Knitting from scratch

[Mrs Miggins]

Want to knit me a jumper?

Too much like hard work mate! I have started many jumpers in my life but completed very few!! The last one I started was using 4 ply with tiny needles....I knew it was a mistake

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Too much like hard work mate! I have started many jumpers in my life but completed very few!!

 

[wayward bob]

honestly, i wouldn't want to put anyone off. i've only ever knitted one adult jumper, i really don't have the patience, whereas socks are much more rewarding ime, but, well, challenging

 

[wayward bob]

Too much like hard work mate! I have started many jumpers in my life but completed very few!! The last one I started was using 4 ply with tiny needles....I knew it was a mistake

i knitted a 4-ply cardi from a 1940s pattern, that nearly killed me

 

[farmerbarleymow]

honestly, i wouldn't want to put anyone off. i've only ever knitted one adult jumper, i really don't have the patience, whereas socks are much more rewarding ime, but, well, challenging

To be fair, I grew up in home-knitted jumpers in the 70s and 80s - some of them downright fucking awful, so I prefer buying them these days from shops.

I spent my childhood surrounded by knitting fanatics.

 

[moose]

Sitting in the pub with some knitting friends would be a good move.
Me and Shirl can knit.

 

[Shirl]

Funnily enough I've been thinking about knitting some smallish pieces in lovely wool. I may well buy wool later at knit myself a hat
The last one that I attempted though, about two years ago, is either still sitting on it's circular needle of it's wound back up into a ball as it was just too fine wool and too damned fiddly

 

[blossie33]

My Nan showed me the basics of crochet and knitting years ago though she said I was doing it a funny way and shouldn't be letting the needle go when I took the thread round

I didn't do any knitting until I was inspired by the Kaffe Fassett series on TV. He was knitting jumpers and bringing in different colours when he felt like it, not following a pattern and I fancied having a go myself so I bought some yarn and just went for it. Fortunately sloppy jumpers were in at that time so it didn't matter and I was quite pleased with the result and wore it.

I got quite addicted in the end and even taught myself how to read patterns.

Just buy some yarn and have a go at something with a basic shape.
Not sure I'd go for socks yet - thibk they

 

[blossie33]

........ think they should be done with 4 needles?


Sorry for add on post - I loose the cursor on my phone sometimes!

 

[campanula]

I recently bought myself some new sock needles - very small circulars (Addi 'sock wonders') with 2 inch points and a 4inch cable. Even so, I seem to recall having to change to double pins at the end - and inevitably disastrous as stitches always find their way off the needles, no matter how tight I pull the yarn. I did 3 pairs of gloves at Xmas and fervently hope to never deal with DPNs again.
I try to avoid anything smaller than a 4mm needle and I swear, lace will never emerge from my lap, only to be wrecked by my clumsy fingers and propensity for rose pruning in inappropriate clothing. The first 2 yak attempts were misguided lace patterns (sigh). However, thick wool means less yardage (and subsequent cost).
Many lovely yarn shops these days - Black Sheep and Wool Warehouse always have decent clearance, Tangled Yarns stocks a few lines direct from the mills (Mabel and Ivy) while Loop always sends wool in a nice cotton shopping bag and someone called Aileen has good discontinued yarns on Ebay (Aileens wools)If I am going to the trouble to knit a (laborious) garment, I intend to get the loveliest wool I can afford. Hence the single skein addiction.

eta - if learning from scratch, Sojourner, it is worth checking out the continental style rather than the english style (much quicker) - tutorials available for both.