After washcloths . . . what's next

[alllyssa]

Hi all,

If this has been asked before, please point me in the right direction. I learned how to knit a couple of years ago and had grand ideas of making a baby blanket for my next baby. Long story short - too small of needles and too skinny yarn - baby blanket became a scarf! I just couldn't look at it anymore.

So . . . I'd like to know if any of you wise knitting mamas have any great ideas for SMALL projects - baby pilot caps, socks, etc. that I can finish quickly and that can be done with just knitting. I don't know how perl, circle knit, or even follow a pattern.

I know I really need in person help, but thought I'd reach out online first.

Thanks for any ideas!

[MeepyCat]

Without purling, circular knitting, or (especially) patterns... I think you're stuck on garter stitch scarves, baby blankets, and washcloths. Flat, square things. Some of which take a while.

In person help is great, but also - there are videos at knittinghelp.com that might help you get set up with purling and circular knitting. I know of no video that can help you read a pattern, but there are a ton of free patterns for simple baby hats on line, and they generally aren't very intimidating.

I'd recommend holding off on socks until you've got a hat or two under your belt. They've got some complicated bits to them.

[mysticmomma]

I have loved youtube for learning new skills. I'd start with adding in purling. Knitting in the round on a circular needle would also be great because it is straight knitting, no purling. It's also very easy.

I'd say go get a circular needle that is short -12 inches long or so and try a hat.

[flapjack]

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...stitch-bootees

That's a link to the ravelry page for Debbie Bliss's Garter Stitch Bootees. The pattern is in Quick Baby Knits, which your library may well have, and that was my first FO. The only thing you need to do is to knit, decrease (k2tog will do nicely) and pick up stitches, which will be a nice new skill for you to master. Oh, and reading a pattern.

If you can read a pattern, increase and decrease you can make Saartjes Bootees, which are seriously cute

Both of those patterns involve seaming, btw. Do it once. You will hopefully hate it enough that you will decide that knitting in the round has got to be easier.

[K-Mom3]

I taught myself to knit from books and online videos and was able to figure out purling, increasing, decreasing, knitting in the round and reading a pattern. You can do it too!

I got a pile of books from my library looking for instructions and patterns and my favorite I bought. Knitting for Baby by Melanie Falick The book has basic instructions, explains how to read a pattern and teaches new skills as they come up in the patterns. I made a hat, mittens and the stay-on booties (AWESOME booties, btw) and they were all nice small projects. Maybe check your library? Or consider buying the book, it is a really cool book.

My reason for learning to knit was to make mittens, so the first project I made after square flat things was this training mitt and after that I moved on to adult and child size mittens. Lots of fun and quite quick. If you can figure out how to knit to fit based on whatever gage you choose, you can use large needles and yarn and then your projects will knit up even more quickly. Knitty.com has instructions on how to make mittens based on your gage and the size you'd like.

Here's another early project I made: Frog Hat. I made the hat as part of a halloween costume for my son. I never made the sweater, but you could actually take the frog parts out of the pattern and use it for a really basic hat and sweater pattern, all in stockinette stitch.

I found that I really like knitting in the round better. It is not that hard to manage and in stockinette stitch, you can just go forever without having to deal with edges and it just looks so neat and tidy.

Good luck!

[K-Mom3]

Here's a bib pattern that looks fun. I bet you could learn all the necessary skills for this one.

Try going to knittinghelp.com for help reading the pattern.

[Deefodil]

subbing for ideas.

[zech13_9_goforgold]

If you're content just knowing how to knit, you can take your garter knit pieces and make other things. I like to take my short, fat scarfs and fold them in thirds to make a purse. Just stitch up the sides (leaving a flap or not leaving a flap, your choice) and add a long, skinny scarf for a strap. Sew them together and you've got a nice gift for your girls. You can use this same method to knit i-pod/mp2 cozies and potholders.

Also, once you can make a scarf/washcloth, you can also make dish towels and tea towels (great for lining your bread basket). Have you make headbands yet? The can be as simple as a short, skinny scarf sewn together to make a loop.

You'll have a whole pile of Christmas gifts in no time. I agree with the others that learning the other skills of knitting would be beneficial, but sometimes it's nice to go back to the simple things (especially with a houseful of chaos). Buy yourself a whole pile of luxury yarn and keep knitting.

[CalaRei]

There's a book called "The Knit Stitch" or something similar that you may enjoy. It's full of garter stitch project, but probably also teaches increases and decreases in there, too. Probably not worth buying, but would be nice to check out of a library!

[MamaWolfe]

I learned how to knit by watching knittinghelp.com videos. I watched them over and over, and eventually, I got it! I would suggest using chunky yarn and size 10 or larger needles. It's harder to find patterns this way, but you should still find many on Ravelry. They knit up SO QUICKLY this way, it's totally worth it for that almost instant gratification. I even have a kids knits book where all the patterns are made with chunky yarn, some of it is even double stranded.