Question for those who knit!

[Love2learn]

I was wanting to learn to knit but after talking to my neighbor I am now discouraged.
I am really wanting to learn to make wool covers and longies. And maybe something cute for my baby due may 1st. I am thinking about taking knitting classes. It is only 3 classes long though so I don't know if that would be enough to teach me.
Anyway, I showed my neighbor (who knits and crochets) pictures of longies, knitted overalls, etc like I want to make. She says that to make something like that would take forever and to do it I would be knitting all the time! And she said they were a little advanced for someone just starting. I don't have a lot of free time to myself. I have a special needs child that I work with during the day but was thinking I could knit at night when he goes to sleep. Would this not be enough time to knit the things I mentioned? Are longies really that advanced?

[greenmagick]

Well, I taught myself to knit from books and knittinghelp.com. The only thing I have knitted thus far are longies/shorties Definitely can be a beginner project!!!!

[Iris' Mom]

Everyone told me to start with a scarf. Well, scarfs are hot and itchy and I didn't want to. I made a sweater, and it came out really nice, so I think you can do it if you try. The hardest thing for me as a beginner was getting the stitches even. This is not so big of a deal if you use one color, because it evens out when you block it. If you're switching colors a lot, that would be hard, at least for me. Good luck!

[eepster]

There are 2 great things about nitting for babies

1. They are small.

When someone who is used to knitting for an adult looks at complex things like sweaters or longies and says "it will take forever" they are thinking about how long it takes to knit an adult sweater. Also since the project is small it is very portable.

2. Babies won't notice your mistakes.

As long as the yarn is soft and the color is pleasing they won't be bothered by the stiches being un even, if there is an odd YO on the knee, or even if one leg comes out longer than the other.

[flapjack]

:

It takes as long as it needs to. Sometimes you have to frog, spend time trying to figure out how to fix mistakes, work your wonders with your magic crochet hook. Sometimes it goes perfectly smoothly. I think longies/shorties/soakers are perfect beginner patterns because it's basically just a million miles of stockingette, and I'm happy to tell your neighbour so

[mamasthree]

it won't take forever, and you can start on longies if you want to. that is exactly how I did it....wanted to knit longies/soakers, learned to knit on knittinghelp.com, bought the picky pants pattern (I highly recommend this pattern for a beginner) and voila, I learned to knit. My first ones weren't perfect, but still useful and cute.

Since then (about 1 1/2 years ago) I've knit hats, soakers, sweaters, socks, and developed quite an expensive yarn habit .

[blazfglori]

Longies are not advanced.
You should be able to whip up a pair in less than a week...as a beginner.
Even less time as you get better.

I also taught myself to knit with one of those "teach yourself to knit" books from Wal-Mart.

There are also lots of sites and tutorials online to help you out.

Look here:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/

Good luck!
You can do it!

[slymamato3]

As your username states you "love2learn". Go for it mama, I learned while pg W/ dd#2 and have done all sorts of great projects...my Gramma loved to see me knitting &nursing I haven't ever made longies but pp seem to think it is worth a try and not to hard. I also agree with the pp, I was told to try scarfs, I don't really wear scarfs...but found tons of great beginner projects on line and at the yarn store. Good luck to you, you know once you get started you can always come here with more????

[rootzdawta]

A soaker was one of my very first projects: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21438135@N07/2086477244/.

I used a very easy free pattern on the net (http://community.livejournal.com/pun...rs/110889.html). I just needed a size 7 16" circular needle, yarn, a yarn needle, and www.knittinghelp.com to learn how to knit in the round (**easy**) and how to kitchener stitch (a little harder as you can see from the picture but not too hard for a beginner). I learned to knit when ds was quite young and demanding and after a few false, discouraging starts. What overwhelmed me the most was the amount of supplies I needed--like to do the legs for longies or the cuffs for soakers (small diameter knitting), you'd either have to get double pointed needles and learn to use those or a long circular needle and learn magic loop. I ended up crocheting a lot of cuffs and legs because I couldn't afford all the supplies at once. So you might want to think about that.

Are soakers/longies the best beginner pattern? I don't think so . . . I think a good beginner pattern is maybe a baby sweater knit flat like this: http://dogsstealyarn.com/yoda.htm is excellent. But if you're up for a little challenge and to learn lots of useful techniques, I'd go for soakers (which, to me, are more instant gratification for a newbie than longies) and with soakers, you could skip the leg cuffs (and not need any double points or long circulars.

Or . . . (I just remembered), you could knit everything flat--then you wouldn't need circular needles or double point needles!!!!
Soaker knit flat: http://www.birdcrossstitch.com/soakers/pattern/
Longies knit flat: http://www.tinybirdsorganics.com/org...woolpants.html

[BeanyMama]

you should learn! i thought it looked too hard and boring but i gave it a swing when my bf handed me yarn, needles and a book and now I love it. knitting for your baby is so much fun, i think my soaker took me 2 days with littles around. of course i used giant yarn though

[monkaha]

I'm sorry, the knitting rules say that you can only start with a scarf. It's THE RULES, people! Don't encourage people to break the rules! Especially with such a wonderful beginner project! What will the world come to if everyone starts with longies? Where will the scarfs all go? Think of all the cold necks!

Go for it girl!! There are a million longies patterns out there. If one is too hard for you, try another! www.knittinghelp.com is a wondrous help. If knitting in the round is intimidating to you, try one knit flat (Fern &Fairy?).

[slymamato3]

Originally Posted by monkaha

I'm sorry, the knitting rules say that you can only start with a scarf. It's THE RULES, people! Don't encourage people to break the rules! Especially with such a wonderful beginner project! What will the world come to if everyone starts with longies? Where will the scarfs all go? Think of all the cold necks!

laughup ooops...I am such a rule breaker...thanks for the chuckle

[Aurora]

I learned to knit from a book and a newborn soaker was my very first project. You can do it!

[lyttlewon]

They are not hard. I am a newbie and I can do them. I did other things for my first project to learn the stitches. I can knit a soaker in 1-2 weeks.

[lyttlewon]

Originally Posted by rootzdawta

Are soakers/longies the best beginner pattern? I don't think so . . . I think a good beginner pattern is maybe a baby sweater knit flat like this: http://dogsstealyarn.com/yoda.htm is excellent. But if you're up for a little challenge and to learn lots of useful techniques, I'd go for soakers (which, to me, are more instant gratification for a newbie than longies) and with soakers, you could skip the leg cuffs (and not need any double points or long circulars.

Or . . . (I just remembered), you could knit everything flat--then you wouldn't need circular needles or double point needles!!!!
Soaker knit flat: http://www.birdcrossstitch.com/soakers/pattern/
Longies knit flat: http://www.tinybirdsorganics.com/org...woolpants.html

Yes try a soaker first. There is something to be said for completing a project.

[WNB]

Umm, I knit a pair of longies using sport weight yarn, incorporating a fair isle pattern, and sort of a made-up pattern in a little over a week of on-and-off knitting. I made another pair of longies using a chunky yarn following a pattern I'd done before in about 3 days of on-and-off knitting.

I think you're neighbor is smokin' dope if she/he thinks knitting longies would take forever or be too challenging. Baby stuff is almost instant gratification, and aside from the crotch part of longies/soakers, usually is pretty straightforward in terms of construction.

[aishy]

I haven't ever knit soakers/longies because they aren't my thing, but I don't see why YOU couldn't. Learn to knit, and just go for it. Knittinghelp.com and the idiots (or is it dummies?) guide to knitting and crochet are two resources that I reccomend for the learning. Ask questions here if something isn't clear, we're always happy to answer I didn't purl right for a full week because of the book I was using to learn (and when my friend used it to learn a few years later? She learned wrong too. Bah. That book!) Anyway I figured it out. And I figured out Gauge. And reading patterns. and everything else.

[JennP]

Go for it! Thevery first thing I knit was a soaker flat. I didn't like the seaming so I knit the Little Turtle Knits ribby soaker and I loved knitting it, funny thing I have never used it but it really got me going and I LOVE knitting.

Soakers are really easy and I second knittinghelp.com.

Good luck

[cinnamonamon]

Originally Posted by rootzdawta

Longies knit flat: http://www.tinybirdsorganics.com/org...woolpants.html

That was my first project! Pic of my then 3 year old ds1 wearing them (I did not knit the hat or sweater). Terrible pic of the longies. My seaming job definitely left something to be desired, but they're still wonderful. As a matter of fact, my 10 1/2 month old is wearing them right now (with the cuffs rolled way up, but still!).

[ELTAZ]

Longies are the whole reason I learned to knit! I'm a perfectionist, so I didn't want to have longies be my first project (b/c I figured I'd mess up on my first project), so my 1st project was a wetbag (I figured it'd be good to learn circular knitting since that's what I was going to do for the longies). The longies were my 2nd project - easy peasy! I learned from the CD on a knitting kit I got at Target, plus the help at Knittinghelp.com (and here as well).

Go for it!!!