Knitting: It's About Time!

I've been crafting for a long time, but in all those years, I never learned to knit. Oh sure, I have a pair of needles, and every few years I would clumsily attempt a cast-on and a few rows before losing interesting and ripping everything out again. My grandma taught me to crochet, my mother taught me to sew, and I taught myself tatting, papercutting, embroidery, weaving, and all the rest. I figured I didn't need knitting with all those other tools at my disposal!

But then, I just happened upon a book in the local bookstore on knitted lace on the bargain shelf. The patterns were, on the whole, beautiful, and the instructions were clear and well-written. Surely buying it couldn't hurt? Just to look at the pictures, to fill a space on my bookshelf. Then I started looking at patterns online. Pretty patterns. Stylish patterns. Knitting patterns. If I wanted to actually have any of those items, I would have to learn to knit. So I wiped the dust off of a pair of needles, made a few test squares, and got started.

Now, I am terrible at being a beginner. I hate the simplistic, plain crafting that's always suggested for a first project. It's. So. Boring. So whenever possible, I just... don't. I don't believe that your first project has to be some variation of a plain one-stitch rectangle. It takes a little longer to do, and you have to learn a handful more techniques at once, but you can absolutely start with a project like this:

This is a free pattern called the Peaks and Valleys Scarf, available here. I liked it a lot: it was way more visually interesting than a plain garter stitch scarf, but not so complicated that I couldn't manage to figure it out. In fact, the instructions proper fit on less than half a page. I needed to learn a handful more techniques than I would have needed for garter stitch, but the repeating pattern gave me plenty of time to practice.

So I did! I knit and purled and made mistakes and fixed them. Many of the skills I knew from crocheting came in handy, and I learned new skills as well. The result was far from perfect, but I'm proud of it all the same!

The scarf curled pretty badly when I first knit it (It's the nature of stockinette), but a little steam blocking evened that right out. If you don't have a steamer, soak a pillowcase and lay it over your work before ironing right on top of the pillowcase. It does the trick nearly as well!

Now that I've finished a proper project with a proper pattern, I can officially call myself a knitter! I'm sure I'll be going on a knitting spree, making up for all those years I was too stubborn to try. If you want to learn how to knit too, I'll be posting a tutorials reference page soon. If you already know how to knit, share your tips (and your own first time projects) in the comments! And until next time, keep an open mind and stay crafty!