In Stitches - Getting Ready to Knit

As you might have read in my first post of 2011, Fridays on Sugar and Shimmer are going to be dedicated to needle crafts as I learn to knit and sew. First up is knitting!

I bought the The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting to teach myself with. If you want to learn along with me then you can pick up the book at your local book store or click on the link to get it from Amazon. It costs about $15.

One of the first lessons is how to read a yarn label. If you don't have the book, you can refer to Dummies.com where they define all the terms you see in the picture below. This information will be important when you go to the store to buy yarn for the first project.


Via Dummies.com

The first project in the Chicks with Sticks book is a scarf knit with a garter stitch. For this particular pattern you need:

8mm needles (US Size 11). I bought aluminum Boye brand needles at Michaels for less than $5. I was excited by the fact that they're purple!

302 m (330 yd) heavy worsted weight yarn. You'll want to look for a 4 on the label. I purchased a big ball of Bernat yarn in a soft grey for about $5. It's acrylic but because I doubt my first project is going to turn out to be something I wear for the rest of my life, I decided to go the inexpensive route this time.

302 m (330 yd) lace weight metallic yarn. This one should have a 0 on the label. This yarn is optional. You knit with both of the yarns together so you really don't need the metallic one, but it will add sheen to your scarf. I opted not to purchase since the only lace weight yarn I could find was in small balls and would have cost me about $35 to purchase enough. I don't need sheen that badly!

A crochet hook for creating fringe. This doesn't have to be anything special, just any crochet hook.

Scissors

Once you've got all these materials you're ready to knit so be sure to come back next Friday when I'll show you how to cast on stitches and actually start knitting. I've already started my scarf and will have pictures and progress to share with you. I promise, it couldn't be easier!