My first project was a sweater. I didn’t know any other knitters (so it took me about two years to learn how to knit from a booklet that wasn’t really very clear), so no one told me my first project should be something like a scarf or a washcloth. Once I knew how to knit, purl, do ribbing, increase, and decrease, I figured I knew everything I needed to make a sweater. I found a “very easy very Vogue” Calvin Klein pullover pattern, found yarn I liked that I could afford (there was so much yarn I loved that I couldn’t afford then. I was a poor college student. And a fiber snob. But I found some wool that was ok), and made the sweater. It turned out fine. And since then, I’ve never been without a project in the works for more than a few days while I figured out what to make next. Now, of course, I have about 100 projects in my Ravelry queue, and enough yarn to last a lifetime.
Thank you for sharing your story. Thankfully no one told you to knit a scarf or a washcloth. I think we do supposedly difficult things when no one is there to point it out. :)
My first ever knitting project was a sweater! Decades ago I saw an article in the newspaper advertising “everything you need to knit this sweater” so I sent away for it. I assumed it would come with yarn, pattern, needles, and instructions on how to knit. After all, it did say it came with “everything!” Talk about naive!
Obviously it came with the yarn and pattern only. So I went to my local Kmart to buy needles and a learn-to-knit book. I bought two sets of straight needles (the sizes they recommended in the pattern…I knew nothing about gauge…), and a how-to-knit booklet.
I had to start off with ribbing (no clue about gauge swatching) for the bottom-up sweater so I had to teach myself to knit AND purl right off the bat (in the days before YouTube!). I remember thinking to myself, how important can it be to do exactly k1 p1 for the ribbing. I soon discovered it was quite important as I began noticing my ribbing was looking decidedly un-ribbing-like. So I ripped it out and started over.
It had a basket weave design so I got lots of practice with knits and purls. I finished it and miracle of miracles, it fit! And I was hooked!
Soon after I took a knitting class and noticed the teacher knitting differently from the way my booklet taught me. I asked her about it and she told me the technique is Continental knitting. I immediately saw the advantage of her style and switched right in the middle of my project from English style knitting to Continental.
One of my early purchases was a set of interchangeable needles. I knew I loved this craft so much that I wanted to invest in good tools. I could see the disadvantage of having lots of sizes of straight needles and thought interchangeable circulars were the way to go.
This all happened 36 years ago and I still love to knit!
I think the right time to knit your first sweater is as soon as you decide you want to knit a sweater. There is so much good, free technique instruction available online, you can easily find help when you run into something you don’t yet know. Choose a simple pattern at a relatively big gauge, get some nice, forgiving wool yarn, and go for it!
Knitting is nothing to be afraid of. If no one is telling you a project is “too hard” for you, you won’t know to be intimidated. You won’t “waste” the yarn.
Be brave, have confidence in your ability to figure it out or find help, and dive in!
My first project after restarting knitting (before was only knit/purl) was a sweater. And I thought the biased checkerboard pattern was engaging enough for me, but at the beginning of the front panel (seamed sweater) I was so bored I decided to add colorful yarn. The end result fit perfectly -- after I added side panels to account for the change in gauge XD -- and was very heavy, 1.5kg. I think I had lots of luck with it, but I also think that there is more danger of overthinking a first sweater than anything else. Most things you'll really only find out when you do them, even after explanations, because there is so much tacit knowledge in it.
But what I liked was the tip to knit a mini sweater first, for a doll or a baby, because you need the same techniques, but you're finished sooner.
Wow that sounds like an adventurous first project. I agree about the tacit knowledge part of it all. Oh I've never thought of it, mini sweater seems like a great idea.
I am soooo happy to see this article! I'm a newer knitter but have knit socks, a hat and a cowl amongst other things like scarves and basic Afghans. I'm so close to hitting the Place Order button online for yarn for my first sweater and this article feels like the nudge from the Universe that I needed. Thank you!
Awww!! Thank you so much for this sweet comment and I am so glad the article arrived at a great moment. If you have tackled socks, you are ready for sweaters. Hope you will share your project with us sometime.
Must tell you Kavitha that I made sweaters very similar to the 2 early sweaters that you made!!! My short sleeve was not striped but it did have the same button opening which I was very proud of accomplishing at the time. And my pullover with an aran panel down the front had a slightly different panel and was in teal blue. It was a favorite winter sweater. I would love to have a new one! My first project beyond practice knitting of dishcloths and scarfs, was a coat for my dog. I free formed it as I knit. He was a small version of a black lab and the coat (which was more like a cape) was in fire engine red-orange. Poor dog, he wore it because I put it on him, put the relief was obvious when I removed it. Still, for a first effort without a pattern, it bolstered my confidence to keep knitting. All of your thoughts on beginning knitting are right-on! Each person has to just begin with the understanding that they can make knitting as simple or as varied as they like. I have not problem with people focusing on afghans, or beanies, or Irish knits, or doll clothes. There are as many different ways to enjoy knitting as there are knitters! Just do it! :-)
Yayyy!!!Omg, that seriously sounds so similar. I am so happy to know we 'twinned' in our knitting sometime. :)) Btw, my Aran panel pullover had a washing machine accident sometime ago and even I am looking to replace that one. :(
Wow.. Very nice post. I have knitted few child size sweaters and did both child and adult size crochet sweaters. I have just started an adult size knit jumper. I totally agree with the right fit and measurements. In my opinion, the fit decides whether the sweater is a hit or miss. Now, with boxy and oversized garments in trend, fashion in our favour.
My first sweater was made from Dazzleaire yarn I had leftover from an afghan. It was 100% acrylic and sparkly, and I was in high school. I remember using a Woman’s Day pattern for a puffy short-sleeve sweater. I don’t know what happened to the sweater, but I still have the afghan
I'm working on my first sweater. I started back in February of this year, in a Sweater Camp held by Johnny Vasquez. It's been slow-going due to coordination problems mainly. It's a top-down raglan and I just started the first sleeve, this time held back by finding a needle combination that worked for me. My only project before this was a rectangle. When the sweater's finished I'm going to steek it to make a cardigan. I've found that almost no part of knitting is impossible if you're willing practice until you're satisfied with the result.
Wow, that sounds so cool. From rectangle to a sweater to steek. Hope you will share the project with us sometime. I agree, it just takes a 'not giving up' attitude mostly.
My first project was a sweater. I didn’t know any other knitters (so it took me about two years to learn how to knit from a booklet that wasn’t really very clear), so no one told me my first project should be something like a scarf or a washcloth. Once I knew how to knit, purl, do ribbing, increase, and decrease, I figured I knew everything I needed to make a sweater. I found a “very easy very Vogue” Calvin Klein pullover pattern, found yarn I liked that I could afford (there was so much yarn I loved that I couldn’t afford then. I was a poor college student. And a fiber snob. But I found some wool that was ok), and made the sweater. It turned out fine. And since then, I’ve never been without a project in the works for more than a few days while I figured out what to make next. Now, of course, I have about 100 projects in my Ravelry queue, and enough yarn to last a lifetime.
Thank you for sharing your story. Thankfully no one told you to knit a scarf or a washcloth. I think we do supposedly difficult things when no one is there to point it out. :)
My first ever knitting project was a sweater! Decades ago I saw an article in the newspaper advertising “everything you need to knit this sweater” so I sent away for it. I assumed it would come with yarn, pattern, needles, and instructions on how to knit. After all, it did say it came with “everything!” Talk about naive!
Obviously it came with the yarn and pattern only. So I went to my local Kmart to buy needles and a learn-to-knit book. I bought two sets of straight needles (the sizes they recommended in the pattern…I knew nothing about gauge…), and a how-to-knit booklet.
I had to start off with ribbing (no clue about gauge swatching) for the bottom-up sweater so I had to teach myself to knit AND purl right off the bat (in the days before YouTube!). I remember thinking to myself, how important can it be to do exactly k1 p1 for the ribbing. I soon discovered it was quite important as I began noticing my ribbing was looking decidedly un-ribbing-like. So I ripped it out and started over.
It had a basket weave design so I got lots of practice with knits and purls. I finished it and miracle of miracles, it fit! And I was hooked!
Soon after I took a knitting class and noticed the teacher knitting differently from the way my booklet taught me. I asked her about it and she told me the technique is Continental knitting. I immediately saw the advantage of her style and switched right in the middle of my project from English style knitting to Continental.
One of my early purchases was a set of interchangeable needles. I knew I loved this craft so much that I wanted to invest in good tools. I could see the disadvantage of having lots of sizes of straight needles and thought interchangeable circulars were the way to go.
This all happened 36 years ago and I still love to knit!
LOVE your story!!! Thank you for sharing with us. It made me remember my days of "un-ribbing" too. :)
Lisa, you have knitting in your blood! Love your story!
I think the right time to knit your first sweater is as soon as you decide you want to knit a sweater. There is so much good, free technique instruction available online, you can easily find help when you run into something you don’t yet know. Choose a simple pattern at a relatively big gauge, get some nice, forgiving wool yarn, and go for it!
Knitting is nothing to be afraid of. If no one is telling you a project is “too hard” for you, you won’t know to be intimidated. You won’t “waste” the yarn.
Be brave, have confidence in your ability to figure it out or find help, and dive in!
Such wonderful advice Sandi. You are right, when no one is there to tells it is hard, we just do the thing most of the time.
My first project after restarting knitting (before was only knit/purl) was a sweater. And I thought the biased checkerboard pattern was engaging enough for me, but at the beginning of the front panel (seamed sweater) I was so bored I decided to add colorful yarn. The end result fit perfectly -- after I added side panels to account for the change in gauge XD -- and was very heavy, 1.5kg. I think I had lots of luck with it, but I also think that there is more danger of overthinking a first sweater than anything else. Most things you'll really only find out when you do them, even after explanations, because there is so much tacit knowledge in it.
But what I liked was the tip to knit a mini sweater first, for a doll or a baby, because you need the same techniques, but you're finished sooner.
Wow that sounds like an adventurous first project. I agree about the tacit knowledge part of it all. Oh I've never thought of it, mini sweater seems like a great idea.
I am soooo happy to see this article! I'm a newer knitter but have knit socks, a hat and a cowl amongst other things like scarves and basic Afghans. I'm so close to hitting the Place Order button online for yarn for my first sweater and this article feels like the nudge from the Universe that I needed. Thank you!
Awww!! Thank you so much for this sweet comment and I am so glad the article arrived at a great moment. If you have tackled socks, you are ready for sweaters. Hope you will share your project with us sometime.
Must tell you Kavitha that I made sweaters very similar to the 2 early sweaters that you made!!! My short sleeve was not striped but it did have the same button opening which I was very proud of accomplishing at the time. And my pullover with an aran panel down the front had a slightly different panel and was in teal blue. It was a favorite winter sweater. I would love to have a new one! My first project beyond practice knitting of dishcloths and scarfs, was a coat for my dog. I free formed it as I knit. He was a small version of a black lab and the coat (which was more like a cape) was in fire engine red-orange. Poor dog, he wore it because I put it on him, put the relief was obvious when I removed it. Still, for a first effort without a pattern, it bolstered my confidence to keep knitting. All of your thoughts on beginning knitting are right-on! Each person has to just begin with the understanding that they can make knitting as simple or as varied as they like. I have not problem with people focusing on afghans, or beanies, or Irish knits, or doll clothes. There are as many different ways to enjoy knitting as there are knitters! Just do it! :-)
Yayyy!!!Omg, that seriously sounds so similar. I am so happy to know we 'twinned' in our knitting sometime. :)) Btw, my Aran panel pullover had a washing machine accident sometime ago and even I am looking to replace that one. :(
You cracked me up with the dog cape story. :))))
And you are right, we need to 'just do it'.
❤️this article! I set a goal to knit my first sweater this year. I haven’t started yet 🙂
Yay!!! How wonderful! I already envy the adventures you are going to have. Hope you jump in soon. :)
Wow.. Very nice post. I have knitted few child size sweaters and did both child and adult size crochet sweaters. I have just started an adult size knit jumper. I totally agree with the right fit and measurements. In my opinion, the fit decides whether the sweater is a hit or miss. Now, with boxy and oversized garments in trend, fashion in our favour.
Cheers on your 100th post.
Thank you for your appreciation. Yup, fit is everything and yay for boxy garments! 😀
My first sweater was made from Dazzleaire yarn I had leftover from an afghan. It was 100% acrylic and sparkly, and I was in high school. I remember using a Woman’s Day pattern for a puffy short-sleeve sweater. I don’t know what happened to the sweater, but I still have the afghan
Aw, that sounds like a sweet little sweater! Hope you had lots of wear out of it.
I'm working on my first sweater. I started back in February of this year, in a Sweater Camp held by Johnny Vasquez. It's been slow-going due to coordination problems mainly. It's a top-down raglan and I just started the first sleeve, this time held back by finding a needle combination that worked for me. My only project before this was a rectangle. When the sweater's finished I'm going to steek it to make a cardigan. I've found that almost no part of knitting is impossible if you're willing practice until you're satisfied with the result.
Wow, that sounds so cool. From rectangle to a sweater to steek. Hope you will share the project with us sometime. I agree, it just takes a 'not giving up' attitude mostly.