Are you someone who has wanted to learn how to knit, but you’re worried that you’d never be able to? Or you’ve tried and just can’t seem to get it? Well friend, you need not worry any longer because today is the day that the Knit Academy launches! What is the Knit Academy you might ask? It’s a group of lessons on my blog and Youtube channel where I teach you how to knit all of the basic stitches and techniques you’ll need to begin beginner knit projects. From casting on, to the knit stitch, I’ll walk you through each step.
I learned how to knit when I was about 8 years old. I had learned how to do some basic crochet stitches when I was about 7, and when I asked my mom if she could help me learn more, she said she didn’t know much about it. She offered instead to learn how to knit with me, so she bought us a Learn How to Knit kit from a craft store for us to walk through. It included everything in it: some big knitting needles, chunky rainbow yarn, and a mini pattern book that had pictures of how to do stitches along with a pattern for a beginner scarf. I still have my very first knit scarf that I made when I learned! It’s a brightly colored scarf that I never wear at all, but it’s such a fun memory of mine that I had to keep it. Now it’s my turn to teach you!
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As a crocheter, I’ve seen a lot of people feel nervous to venture into the world of knitting, because the idea of working with two needles seems scary. People who have never done a fiber craft before also feel nervous because all of the different lingo sounds intimidating. It’s also strange learning how to do stitches and techniques in knitting or crocheting when you’ve never done any of them before. Guess what? It doesn’t have to be scary! I’ve found it to be really fun to get to one or both crafts, and with a little bit of practice you can totally knit!
I love getting to teach people how to do different fiber arts, so I’m really excited to have this Knit Academy series on my blog! During the Knit Academy series, there will be a new lesson twice a week this month that focuses on a different aspect of knitting. There will be a step by step photo tutorial that details how to do the technique, along with a video tutorial from my Youtube channel that shows you each step of the process. There is also a Knit Along going on at the same time in my Facebook group where I walk you through each step of the beginner project I have designed for this series.
The first technique that I’ll be focusing on is the Knit Cast On. Now what is this you may ask? It’s the foundational stitch for every knitting project. It’s the crochet equivalent to a chain stitch, and like crochet chains there are multiple ways to cast on. If you’ve never done crochet either, it’s essentially a base where you create stitches that you will be building the rest of your knitting project on. Without it you wouldn’t be able to start a project at all!
Each knitting stitch has it’s own abbreviation to represent the stitch in a pattern, and a cast on is represented as CO. The pattern will tell you how many stitches you need to cast on to begin your project, for example it could say CO 23, which means you need to cast on 23 stitches. Once you’ve cast on the stitches, you’ll be building your project off of that. So let’s jump right in and learn the stitch!
(The rest of the post may be sponsored or contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. See my full affiliate disclosure here.)
Supplies You’ll Need
- Size 8 5.00 mm knitting needles
- Worsted Weight Yarn, I used Premier Everyday Yarn
How to Cast On Video Tutorial
How to Cast On Photo Tutorial
Step 1: Before you start casting on, you need to make a slip knot. To start this take your yarn and form a loop.
Step 2: With the yarn in your right hand, make a U shape and put it through the loop you made in step 1.
Step 3: Pull the loop all the way through, and tighten it to create the slip knot.
Step 4: Put your slip knot on one of the knitting needles, and tighten it by pulling on the yarn to make it smaller.
Step 5: Insert the needle up through the bottom of the loop, and create an x by keeping the needle in your right hand behind the other needle as pictured.
Step 6: Hold you yarn in your right hang by placing it over your index finger, under your middle finger, over your ring finger, and under your pinky. This will help you keep the tension (or tightness) of your knitted piece consistent.
Step 7: Take your yarn and begin wrapping it behind and around the needle.
Step 8: Continue wrapping the yarn around the needle by wrapping it between the two needles.
Step 9: Once you’ve completely wrapped the yarn around the back needle, you’ll take your right needle and pull the yarn that’s in between the needles down through the slip knot.
Once you have the yarn pulled through the loop, you’ll have one loop on your left needle and another on your right.
Step 10: Next you’ll take the loop that’s on your right needle and place it on your left needle.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll have two loops on your needle. These are the first two cast on stitches that you’ll start your project with. Repeat steps 5-10 till you have the amount of cast on stitches you need for your project.
I hope you enjoyed learning how to cast on! Stay tuned for the next lesson where I’ll be teaching you how to do the knit stitch.
Happy stitching,
~Claire