New to Knitting? Here Are My Top 5 Tips to Enhance Your Beginner Knitting Experience

I taught myself how to knit over 10 years ago and I’ve made many mistakes and learned a lot over that time. You can read about how I got started here. Today, I will share my top 5 knitting tips to make your experience easier and more enjoyable. You can continue to use some of these even after you break out of that beginner box, and others are like the rules of photography. You need to know the rules in order to break them.

1. Ditch The Scarf

I can immediately hear a wall of protest to this. Knitting a scarf is often seen as a rite of passage when learning how to knit. But it is one of the worst things you could start with and even to this day, I can’t stand knitting scarves. My main issue is that they are simply too long. There are two parts of knitting that bring joy: the process of knitting and when you complete the project. As a beginner knitter, the rush you get when you finish a project is usually what motivates you to start the next one.

On average, a scarf should be about 150cm (60″), which if you’re short like me, that is nearly your height. As a beginner, it’s unlikely you’ll be speed knitting. So knitting something to this length takes a long time. It’s also probably a scarf design in garter stitch so that you knit every stitch as well. After a while, there’s a good chance you’ll start to feel bored. We don’t knit to feel bored, so just don’t do it!

Instead of knitting a scarf, I recommend making a cowl instead. Sometimes these are called infinity scarves and they are similar to a scarf, but they are joined at the ends to form a circle. Cowls can be short or long and they come in many shapes and sizes. You can knit a cowl flat and seam the ends together, or they can be knit seamlessly in the round. You get all the learning benefits and experience of knitting a scarf (plus some depending on the design you choose!) without it being too long and becoming tedious to make.

I recommend the Cushy Cowl pattern for new beginners and if you’re ready to tackle increases and decreases, then That Nice Stitch is an excellent cowl to make!

2. Use Circular Knitting Needles

Don’t be fooled by the name, you can knit flat on circular needles! And in the round for seamless knitting (which is so much fun!). I wish I had switched to circular needles much sooner, but alas, my knitting book was filled with images of straight knitting needles. The videos I watched online for tutorials also showed the typical straight needles more often than not.

Circular knitting needles have shorter needles and are connected by a cable. Why is this so much better? It’s much kinder to your wrists and the cable allows your knitting to sit on your lap, instead of your wrists supporting the weight of your project on two awkwardly long sticks. The benefits are especially noticeable when making larger projects such as sweaters and blankets. If you’re sitting next to someone and knitting, there’s less chance of your knitting needles knocking the person beside you as well.

When I first started knitting, I didn’t realise how much the tools you use affect your knitting experience. I thought that the yarn and pattern were all that really mattered. But after upgrading my knitting needles, I began to enjoy the knitting process even more than I could’ve imagined. I am now a big believer in using quality tools, so if you’re able to, then I definitely recommend getting the higher-quality needles now. Personally, I really enjoy knitting with ChiaoGoo needles.

3. Always Use Point Protectors

Not only do point protectors help keep your stitches on your needles, but they also protect other items and yourself from the sharp tips. Unless you are using super chunky plastic needles, then it’s likely they will have a sharp tapered point on them. Which is great for knitting, but can be a danger if you aren’t careful. Even if you have your knitting stored in a project bag, without point protectors the needles can pierce the bag and make a hole.

In the worst-case scenario, your knitting needles can actually stab you. I heard of this happening one time in a craft group I was in. A lady had taken her knitting with her on the train, and as she passed through the station gates, her knitting needle was pushed by the gate and impaled her leg. Needless to say, this could have been prevented by using point protectors (and is less likely to happen with circular knitting needles!).

I recommend some simple point protectors such as these ones from clover. You can also find them in cute shapes and colours, such as these tulip shapes ones. An alternative is you can also get protective tubes for circular needles.

4. Wash and Block Your Project

You just cast off and your project is finally finished! It’s exciting and you can’t wait to wear or use what you’ve made. But, have you washed and blocked it yet? I know adding an additional step can be annoying, especially as a beginner, but washing your project and blocking it can really take it to the next level! Not only will your project be clean and fresh, but blocking allows the stitches to relax and settle into their shape better. If your project includes any lace, cables or scalloped edges, then I’d argue that washing and blocking is non-negotiable.

There are many great guides online that explain how to do this, such as this one. I personally like to use a no-rinse wool wash such as eucalan, which also makes your knitting smell heavenly. I tend to use wet blocking for natural fibres such as wool, and steam blocking for anything synthetic (which I knit with very rarely).

5. Avoid Dark and Textured Yarns as a Beginner

This is a tip that is very much made to be broken once you have more experience knitting. When I first started knitting, I loved the novelty eyelash yarn. But when learning how to knit, this kind of yarn makes it very difficult to see what you’re doing and can make reading your stitches impossible. The same applies to dark-coloured yarns, such as black or navy. They make seeing the stitches very difficult.

Reading your knitting is when you can tell whether your stitch is a knit or purl and see where any increases or decreases are. As a beginner, it can take time to learn this. But it is much easier if you use a lighter-coloured yarn and if the yarn is smooth.

Recommended Patterns

Those are my top 5 tips to make your knitting easier and more enjoyable. As a bonus, I thought I’d include some patterns that I recommend for a beginner!

Beanies are a great project for beginners as they are short and fun to make. They also teach you how to decrease and you have the option of knitting it flat and seaming or making it seamless in the round. This Classic Ribbed Hat by Purl Soho is a great pattern to start with.

Shawls are super fun to knit and come in a range of different shapes, sizes and designs. They are especially great to play around with changing colours in. This Boneyard shawl by Stephen West is a great pattern and even has a video tutorial to show you how to make it.

Sweaters can seem a bit more intimidating but with the right pattern and yarn, you can make yourself something wonderful. And trust me, you can do it! Flax by Tin Can Knits is an excellent pattern, which is part of a learn-to-knit series accompanied by patterns and tutorials.

Socks are such an amazing thing to make! They are great for learning to knit in the round and they are super fun to wear. I learnt how to make socks using Socks By the Numbers by Allison Griffith.

Those are just a few of my recommendations, I hope you find them useful! Do you have any knitting tips to share? Are you a beginner knitter? Let me know in the comments!