Wool

The type of wool or yarn should be selected to suit each individual project, taking the composition and thickness into account.
The choice includes wool, cotton, linen, silk, acrylic, nylon, blended fibres and novelty yarns.

Needles

Knitting needles come in a range of sizes from very fine to really fat.  It is important to choose needles that feel comfortable in your hands and allow the stitches to slide along easily.  The size is determined by the type of yarn and style of pattern but most garments require an average size needle.

Pattern

Knitting patterns are available for a wide range of projects.  When knitting an item of clothing be sure to follow the same size throughout the pattern.  One set of figures indicates it applies to all sizes.

Casting on

To make the very first loops on your needles, you ‘cast on’ stitches. There are several methods, but all of them require you, in the first place, to create an initial loop on your needle. A commonly used technique is shown here. All cast-on loops should be made as evenly as possible. Avoid casting on too tightly. The cast-on stitches should slide freely on the needle.

Making the first loop

1  Wrap the yarn around the first and second fingers of one hand.

Thumb cast-on

This is a common, and easy, method of casting on. The tail end of the yarn is held in the right hand and the ball end of the yarn (also called the working yarn) is held in the left hand.

1 With the initial loop on the needle, held in the right hand, hold the working yarn in the palm of the left hand, as shown, passing it around the thumb. If necessary to keep the loop on the needle in place, hold the tail end of the yarn with the right hand. Pass the tip of the needle from front to back under the front strand of yarn on the thumb as shown by the arrow.

Purl stitch

This is the second stitch to learn and is very similar to the knit stitch. If all rows are purled a garter stitch fabric is created. When purl rows are combined alternately with knit rows, they form stocking stitch. The purl side of the stocking stitch fabric is called reverse stocking stitch. When a purl stitch is worked the yarn is held at the front of the work rather than at the back of the work as with the knit stitch.

How to work the purl stitch

1 Insert the right needle through the front of the first stitch on the left needle from right to left and wrap the working yarn around the tip of the needle as shown.

Casting off

Once you have completed your knitting, you will need to finish off the work. This is known as casting off. The stitches can be cast off as they are knitted, purled or worked in a pattern stitch, but the method is the same. The simple knit cast-off is shown below.

How to cast off

Be careful when casting off not to do so too tightly. You can use a larger size needle to avoid this, if you wish.

1 Knit the first two stitches. Then pick up the first stitch with the tip of the left needle and pass it over the second stitch and off the right needle all together, to leave one stitch on the right handle.