Do you know how to knit/crochet?

[Neesy228]

A little off topic, but I'm gonna ask anyway...

Do you know how to knit/crochet? How did you learn? What do you think the best way to learn would be?

I don't know anyone who knows how, but I'd love to learn...

I've looked at books and some online videos, but I'm not sure if either of those are the way to go. Is there a book you would recommend or a website? Where should I start?!

TIA!

 

[Lisa_M]

My mom taught me how to crochet, but I only know a couple of stitches and don't do it well.

I learned how to knit by taking classes at a local yarn shop about three years ago. I also meet with a group monthly through meetup.com to knit and sometimes newbies come and I help them out.

knittinghelp.com is a great site for video tutorials on some different combinations. I first tried to learn by figuring it out on my own, but somehow I was doing it backwards. I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong, but luckily i corrected it early so I can actually knit correctly.

I'm not sure what area of PA you are in, but if you are in the southeastern area, drop me a PM and i'll tell you where I took my classes, or if you want to meet up, I'll teach you to knit I love knitting and hope you find the fiber love too! Good luck!

 

[Aunt Michelle]

I crochet and can't knit worth beans, and my sister knits but has never gotten the knack of crocheting.

I learned from my mother, who learned from her grandmother, and the most important thing I learned was how to hold my crochet hooks. My sister learned to knit by watching You Tube. I'm sure you could learn to crochet watching You Tube as well. My sister has four daughters and three have already learned both skills - they are home-schooled and my sister wants to make sure they learn some "dying" skills. They take tons of books out of the library for patterns and instructions.

My advice - start small... don't try to tackle a table cloth or sweater to start. We have many doilies (crochet) and socks (knit)!

 

[Echo queen]

Did you try youtube? I do both, the youtube videos have really helped me get better and find new patterns that I may not have come across. I do have the basic learn to knit and crochet books that I picked up at walmart years ago. I learned using the books only I love it.

 

[lizabu]

I taught myself using a video and playing, pausing and rewinded as I copied the stitches. If I was learning now I would check out youtube

 

[JoiseyMom]

My mom taught me how to knit...but I never got the hang of it. I do know how to crochet. I bought this book years ago, I still have it. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Needlework-Readers-Digest/dp/B000NLBPE6/ref=pd_sim_b_2

 

[NYEmomma]

My grandma taught me how to crochet & I learned how to knit in a class during my lunchbreak back when I was working in the corporate offices at Joanns.

I'd say that taking a class is optimal because there's nothing like being able to ask the teacher to repeat something or show you something again & to have someone there to correct your mistakes.

But if you can't take a class & learn well by reading, books work good too. I love the Happy Hooker and Stitch n B---- series.

I've also learned from youtube videos. But I already had the basics down so it was more for things like a specific stitch that I didn't know how to do.

 

[steffaknits]

I taught myself. It involved the "sit-on-the-couch-and-curse-a-lot" method.

You could always check your Local Yarn Shop. They probably have classes or even free knit-ins where someone would be happy to show you. Even try your local library, coffee shops and bookstores. My sister and I used to organize a group at the library until they kicked us out due to budget cuts (all "extras" were cut). We then moved to a coffee shop until scheduling conflicts buggered the whole thing up. And I have run into many knitters in the crafty section at barnes and noble that are always ready to invite newbies to their groups.

Besides that, knittinghelp.com is an excellent source of info and tutorials as a pp had mentioned. There is also an online community called ravelry.com that is free to join and has all kinds of wonderful helpful people on it. My best advice though is not to give up. It gets easier and prettier the more you do it.

 

[Jey12]

I learned from my grandma when I was around 4-5 years old. She was thrilled she had another lefty in the family to teach to crochet. I could really only make single chains for many years, and I decided to learn how to do more about 8 years ago. I already had the basics, and then I bought a basic learn to crochet book that taught me how to do the different stitches. I'm still learning but once you have the basics down it's easier to build onto that. I would suggest if you have a Joann craft store around to call and see if they have any crochet classes coming up, or any local yarn store may offer these. Youtube has also been helpful but it is difficult to follow along and it's just easier at first to have someone sitting right there to tell you what you're doing wrong and how to fix it. I really enjoy crocheting, making blankets keeps me warm in the winter and it's a lot cheaper to make your own wash and dish clothes, plus they last forever.

As for knitting, it looks like it would be great fun, but my brain just cannot connect the dots.

 

[Spart02]

I mainly learned with this book, "Boye Learn to Knit with Mickey" or it's also referred to as "I Taught Myself to Knit". It comes with Mickey accessories and was a pretty good starter book for the Disney lover. It's sold on Amazon. I did have to have my mother-in-law help me a little, but probably would have eventually figured it out! Good luck!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I bought a kit that included yarn, knitting needles and a how-to book. It went through the steps of how to make a scarf using several different stitches. I found it easy to follow the steps and liked that I ended up with a finished scarf, not just a bunch of practice swatches.

 

[jenrose66]

I taught myself how to crochet. My grandmother was an avid crocheter but she passed away when I was a teenager and as I started having kids I wanted to learn how to make the blankets she used to make.

I bought the Happy Hooker crochet book from the stitch and bit*h lady. I found it very informative, but I need to see the stitches demonstrated so I used you tube.

What I would do is read about the stitch in the book, then watch it on you tube and then practice.

Also a fellow diser told me about ravelry.com and I LOVE that site. In the last two years I've made numerous blankets, hats, scarves, and even a baby mobile!

 

[AnninIowa]

I bought a how-to dvd on Amazon to learn to knit. There are a lot of YouTube videos, but the dvd was shot so that every step was clearly shown.

 

[firecracker725]

I took a knitting class at my LYS (local yarn store). It was great because if I screwed something up, they were right there to help me figure out what I did and fix it.

 

[SoonerSarah]

My grannie taught me when I was younger, and I didn't do it for many, many years. I decided to get back into it when she was diagnosed with Alzheimers and was forgetting how to knit.

I used these two books, in conjunction with videos on youtube, to learn how to knit.
http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-K...r_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321326991&sr=1-11

(actually, any of the Teach yourself books should be very good)
http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yoursel...=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321326991&sr=1-9

This one has a good amount of different stitches in it as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Knitters-Bibl...QE0Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321326949&sr=8-1


also, www.ravelry.com is a great site.

 

[Neesy228]

Oh! I'm a lefty too! I never even thought about that as an issue...ugh.

We do have Jo-Ann's. I'll check there...

I learned from my grandma when I was around 4-5 years old. She was thrilled she had another lefty in the family to teach to crochet. I could really only make single chains for many years, and I decided to learn how to do more about 8 years ago. I already had the basics, and then I bought a basic learn to crochet book that taught me how to do the different stitches. I'm still learning but once you have the basics down it's easier to build onto that. I would suggest if you have a Joann craft store around to call and see if they have any crochet classes coming up, or any local yarn store may offer these. Youtube has also been helpful but it is difficult to follow along and it's just easier at first to have someone sitting right there to tell you what you're doing wrong and how to fix it. I really enjoy crocheting, making blankets keeps me warm in the winter and it's a lot cheaper to make your own wash and dish clothes, plus they last forever.

As for knitting, it looks like it would be great fun, but my brain just cannot connect the dots.

 

[Neesy228]

Aww, thanks, but unfortunately I'm a few hours away from you - otherwise, I'd totally take you up on the offer!

My mom taught me how to crochet, but I only know a couple of stitches and don't do it well.

I learned how to knit by taking classes at a local yarn shop about three years ago. I also meet with a group monthly through meetup.com to knit and sometimes newbies come and I help them out.

knittinghelp.com is a great site for video tutorials on some different combinations. I first tried to learn by figuring it out on my own, but somehow I was doing it backwards. I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong, but luckily i corrected it early so I can actually knit correctly.

I'm not sure what area of PA you are in, but if you are in the southeastern area, drop me a PM and i'll tell you where I took my classes, or if you want to meet up, I'll teach you to knit I love knitting and hope you find the fiber love too! Good luck!

 

[Neesy228]

LOL, that sounds like my method so far!

Thank you for all of the good ideas!

I taught myself. It involved the "sit-on-the-couch-and-curse-a-lot" method.

You could always check your Local Yarn Shop. They probably have classes or even free knit-ins where someone would be happy to show you. Even try your local library, coffee shops and bookstores. My sister and I used to organize a group at the library until they kicked us out due to budget cuts (all "extras" were cut). We then moved to a coffee shop until scheduling conflicts buggered the whole thing up. And I have run into many knitters in the crafty section at barnes and noble that are always ready to invite newbies to their groups.

Besides that, knittinghelp.com is an excellent source of info and tutorials as a pp had mentioned. There is also an online community called ravelry.com that is free to join and has all kinds of wonderful helpful people on it. My best advice though is not to give up. It gets easier and prettier the more you do it.

 

[ironz]

I was going to suggest Jo-Ann's, too. Ours often has flyers about upcoming classes and there is usually a beginner crochet class and beginner knitting classes.

 

[CTdiznymom]

My mom taught me to knit which I enjoyed when I was younger. I learned to crochet in college since that's what everyone was doing back then. I still crochet, and have made mostly afghans & baby things. I would suggest maybe the library, after school programs ( our local elementary school has a club for the kids maybe they would enjoy having an adult) also why not try a senior center. I'm sure there would be a senior who would enjoy sharing their talent and enjoy the company too.