Beginner's Guide to Knitting and Crochet

…to The Beginner’s Guide To Knitting & Crochet! Whether you’ve never picked up a set of needles or a crochet hook before, or you learned to knit or crochet long ago but haven’t tried since, this book will help you to discover (or rediscover!) the basics of these wonderfully versatile crafts. Knitting and crochet are fantastic ways to create your own accessories, as well as toys for children, stylish clothes, beautiful homewares and fab gifts for all the family. They’re quick, easy and convenient crafts: all you need is a ball of yarn and either one hook or two needles! Armed with these, you can get creative wherever you are – at home, on the bus, in a café… It’s no wonder many people find it addictive! We’ll walk you…

The first thing to note about yarn is the name. Knitters and crocheters don’t call it ‘wool’ – unless they specifically mean the fibre spun from a sheep’s coat! Yarn is the general name for a vast range of fibres spun from all manner of natural and manmade materials. When it comes to deciding on the yarn you need, size does matter. Yarn comes in different weights, or thicknesses, from the finest 1ply lace to the widely used DK yarn, up to thick super-chunky yarns. The yarn thickness will affect the look, feel and weight of your finished fabric. You’ll always get the best results if you use the yarn quoted in a specific pattern, although as you become more confident, you’ll find it’s fairly easy to substitute another yarn.…

Crochet threads Numbered from 3 to 100, these threads are not classed as yarns. They are specially made for fine crochet work, including lace making and filet crochet. Made from mercerised cotton, the higher the number, the finer the thread (no 10 is shown below). You may need a steel hook to work them. Embroidery thread As well as specialist crochet threads, you can also crochet with embroidery threads, from stranded cottons to the finest silk threads. 1, 2 & 3ply Essentially one strand, or two or three strands of yarn twisted together, these are great for making delicate lace shawls and baby garments. Usually 2ply is worked on 2-3½mm needles or hooks. 4ply This is a favourite weight for baby clothes, motifs and lightweight jumpers and cardigans. Double Knitting…

A ball band is the piece of paper wrapped around the yarn, where the manufacturers put all the information about the yarn. Have a look at the annotations below to see what it all means. It’s a good idea to keep your ball bands to refer back to when you wash a garment, or in case you decide to knit or crochet the same pattern again. MANUFACTURER’S ADDRESS Contact details for the yarn manufacturer. RECOMMENDED NEEDLE/HOOK SIZE Make your tension square with this size, but if it doesn’t match, try larger or smaller needles/hook. YARN CONTENT The fibres that make up the yarn. This will affect the look and feel of the fabric and the care instructions. WEIGHT AND QUANTITY If your yarn length is shown in metres, multiply the…

Bamboo, acrylic, birch, aluminium, ones with little cats on the end… There’s a great choice of needles for you to try out and see which you like. You might well start out with a set of needles borrowed from a friend, but then you can progress to choosing your own for all those exciting projects on your wish list! Knitting needles come in all sizes, shapes and materials. But all you really need from a pair of needles is that they’re long, thin, smooth and strong enough to enable you to turn yarn into the stitches used to make knitted fabric. Of course, things aren’t quite that straightforward. You also need to think about the different yarn fibres you’ll be working with, your stitch tension, personal preferences, and the fact that…

A mong today’s knitters, the most commonly used needle is the classic straight needle, which was probably invented in the mid-19th century. They’re easy to use and ideal for making flat fabric, especially since the needle head prevents the stitches slipping off. However, the oldest known needles are double-pointed ones, which are usually used to make tubular fabrics, such as socks, without any seams (this is easier than it sounds!). Double-pointed needles are used in sets of four or five and can be seen in several 14th-century paintings. Both flat and tubular (‘in the round’) knitting can be made on circular needles, which consist of two needles joined with a flexible cord. Some manufacturers sell needles and cords separately, and you can buy interchangeable sets – these come with cords…