I started knitting over 40 years ago by reading and re-reading a “Beginners Guide to Knitting”. At that time there wasn’t videos or YouTube to watch, so my knitting was filled with frustration, trial, and error.
Luckily enough my mother was a knitter also and she walked me through my many problems over the telephone. But it still was a learning curve and here are a few things I wished I would have known when I started-
1. Enjoy the process of knitting
Enjoy your journey along the way. You control the process of pattern choice, yarn and needles used. You are the captain of this ship and it can be so exciting. Enjoy working each stitch and see how they become your building blocks to a beautiful piece of work. Start with an easy knitting pattern.
2. Relax
Relax and things will go so much easier for you. This is a hobby of relaxation, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t hold the needles or the yarn too tight. As you progress, you’ll develop a rhythm and the stitches will even out.
3. Rome wasn’t built in a day-Give yourself sometime to learn
My mother always said-“Things worth doing well take time”! How true! Give yourself sometime to learn this wonderful hobby of knitting. It’s a skill that needs time and patience to learn the techniques. Be kind to yourself!
4.We All Make Mistakes
My mother always believed that a minor mistake in your knitting is what makes your piece come alive. You are probably the only one that will see that mistake and when you look back you will recognize that imperfection as a learning curve. Give yourself permission to make some mistakes and watch your skills grow with each piece.
5. Remember knitting is a hobby
Knitting is a hobby! We need to remember this. Knitting is a hobby we do to promote relaxation, meet friends and create for gift giving.
