Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook (8 page)

Gather ’round, chillins, I’m gonna teach you to knit. The act of knitting is really nothing more than pulling one loop of yarn through another loop of yarn; it’s not unlike what you do every day when you tie your shoes. But first you have to learn how to put those loops of yarn onto a knitting needle (cast on), knit those loops row by row, and then get those loops off the needle (bind off) so that you have—what else? A length of fabric! Or, as it is known in some circles: a scarf. (Or the front of a sweater or a baby blanket—whatever.)

But first, I want to let you in on a little secret: Knitting is probably not as easy as you think, so be prepared to do a lot more bitching than stitching before you’re really in the loop. I’ve seen it happen more than once: A beginner comes to our Stitch ’n Bitch group with a freshly purchased pair of needles, a ball of yarn, and the best of intentions and plans to leave with a sweater, or at least a scarf. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way. I mean, you wouldn’t go to your first guitar lesson expecting to leave with a demo tape, would you?

The good news is that just about anyone can learn to knit. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago that knitting was taught to every eight-year-old girl in elementary school. And if they could do it, so can you. Unlike guitar playing—or swing dancing or painting—knitting doesn’t require any special talent. It just takes time and patience, like learning to drive. At first it’s totally awkward and takes all of your concentration, but eventually you can do it while thinking about other things or even carrying on a conversation (but not while drinking; please, never drink and knit).

Knitting is a simple process, yet it’s so damn clever that I bet you’ll develop a newfound appreciation for whoever invented the technique thousands of years ago. Here’s the basic idea: You put a number of loops of yarn on a knitting needle. Then, you pull a loop of yarn through each of those loops with another needle. And that’s the part that makes knitting so tricky: You use a pointed stick to pull those loops through rather than a hook, which seems so much more logical. It will feel awkward and difficult at first, but it’s a bit like learning to use chopsticks: At first it seems like using a fork is so much easier, but with some practice, you can pick up everything from a huge tempura shrimp to the tiniest grain of rice with finesse. So pick up your sticks and let’s get started.

Putting the first row of yarn loops on your knitting needle is called casting on, and there are a couple of ways to do it. Besides being easier or harder to do, some cast-on methods will give you a loose bottom edge, while others give you a firm edge. I’m going to teach you my favorite method here: the double cast-on. It’s versatile enough to use for most projects because it leaves a nice, sturdy-but-stretchy edge at the bottom of your work.

Every cast-on method starts with a slip knot. Making a slip knot is a lot easier to do than to explain, but I’ll try.

1
Unwind a strand of yarn at least 8 inches long from the ball and hold it in your left hand between your thumb and forefinger. (The ball end of the yarn should be on the right, and the “tail” to the left.) With your right hand, wrap the ball end of the yarn clockwise around your forefinger and middle finger, with your fingers spread approximately 1 inch apart.

2
Pull a loop of the ball end of the yarn through the loop of yarn around your fingers.

3
Drop the yarn off the fingers of your left hand while still holding on to the loop with your right hand, and gently pull the tail end until a knot forms at the bottom of the base of the loop. Voilà! Le slip knot!

4
Slide that slip knot onto a knitting needle, and pull on the tail and ball ends to tighten it around the needle. (You get it? The knot slips!) As you do, think of the knot as a warm scarf hugging the needle rather than a noose choking off its air supply. You want this stitch to have a snug hug, not a yoke choke.

This cast-on method may seem a bit confusing at first, like cat’s cradle, but practice it a couple of times and soon you’ll be casting on stitches like nobody’s business. Plus, it looks kinda cool—like you’re holding a slingshot.

1
Make a slip knot, leaving a tail that’s at least three times the width of the piece you want to knit. So, for a 10-inch-wide scarf, you’d leave about a 30-inch tail of yarn. Hold that needle with your right hand, with the long tail end hanging to the left and the ball end hanging to the right. Place your right pointer finger over the slip knot to hold it in place. Close the bottom three fingers of your left hand around the yarn, about 4 inches down from the needle. Now, with your thumb and forefinger, spread apart the two strands of yarn like you were opening a tiny little curtain. Bring your fingers through these strands from behind, making sure that the tail end is over your thumb and the ball end is over your forefinger. Your left hand should be in a stick-’em-up position, like you’re holding a gun.

2
With the needle in your right hand, scoop up the strand of yarn that runs across your palm to the bottom of your thumb.

3
Wrap the yarn on your left forefinger around the front of your knitting needle, counterclockwise.

4
Bring the loop of yarn that’s on your left thumb up and over the tip of your knitting needle.