working into to create new stitches). If you’re a lefty and want to see what the hand position should be, hold either your hands or the tutorial image in front of a mirror to duplicate what you see.

Continental vs. American Style

Before we move on, I need to clarify what it means to knit in Continental or American Style.

Simply put, these styles refer to the hand you prefer to hold your working yarn in.

If you’re more comfortable using your dominant hand to both hold the working needle and manipulate the yarn, then you’ll want to learn the American-style tutorials.

If you want both your hands to work in tandem so your non-dominant hand can get in on the action, learn the Continental-style tutorials.

We’ll get into more detail in the next lesson on “Holding the Yarn”. However, if you’ve never knit before, I recommend trying the Continental-style tutorials first. While a little trickier to learn, once mastered, this style of knitting is much more efficient and easier on your joints. But if it’s only frustrating you, switch to the American-style tutorials. You can always try Continental again once you have the basics down—or quite happily knit American-style your entire life without any reason to switch.

Unless otherwise stated, my images show a right-handed person working in Continental style.

Your First Knitting Project

You've got your yarn. You've got your needles. You've probably nabbed a few nifty knitting notions. Now what?

As your very first project, I recommend making a gauge swatch, which I’ll teach you how to do in Lesson Nine.

BUT FIRST:

In order to make a gauge swatch (or any knitting project at all), you’ll need to know how to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off. And in order to do that, you’ll need to know how to hold your yarn—which is the key determining factor for your style of knitting. (This isn’t a high-pressure choice. As I said earlier, try Continental first. If you can’t get the hang of it, switch to American.)

In the next lesson, I'll teach you how to hold your yarn. In the following lessons, we’ll talk about casting on, knit stitch, and purl stitch. Then, in Lesson Nine, we’ll bring it all together to make your very first knitting project—a gauge swatch. After that, I’ll show you how to bind it off and finish it properly.

Ready? Let’s go!