I want to learn to knit and crochet. Best resources?

[Kidlit]

I know it's likely Yourube, but who on YouTube offers the best (most clear, etc.) instructions?

[AroundtheCorner]

I think that Very Pink videos are no frills and clear. 
 

https://verypink.com/knitting-video-library/

I’m a knitter if you need any further help. I know there are others here as well. Good luck, and have fun!

[Kidlit]

6 minutes ago, AroundtheCorner said:

I think that Very Pink videos are no frills and clear. 
 

https://verypink.com/knitting-video-library/

I’m a knitter if you need any further help. I know there are others here as well. Good luck, and have fun!

Thanks so much! Love the slow-mo videos!   Very helpful!

[I talk to the trees]

Knittinghelp.com has a bunch of free instructional videos. Once you have mastered the basics, head over to Ravelry.com for free patterns for just about anything you could ever want to knit!

[catz]

I have so many channels in a playlist it would be hard to even pick.  But this user has a decent playlist of beginning crochet beginning w/the first video (there are 30 videos in there.  If you don't like it, search around and read a few reviews.  Well done beginner videos are usually very well loved and reviewed.  I think learning crochet is likely easier and more forgiving and faster to start.  But if you're more motivated by knit that is great too.  I actually learned to knit first.  It is often a breeze to learn how to do the other when you have a good sense of tension, etc.

I've taught classes in both knit and crochet and some higher level stuff too.  I think if you commit like 15-30 minutes a day of just the basics for a few weeks, you'll start to build muscle memory.  I encourage beginners to give it that much before they decide they want to give up.  

 

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by catz

[Kidlit]

Thank you, all!  I love the look of knitting and I found a very complicated crocheted blanket one time that I'd LOVE to make, so I'm equally motivated by both. I already cross stitch, but knitting and crocheting seem like something that could be a bit more mindless at times, which might be nice. 

[Lady Florida.]

I love The Crochet Crowd. You can search for beginner videos or check the playlists. What I love is that he always does videos for both right handed and left handed. His tutorials are easy to follow 

https://youtube.com/@TheCrochetCrowd

[ArteHaus]

Yes, YouTube is perfect for knitting (and crochet).

I learned from Sheep and Stitch and VeryPink Knits (exceptionally thorough and knowledgeable). 

My advice would be to stick with someone who knits in the style that is easier for you, or at least in the style you want to learn. For example, I was a thrower when I first learned knitting, and quickly became a flicker. You may jive better with continental style knitting, who knows? However, as a beginner, it will be easier for you to learn if you can easily follow the knitting style of the person teaching in the video. Although, I learned to  knit continental (not my favorite), I found it hard to follow instructions in this style, in the beginning. 

I have yet to learn crochet, but it is next on my list😊

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by ArteHaus

[wisdomandtreasures]

Knitting Help is what I used way back in the olden days (2007). I had tried several other videos and books and hers are the clearest. 

[knitgrl]

Before youtube, I learned how to knit from the Stitch-n-Bitch books. Excellent instruction. They succeeded where my grandmother did not.

[kbutton]

Oh, have fun!!! I learned before internet tutorials really took off. 

Crochet is easier to learn, but I think it's harder to count stitches to check your work. It aggravates my thumb joint, so I mostly avoid it, but I learned early and really had fun with it for a long time.

Knitting--I am good with circular knitting, but flat knitting...sigh, I think I need to learn to chart patterns so that I can cross off a row at a time. I ALWAYS screw them up. 

If you are good at picturing things once you have the basics down, Margaret Radcliffe has EXCELLENT references and skill-building project books. http://maggiesrags.com/  I have the answer book and the circular knitting book. The answers book had so much helpful information about problems with tension, which was my biggest problem, so I'd say it's accessible to new knitters. It took me three tries to learn to knit (two of three with real people), and not one of the knitters showing me how discussed how to fix tension problems except to tell me with a big of annoyance that I had a tension problem and needed to loosen up. Loosening up is not the main thing; where on the needles you like to work your stitches has more of an influence and should've been something they could tell me.

Cool row counter for knitting: https://twiceshearedsheep.com/row-counters/   It doesn't fix my problem with flat knitting, but it's a good one for circular knitting.

I highly recommend non-slippery and mildly pointy needles when you first start knitting. Really pointy needles often leads to skewering the threads between plies, and really slippery leads to dropping stitches or simply struggling to keep the yarn on them at all. I really like Clover bamboo needles for beginners (widely available at mainstream stores). Sizes 8-10. I have wooden DPNs I like even better, but they came from online or a knitting store. 

If you are a thread splitter even with slightly blunt needles, malabrigo worsted weight yarn is pricier than something generic for learning, but it's great if you want to avoid splitting threads while you learn. It's single ply, I believe. Cotton thread splits easily, but it's less slippery for beginners and fairly inexpensive. 

If you have trouble with casting on or tension, it can help to have someone knit the first couple of rows for you. Once you know how it *should* feel, it's MUCH easier to figure out how to hold stuff and play around with casting on techniques. I put knitters who think you have to learn to cast on first in the category of mean librarians, lol!!! 

Again, have fun!!! 

[catz]

One thing I was going to mention is with brand new tweens and teens we start with a hat on a hat loom.

https://www.michaels.com/product/loops-threads-knit-quick-knitting-loom-set-10356126?cm_mmc=PLASearch-_-google-_-MICH_Shopping_US_N_Knitting+%26+Crochet_N_PMAX_BOPIS_N-_-&Kenshoo_ida=&kpid=go_cmp-18514200212_adg-_ad-__dev-c_ext-_prd-10356126&gclid=CjwKCAjwtuOlBhBREiwA7agf1lHD31C17aphIpmOnAvci3B1F3UUvQ9ujgVDWy1uKLeWUKbb-mdXOhoC3tMQAvD_BwE

With bulky yarn and the 3rd size, you can make an average size tween-adult hat in typically a few hours.  These are a great way to get a feel for tension before you have a hook or needles in your hand and create something functionally usable really fast.   They look knit, and there are different ways to use the looms, create a brim, etc.  Not necessary of course, just throwing it out there.  Even young kids can get rolling with these.

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by catz

[Lady Florida.]

2 hours ago, kbutton said:

Knitting--I am good with circular knitting, but flat knitting...sigh,

I've never been able to learn to knit but not for lack of trying. I'm completely left handed and most knitting books will tell you to just knit Continental. Um, no. Just because I hold the yarn in my left hand doesn't mean I'm knitting left handed. I still have to work the needles right handed. I want to scream at all those people and tell them to "Just hold the yarn in your right hand but work the needles in your left. Then tell me how that works out for you". I know many leftie knitters are able to make Continental work but I'm not one of them. Years ago I found a wonderful site called Left Out Knitting where a left handed knitter taught truly left handed knitting. Sadly she was diagnosed with early onset dementia and could no long teach or even knit for herself. 

I do slightly better with circular knitting but it's still too much work. I just stick to crochet where I can be my left handed self.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Lady Florida.

[kbutton]

5 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

Years ago I found a wonderful site called Left Out Knitting where a left handed knitter taught truly left handed knitting. Sadly she was diagnosed with early onset dementia and could no long teach or even knit for herself. 

Oh, that's sad! I have been able to reverse things to show how to do it (I am somewhat ambidextrous), but I don't know how it affects patterns without working on it a bunch. 

[Laurel-in-CA]

Most crochet magazines have drawings of the stitches in the back. That worked for me when I took crocheting back up again in the last few years -- I still had vague memories from my teens and just needed some help and the willingness to rip it out when it didn't look right.

I have a friend who swears by a photo guide (rather than drawings) she got online. That fits her visualization skills much better. She also writes out pattern directions in full as a way of learning them. 

Other friends swear by the videos, especially the lefties. Your mileage may vary - YMMV.

For myself, I like a simple pattern repeat that allows me to keep my hands busy while I watch TV or read off my kindle or listen to an audio book. As a result, I don't really do garments, but I do a LOT of baby blankets and lap blankets to donate. A hat is a great way to practice different stitches, increase/decrease, practice color changes, etc. I have a group of ladies I get together with to crochet every week...great time for chat!!

[wathe]

11 hours ago, I talk to the trees said:

Knittinghelp.com has a bunch of free instructional videos. Once you have mastered the basics, head over to Ravelry.com for free patterns for just about anything you could ever want to knit!

This is the one I used to learn to knit.  Way back in 2008 I think.  

[SFisher]

Maran Illustrated Knitting and Crocheting https://a.co/d/d6mGmae
 

This book has very clear step by step directions and basic getting started info. I find it easier to use than videos… can hold it in my lap while I work on knitting.

 

I’m a self taught knitter, 10+ years. I still use this beginner book once in a while to remember certain stitches/joins, so buying is worth it.

[Ginevra]

Let me introduce you to loom knitting. 🙂 I really loved Good Knit Kisses when I started several years ago on the loom. It was easier to learn than straight knitting or crochet because the loom holds the yarn and correcting mistakes is easier. It is also easier to keep consistent tension. 

[LifeLovePassion]

Ravelry.com has forums and lots of great knitting patterns.