Knitting Skillbuilder: Beginner Resources
During the pandemic a few of my college friends reached out with an interest in learning how to knit during quarantine. I have adapted this post from the virtual lesson I sent to them.
Introductory Lecture
I learned to knit by taking a two-session in-person class (shout-out to the erstwhile Stitch in downtown Des Moines!), and the rest was learned at home on my own, using YouTube videos and blog posts as resources. This written lesson seeks to replicate the in-person class I took, and supplements with links to some helpful visual guides This lesson will teach you the four foundational knitting skills that will get you through many great projects.
My best advice for learning to knit is to try to knit a little every day while you are learning, and choose projects that will allow you to keep learning new skills. And be patient with yourself!
It can be easy to get intimidated by what you will see as more advanced patterns if you haven’t continued to expand your skill set. In truth, most knitting skills are really easy, they just seem hard until you practice them. I’ve seen this play out time and time again when I learn something new, or when I teach something new to someone else. I personally like to have one “easy” mindless project going at all times, as well as one that’s more challenging and requires me to pay attention/practice a new skill.
Normally your first step is to choose a project and gather the yarn and tools you will need to get started. It is also good to read through the pattern and get a sense of what you will be doing. Normally at the beginning of a pattern you will see basic introductory notes and instructions for the pattern. These will include the type/weight of yarn you need, size of needle(s), and other details.
There are a few different methods to knit, and everyone has different preferences.
- "English" or “American” style that involves holding the yarn in your right hand and wrapping it around the needle from that side.
- “Continental” style involves holding the yarn in your left hand and wrapping it around the needle from that side.
The only "right" way is the method that feels best to you -- both involve some time to build muscle memory and feel natural. For me, Continental feels faster and involves more efficient motion, and it's what I learned first so it feels more intuitive to me. Most of the videos I include in this post are going to show Continental style, but there are plenty others out there that are American style. As you start searching for videos to help you learn new skills when you see a pattern reference something you don’t know how to do, you can search for it and add “Continental style” or "English style" to your search depending on what works best for you.
Okay, let’s get started. I’ll add some closing notes at the end of this as well with suggestions for additional resources.
[2026 Side Note]: in Des Moines we are so lucky that literal Knit Star Jen Geigley is part of our community. Jen has an entire "learn to knit" playlist full of videos on YouTube, and is an excellent resource if you want to just click over there to learn all of these skills. The videos I've linked below are other ones I've located over the years that helped me as well.]
Skill 1: Cast On!
Casting on is the first step in actually knitting. If you think about rows of knitting as rows of knots that create a fabric, the cast-on edge is what that first row of knots holds on to. There are several types of cast-on methods, but here is a good video for a basic “long-tail” cast on that most beginner classes and projects would use:
For purposes of practicing the rest of your stitches in this lesson, I suggest casting on about 36 stitches.Once this is done, rest assured with the knowledge that you will have to re-visit this video MULTIPLE times because there’s no way you’ll remember how to do this the next time you start a project.
Skill 2: The Knit Stitch
Now that you have cast on, turn the needles so that the yarn is on the needle in your left hand, and the point is facing inward toward your right side. The yarn tail as well as the working yarn (that connects to the ball of yarn) will be hanging down from the point. You will be taking each cast-on loop from the left side and knitting into them from right to left, and the knit stitches will transfer to your right-hand needle as you go. When you are knitting or purling, remember that the working yarn will always be on the RIGHT side of where you are knitting/purling into, and you’ll be holding only finished stitches on your right needle. If you step away from your project you can always pick up where you left off by re-orienting yourself this way.
Here are some good videos that break down the knit stitch:
Purl Soho also has a great video and photo tutorial of the knit stitch in English style knitting on their website. I often suggest them as a great source for tutorials and patterns.
Skill 3: The Purl Stitch
The “purl stitch” is the reverse of the knit stitch -- you will see a little bump created when you purl this stitch. However, if you turn over the fabric you will see that the back side of the purl stitch is...a knit-stitch V! And the back side of a knit stitch is a purl stitch. It can take a few rows to start to see this really emerge, but when you are knitting a flat fabric (such as a scarf, knitting on one side and purling on the opposite side will create a consistent fabric where one side is all Vs and the other side is all bumps. This is called “stockinette.”
Stockinette Fabric
Here is a video that breaks down the purl stitch:
Skill 4: Bind off
Binding off is the process by which you get all those stitches that are still on your needle finished and off of the needles. There are lots of methods to do this (just like cast-ons) but for many beginner projects you will just need to do a basic bind-off. Here’s a great walk-through for that:
Additional Resources
There is so much more I could say, and if we were knitting side-by-side, I would ramble and go on and on about knitting philosophy and advice and you’d probably get overwhelmed and never start. Ultimately my biggest advice is to practice a bit every day for a while (even if it’s just one row), and keep trying out new skills. And if you are confused or think you messed up something, don’t hesitate to reach out and we can do a little video chat. Web searches are also your friend.
Some of my favorite resources for learning the how and why behind knitting are the following:
Finally, seek out community. Online videos are wonderful resources and they make new skills so much more accessible to a broader audience. But if you need the extra support of having someone experienced there with you to walk you through anything you're finding particularly tricky, don't hesitate to pop into the shop (bring your project!) or reach out to your favorite in-person knitter.