# Knitting - how to?



## EmilyMArkansas (Jul 22, 2008)

I just had a birthday and my SO's mom got me some knitting needles and a ball of yarn and a little how to book.

So I read through the book and I just decided that I would go ahead and make a square random thingy to start so that I could learn and practice the basic stitch and the purl stitch. 

Well I have gone through about 10 or 15 rows and now I have started wondering if I am doing it right or wrong. I cast on the left needle and then knitted to the right needle with a basic stitch. Here is the question. Then I switched the right needle over to my left hand and kept using the right needle to do the stitches. Is this how you are supposed to do it or are you supposed to keep alternating you left and right needles as the "working" needles? I am right handed so it is much easier to always have the working needle in the right hand...

Hopefully this makes sense.


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## Liese (Dec 12, 2005)

After you complete a row from the left needle to the right, take that full right needle into your left with it now pointing to your right - you will be looking at the other side now. The empty left needle now becomes the working right needle, so you will again knit off that left needle with the work on it onto the right just like before. If you can do youtube, go over there and search knitting - there's got to be lots of tutorials there so you can see this in realtime. Let us know how you make out.


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## ajaxlucy (Jul 18, 2004)

Yes - good luck to you and keep us posted. I'll be thinking of you tonight while I'm knitting.


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## EmilyMArkansas (Jul 22, 2008)

Well I finished my rectangle that I was making. 

I didn't really like the color of the yarn so I just made a rectangle to practice for bigger and better things and I guess we will use to scrub the counter or something even though it really it isn't very absorbent material. And let me say it was a good thing that it was just practice because there are some holes in it and I had a hard time figuring out the casting/binding off so the one side is curved into a half oval. It's amazing what one can learn from the how to knit pamplet from Walmart...

I had one more question...

When you finish knitting everything onto the right needle and you switch it back to the left hand to continue, I found that I had a loop going over the top of the needle with the yarn coming out on the back side of the needle. These things are so hard to describe... So when I start knitting again do I go through both sides of the loop or just one side at a time for that first stitch? This is the point where my little rectangle was getting holes and I couldn't figure out which way to do it or if my last stitch was just wrong.

Any thoughts?


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Is your last stitch a knit or a purl? If it is a knit stitch then the working yarn should be to the front of the last, now the first, stitch on the needle. So when you have the needle in your left hand looking at your first stitch the working yarn is to the front of the needle. I'm making wash cloths right now and I'm looking at mine as I type this. If your last stitch is a purl then it will be the opposite. Either way you should have a stitch on the needle just like all the other stitches on the needle. You may be pulling the stitch too tight and actually be seeing the stitch below as it is being pulled up. It will look like two stitches. Do you think that is what is happening? Did you even understand my rambling 

ETA: Many people will slip the first stitch always to give a smoother edge.


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## sewsilly (May 16, 2004)

Here you go...

Written tutorials:

http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/instructions.php

Videos Perhaps you need a visual, as many folks learn that way.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/

Welcome to the addiction, darling.... welcome!

dawn


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## sewsilly (May 16, 2004)

More excellent videos.

http://knittingatknoon.com/demos.html

dawn


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