Knitting

Knitting can be a great craft hobby. It’s a new skill to master, a way to express yourself creatively, and  perhaps most valuable of all, it forces you to focus on a simple, absorbing physical action in a similar way to mindful meditation. This can help you to quiet anxiety and repetitive negative thoughts, giving you a respite from some of the stress we’re all carrying.

You can get started with knitting relatively easily, and that’s what we’re taking a look at today!

Equipment

The first thing you need to do is gather the equipment for your first project. It’s important to get this right: the wrong type of needles might not stop you knitting but they can make it more difficult, less enjoyable and you might find your passion for your new hobby waning before you’ve really got started.

  • Needles

Knitting needles are the most important tool for a knitter,and it’s vital to choose wisely. Most first time knitters will want to begin with a standard pair of knitting needles. You can get double ended knitting needles or circular needles, which are useful for advanced projects and clothing, but they can wait for you acquire some more experience and confidence.

There are also different materials your knitting needles can be made from. Plastic is where most beginners start: plastic needles are cheap and comfortable to use.

You can also get aluminium needles, which allow for quick knitting because they’re more slippery, but this makes it harder for beginners to keep their stitches in place. Wooden needles allow you to work at a similar pace, but they’re more pleasant to hold as they warm up to your body temperature. Bamboo needles give a similar to wood but they’re cheaper and offer a little more resistance, slowing you down but making it easier to hold stitches in place.

  • Yarn

The best place to start is with traditional woollen yarn. This is the kind of material you imagine when you think about knitting, and it’s for a good reason: wool is easier to work with, and it produces beautiful finished results. You can buy woollen yarn in bulk at uniform weights, so it’s easy to make sure you always have enough of all the colours you need.

There are other options to experiment with like silk and linen, but these are hardy to work with: more slippery and difficult to keep on the needles.

You can also sidestep shopping around for tools and raw materials by ordering a complete knitting kit or crochet monthly box and making sure you have everything you need for your first project delivered to your door.

Start Small

Make sure you maintain your crafting motivation by starting with a small project. If you make your first attempt at a knitting project a full sized blanket, you’ll be trapped with it for weeks, if not months. Small projects let you finish quickly and get the satisfaction of completing a project over and over again as your skills grow to match your ambitions!