Cedarbrae Blog

Recently a friend asked me for advice on how to go about learning to knit. As has probably not escaped anyone who reads this blog regularly, my hobby of choice is knitting (I'm the author of the posts here, here, and here). I was flattered to be considered an authority on the subject and was happy to oblige.

Since sweater season is decidedly upon us, and the learn-to-knit itch seems to strike most at this time of year, I thought I would share my advice with all of you.

First, a reminder that the library offers lots of programs across the city where you can learn to knit. At Cedarbrae, ours is held on Monday evenings from 5:00 – 7:00pm. See details here.

There are lots of great books out there to help you learn too. As with many subjects, the Dummies series is a good place to start. 

Knitting for Dummies is available in regular print, large print and eBook formats too.

Any of the books in the Teach Yourself Visually series are good too. What is especially great about this series is the variety of titles. Everything from the basic beginner tome pictured here, to circular knitting (a great advance technique for hats and other rounded objects), sock knitting, and colour knitting. Even knitting AND crochet together.

Speaking of crochet, a great new beginner's guide called First Crochet has just been published.  

As with most crafts, many Youtube videos are available if you're that sort of a learner. Some are better than others though. Often DVDs are still your best bet.

There are also a lot of great blogs and websites out there. Here is a list of some of my favourites. TECHknitting is one of the best. It is an amazing resource. As TECHknitter herself states, "30 years of tricks want out of my mind and into yours." Her tutorials are simple to follow yet thorough, and are accompanied by great illustrations. She also has some videos, like this one on buttonholes:

Her index of tutorials is permanently in my bookmarks toolbar.

Happy crafting!