Introduction:
For those who are thinking of trying knitting for the first time and those who are already knitting but don’t yet understand all the basic techniques, you can master knitting by following each step with these easy-tounderstand illustrations.
The basic stitches in knitting are simple—knit and purl. With that combination, you can make a wide variety of knitted fabrics. And by increasing or decreasing stitches, you can easily adjust the shape of your piece.
At first, your project may not be exactly the shape you intended. Perhaps, without realizing it, you dropped a stitch or two or added stitches where you didn’t want them. Relax. Just practice until you get the knitting rhythm, step by step.
Contents
Knitting Basics 5
Casting on 6
Long-tail cast-on 6
Crochet cast-on 8
Knit-on cast-on 10
Circular knitting cast-on 10
Center-loop cast-on 11
Knit & purl 12
Knit stitch (front stitch) = knitting 12
Purl stitch (reverse stitch) = purling 13
Basic stitch patterns 14
Reading a symbol chart 14
Stockinette (or stocking) stitch 14
Garter stitch 16
Single rib (1×1, or k1-p1) 16
Double rib (2×2, or k2-p2) 18
Symbolcraft 19
Yarn over, Twisted stitch, Slip stitch 19
Single left-slanting decreases 20
Single right-slanting decreases 21
Double decreases 22
Lifted increases—single right-slanting increases 23
Lifted increases—single left-slanting increases 24
Adding & Subtracting Stitches 25
Decreasing 1 stitch at each side 26
Binding off 32
Increases 34
Increasing 1 stitch at each side 34
Increasing multiple stitches 36
Lace patterns 43
Bobble patterns 44
Knit-1-below patterns 46
Color knitting 47
Assembling & Binding Off 49
Binding off with knitting needles 50
Crochet slip-stitch bind-off 51
Loop bind-off 52
All-at-once bind-off 52
Rib-stitch bind-off 53
Double-rib bind-off 54
Picking up stitches 55
Picking up from stitches, Picking up from rows 55
Grafting 56
Crochet slip stitch, Crochet slip stitch pass over 56
Kitchener stitch (stockinette) 57
Kitchener stitch (garter) 58
Seaming 59
Mattress stitch 59
Woven, Crochet slip stitch, Backstitch, Half backstitch 62
First aid 63
Buttonholes 64
1-stitch buttonhole, 2-stitch buttonhole 64
Knitting needles 66
Yarns 67
Gauge 67
Yarn needles 68
Weaving yarn tails 68
Joining yarn 69
Other tools 69