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Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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Knewbies | Learn to Knit from Scratch!

February 2, 2015 3 Comments

Knewbies | Learn to Knit from Scratch! | Hands Occupied

A beginning knitting series is something I’ve been thinking about doing on Hands Occupied for awhile, and I decided it’s time to take the plunge! As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I learned to knit as a child from my grandma. Those first couple lessons were not only special, but kind of crucial since online video didn’t exist until I was in late high school. Though my initial lessons were with Grandma, we lived in different towns, so I was left to pursue more lessons from various library books with instructions and illustrations that could be completely baffling for an 8-year-old. Due to a combination of stitch encyclopedia-induced childhood trauma and my complete lack of skill as an illustrator, I decided the lessons in this new series will be done in a series of videos rather than drawings or photos. For me, videos a really effective way to understand knitting, whether it’s your first-ever time knitting or you’re trying to learn a new technique after years of knitting.

Knewbies/The Mechanics

The series is going to be called Knewbies. (Basically “knewbies” is faster to google than “knitting 101.” And as I know a fair amount of you are as addicted to Instagram as I am, #knewbies is shorter than #omghandsoccupiedlearningtoknit. Long hashtags are bananas.) Along with the video lessons, I’m going to feature patterns designed for absolute beginners that aren’t useless and/or hideous. I’ll write up blog posts whenever new videos and patterns are ready so those who subscribe to updates via email or a feed reader don’t have to deal with subscribing to yet another separate thing.

Both last spring and fall I did a knit along series, which was super fun, but based on feedback I’ve gotten so far in the reader survey and in comments on the knit alongs, a lot of you would like to see more beginner tutorials. So instead of a spring KAL at Hands Occupied, there will be Knewbies. Don’t worry, though! There will be a fall KAL again starting in September/October. Stay tuned. :)

Oh! One more don’t-worry thing – I’ll still be posting non-Knewbies content while I share Knewbies content. This blog won’t become exclusively for new knitters – we’re just going to bring more knitters on board the happy Hands Occupied train!

Click to access beginner knitting tutorials!

FYI: This new badge is in the sidebar and will link to all Knewbies tutorials as they’re added to the site. 

Any questions?

I know I’m already getting info from you with the reader survey this week, but if you’ve got any questions about Knewbies or requests for tutorials or patterns you’d like to see from this series, let me know in the comments!

Filed Under: Knitting, Knitting & Crochet, Knitting 101 Tagged With: how to knit, knewbies, knitting 101, knitting basics, knitting from scratch, learn to knit, learning to knit

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. Havok

    February 2, 2015 at 10:39 am

    Yay! I love how knitting looks, but have never been able to get my tension right, so I always give up quickly!
    So far as questions go – I’ve got yarn to work with, but no needles (I gave them away after my silly “I’ll never learn!” moment a few years back) – what size do you suggest for following along in this series?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 3, 2015 at 10:46 pm

      I’ve got a whole post about this headed your way tomorrow morning! ;)

      Reply
  2. Debbie Price

    February 4, 2015 at 11:59 am

    Hello! I recently found your blog and I am so glad I did! I am excited about the Knewbie series you are starting and am joining in! I crochet tons, and knit little! My knitting is self-taught and I am so very slow at it. Please do not ask how slow, let’s just say I knitted a scarf and it should be able to wrap around the world, as long as it took me to knit it :) So, I have my needles at the ready and I’ll be waiting for each lesson. Question: where did you get your t-shirt about not going without your yarn? Really like it and would love one. I take my yarn everywhere, also take a book with me.
    I hope you have a wonderful week!
    Hugs,
    Deb
    p.s. I see you live in Chicago. I live in Goshen, IN.

    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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Like a riding a bike! June guarded the neighborhoo Like a riding a bike! June guarded the neighborhood while I shot a new crochet tutorial today. With any luck, editing will go smoothly & I’ll be posting new videos to YouTube regularly soon! Got any requests for tutorial topics? 
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If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually k If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually knitting from one sweater into another here, no big deal. (What can I say, I lost a game of yarn chicken. 😂) I almost didn’t post this because I was worried someone might have some nonsense to say about my ability to knit. Then I remembered I can’t care about that. Silly me, I almost forgot myself! 
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Speaking of which, dang it’s good to have my mental health back consistently after the past couple of years. The anxious parts of my personality are just chilling, rather than constantly screaming that my work isn’t good enough to share. The confident parts of me that matter have me creating (and starting to share my creations & process with strangers and friends) again! 
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I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] proj I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] project needs is a couple of short sleeves! I’ll be finishing this sweater *just* before it gets too warm to wear, but isn’t that always how it goes? 🫠🧶 
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Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, wh Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, which has unsurprisingly turned into a love letter to primary colors. ❤️💛💙 The heart stripe is a wee tweak I incorporated, and I don’t regret it! 
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