Can I learn to knit w/o a class?

[mrforbes]

Hi,
I'm a sewer but would love to learn to knit - I see so many cute patterns I'd love to do. Can I learn to knit w/o a class or person?

Any books or websites that are good for an absolute beginner?

[Artichokie]

yes! knittinghelp.com has a ton of videos including basic knit and purl.

I had a friend teach me, but I still go to knittinghelp.com to refresh my mind when there is a technique I haven't used in a while and need a refresher on.

If you need help deciphering a pattern, feel free to PM me - I love to talk knitting.

[mrforbes]

Thanks! I'll check out the website and I may hit you up for the PM's....I have patterns I want to do for new baby, DS and myself - far too ambitious I'm sure.

Side note: couldn't help but note we're pretty close in expecting new little ones this winter.

[34me]

My mom taught me basics when I was about 7 but I really just started cranking out stuff and learning how to read a pattern last Novemberish. Not only has the internet been an awesome resource but I work at a Senior Center and I have several ladies that I can ask questions. They love to help! Since you are in a major metropolotin area I bet you could find a knitting group at a community senior center that would LOVE to help out (and would love to see your son and your little one develop).

[meemee]

i picked up my skills from the youtube channel.

[zebra15]

YOutube, the library for books, ladies on here, tons of ways to learn....

[russsk]

I learned from knittinghelp.com. I chose overly ambitious patterns then gave up until I saw a friend knitting and got jealous. I asked her for some help choosing a pattern and yarn and got to it. I've never taken a class.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Along with knittinghelp (awesome resource!) I also learned from Knitting for Dummies, which was very helpful.

[GardenStream]

I learned from a mixture of knitting help and youtube. I don't know anyone IRL that knits, so I was on my own when it came to learning.

[Artichokie]

Originally Posted by mrforbes

Thanks! I'll check out the website and I may hit you up for the PM's....I have patterns I want to do for new baby, DS and myself - far too ambitious I'm sure.

Side note: couldn't help but note we're pretty close in expecting new little ones this winter.

I'm pretty good at putting knittingspeak into english, so feel free to hit me up any time.

Also, I should really be participating in the Feb ddc - I am due around the third week in Jan but my babies cook for a long time, so I'm guessing this one will be a Feb kiddo (as you can see by my ticker going to 44 weeks, lol).

[JamieCatheryn]

I love to use ravelry.com for pattern finding (thousands and thousands of great free ones to search), and every time I go to tackle a new skill use youtube and knittinghelp to figure it out, or sometimes just google a new abbreviation. A class never even occurred to me.

[ollyoxenfree]

I taught myself knitting and crochet from books many years ago, as a teenager. My mother does both too, but I really didn't go to her for help. I just worked it out using diagrams from the books. You may want to look at some basic knitting instruction books like Melanie Falick's Kids Knitting.

Elizabeth Zimmerman has a couple of very helpful books. i like Knitting Without Tears to help problem solve.

Your local yarn store (LYS) will usually have someone who is willing to give some friendly advice. They often have Stitch'N'Bitch sessions organized - not exactly a class, just a bunch of people who get together.

[mrforbes]

Thanks Ladies! I think I'm going to check out some of the books from the library and see what ones work for me - of course I love all the internet resources as well I think I'm going to start on something simple like a scarf at first and then try some patterns...

[WTHamI?]

I learned from knittinghelp.com too. Video tutorials are definitely the way to go, I was so confused trying to do it from a book. But yes, totally doable And better than a class in my opinion because you get a close-up view from the perspective of the knitter and can keep replaying it until you get what's going on. And I live on ravelry for free patterns

[heather+mike2005]

YouTube and the book Stitch-'N-Bitch have both been great resources for me. I'm a a beginner, myself, but so far I've learned a lot from both.

[radmamma]

You can definitely learn to knit without a formal class!

Careful, though...
It is very addictive! You may want to make sure you have an extra room for all of the yarn you'll acquire!

[BeanyMama]

No classes needed! Pish! I've got to echo the Knittinghelp.com recs. Also, pretty much every knitting book ever has basic instructions in it somewhere. You can dooo eeet.

[Dreamy]

I learned from KnittingHelp too, lots of pausing and rewinding, but the videos are very well done! I chose the Continental style, even though it was harder to learn (took me an hour just to figure out how to knit a row). I tried English style when I was a teen and HATED it it - the hand movements with Continental are so much more efficient.

I'd also consider doing a smaller project - scarves can get boooooring. I chose this dishcloth as my first project, to practice knits and purls, and I was already bored and ready to move on to something more fun halfway through it (I didn't even make it square, stopped with a rectangle shape). If you look at the pictures, you can see the mistakes and uneven tension at the top, then how quickly the kinks got worked out. Project #2 was a hat - so much more fun