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Knewbies | How to knit

February 11, 2015 8 Comments

How to do a knit stitch - knitting 101 tutorial with video

It’s knit day!!! Also known as the first day of your knitting life, the day you learn how to do a knit stitch is an important one. Just like anything else, it takes a bit of practice to get it down, but once your muscles memorize the rhythm of the knit stitch, basic knitting will become the knitting-is-the-new-yoga type of relaxing that you hear people talk about.

How to do a knit stitch - knitting 101 tutorial with video

How to knit

Here’s the video for today’s lesson, covering how to do a knit stitch.  The video shows how to work the first row of stitches after the cast on, and how to keep working them on each subsequent row. I tried to go slow and keep new knitters in mind, so I hope this is helpful for you!

Garter Stitch / This is what a garter swatch looks like.

How to do a knit stitch - knitting 101 tutorial with video

If you keep knitting row after row of knitting, this is what it will look like. A piece of knitting that’s made by knitting across every single row is called garter stitch. Lucky for those of you who are starting to knit right now, garter stitch is really trending in fashion and contemporary knitting designs. It’s really nice for beginner knitters to make things like baby blankets, cowls and scarves, and dish cloths. As long as you cast on the right amount of stitches and knit until you need to bind off, you can even start to design your own pieces this early on in your knitting journey. Right now, it’s all about knitting rectangles and squares, but you can make a lot of things with rectangles and squares!

How to do a knit stitch - knitting 101 tutorial with video

Soon I’ll be doing a video showing you how to do a basic bind off, which will enable you to start making your own completed knitting projects (a.k.a. “finished objects” in the knitting world). Isn’t that exciting? I’ll also share a design or two in the coming weeks featuring garter stitch so you guys have something to practice your knit stitches on that will actually turn into a for-real, usable, knit project! As always, let me know in the comments if you’re getting stuck or have any ideas for what you’d like to see next from Knewbies. Happy knitting!

Filed Under: Knitting 101 Tagged With: beginning knitting tutorial, how to do a knit stitch, how to knit, how to knit for beginners, knewbies, knitting 101

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Comments

  1. Beth

    February 12, 2015 at 5:43 am

    This is great — thanks so much for doing this! I already knew how to cast on, knit and purl, but I do have trouble with binding off, for some reason. Nice to hear the garter stitch is trendy. :)

    Reply
  2. Alycia

    February 15, 2015 at 7:20 pm

    I love your videos! I’m a total newbie to knitting (experienced in crochet) and I have a few questions! Can you explain how to count the # of rows you’ve done?

    And can you explain how to hold the yarn to give a nice tension? I seem to be naturally holding the yarn in my right palm (i’m a righty) but it feels loose to me.

    And as

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 17, 2015 at 2:37 pm

      Sure thing! I’ll do future Knewbies posts on these – did you have another question besides the two listed?

      Reply
  3. Debbie Price

    February 16, 2015 at 8:35 pm

    I am going to knit up squares in different colours and hopefully make a small blanket. A girl can dream, right? Thanks for doing this for all of us who want to learn to knit. Being a knitting librarian is a great thing!
    Hugs,
    Deb

    Reply
  4. Amandine

    February 17, 2015 at 2:25 am

    You should check out the technique from Scandinavia! It’s much smoother and faster. Hold the yarn over your left hand’s second finger(next to your thumb) instead of leaving it hanging. This way you won’t have to let go with your right hand , you can just knit away –

    Reply
  5. Kaiti

    February 27, 2015 at 5:31 am

    I love this! I tried taking up knitting a couple of years ago and lost interest because I had a difficult time understanding my instructional books. I have been thinking about taking it up again recently. Your web site is fantastic, and the way you film your videos is super helpful. Looking forward to the next one!

    Reply
  6. Donna

    March 28, 2015 at 12:21 am

    Thank you so very much for the tutorials
    they are so very helpful and easy to follow. No even the classes I paid a quite hefty fee
    to participate in helped me as much as you have in these tutorials. Please continue on with the next stitches. I find knitting so relaxing and stress reliving. The classes made me very anxious.
    Donna W.
    Spanish Fort AL.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      March 28, 2015 at 6:22 pm

      Your comment just made my day! I’m doing more videos as I type, plus I’m doing tutorial videos with Blitsy.com this month and on an ongoing basis with allfreeknitting.com – let me know if you need help finding them. I love doing online teaching videos, especially when I hear great feedback like this. All best, Donna! -Heidi

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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When it’s August & the crew has the day off, the When it’s August & the crew has the day off, the only thing to do is a Knitflix marathon! I hadn’t seen the latest season of Stranger Things and had a TON of knitting to do, so we decided why not make a day of it? For non knitters, this is a pretty accurate depiction of what a dream day looks like for maker types. (Plus or minus a cranky but cute house pet.) 
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What does your dream knitting day look like? 
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Just making this for fun & to see how it feels to distill a yarn day into a short video like this. Big thank you to Jamie & Mariah for being my friends, even though they said “it’s okay if you don’t tag me in this.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 
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Are you looking for some late summer reading picks Are you looking for some late summer reading picks? Here are 3 fresh titles for makers of all ages - full reviews are on my bl0g, along with a giveaway for a copy of Knitstrips! The 🔗 is where you’d think. 😉
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To Make by Danielle Davis (@writesinla) / Knitstrips by Alice Ormsbee Beltran & Karen Kim Mar (@ik_knitstrips) / This Long Tread by Jen Hewett (@jenhewett) 
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New on the blog today! This former Librarian revie New on the blog today! This former Librarian reviews three making-related books for kids, teens & adults. And there’s a copy of one up for giveaway too! 📚 
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To Make by Danielle Davis (@writesinla) with pictures by Mags DeRoma (@magsderoma) / Knitstrips (@ik_knitstrips) by Alice Ormsbee Beltran & Karen Kim Mar / This Long Thread by Jen Hewett (@jenhewett) 
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I’ll share preview page-through videos for these this week too, but for now the written reviews are at the top of handsoccupied dot com along with my search bar if you can’t find ‘em. All giveaway details are listed in the review post. 🤙🏻 
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(^ I heard a rumor that if I tell you to exit this app, no one will see this post, so plz forgive the song & dance just in case it matters. 🙈)
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I think about the wrong side of my intarsia knitti I think about the wrong side of my intarsia knitting kind of like some embroiderers do: I get (probably too) excited when the back’s neat and tidy. Are you this way? Is it just me? 
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Pictured is the wrong side of a large primary color intarsia swatch I knit for an upcoming design in @brooklyntweed Arbor. When I pulled it from my studio, I thanked my former self for talking the time to knit, weave in ends, & block a clean swatch already. As critical as they are, I’m excited to not have to make one today. I’ll advocate for swatching all day long, but I won’t pretend it’s like the funnest step in the process! 😆🧶
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