“Knits” a wrap! It’s hard to believe that this semester is finally coming to a close. Throughout the past couple of months, I have been working on a knitting project in order to further develop my knitting skills. Starting out, I had no idea how to knit, mostly a foreign skill to me, but was something I chose as it was something that my Grandma loved to do. I would have to say I was successful in learning the basics of this skill however, there were definitely bumps in the road along the way.

Now you are probably thinking about what I thought was successful about this project so I’ll list it in point form for you to read.

• I learned 2 different ways to knit.
• I taught myself! (technically)
• I didn’t give up.

Here are some of the challenges that I faced while completing this project which I’ll also list in point form.

• Being motivated to knit after a long day at work.
• Sore hands. I found that I could only knit in short spurts as it made my hands incredibly sore.
• Frustration when the yarn and knitting needles didn’t do what I told it.
• Not being able to finish my project entirely

Some of the skills that I learned included how to:

• How to cast on. This means how to loop my yarn onto my knitting needles to start my project.
• How to create a basic knit stitch. This was the skill I used the most throughout my project.
• How to hold my knitting needles comfortably and properly.
• How to yarn over. This means how to add another stitch onto your needles so your product increases in size.
• How to decrease stitches by knitting multiple together.
• How to finish my project and what to do with the extra yarn attached to the project.
• How to knit with my fingers.

There were a variety of online resources that I used in order to learn the skill and develop a greater understanding of how knitting works as a whole.

• YouTube was an online platform that I used regularly in order to learn how to knit. Some of the creators I followed closely were:
  • Knits & Bits (@knitsandbits5130)
  • Bean Creative (@beancreative5102)
• TikTok was also used faithfully in order to develop my skills and learn new ones. Some of the creators I used were:
  • Sayless Studios (@saylessstudios)
  • Handy Little Me (@handylittleme)
• Blogs. There was a wide variety of blogs and other online platforms curated for knitters that I used when looking for information. These included:
  • Nimble Needles
  • Ravelry
• Other Online Resources
  • Chart Minder
  • Just to Sew

As a whole, knitting is something that I would recommend to anyone who is apprehensive about getting started! The online resources I have linked above are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to user-friendly, online resources that are curated specifically for those wanting to learn to knit or find out more information. A time-consuming skill, but one that you end up with a usable and practical product at the end!