Ready to learn how to knit? Knitting is an amazing hobby. It’s portable, affordable, doesn’t require a lot of tools, and it produces beautiful creations that are also functional. But aside from all that, I believe knitting can do more for you than just make pretty things! It gives your hands something calming to do, it gives you a break from screens, and it’s a skill you can keep building on for the rest of your life.
UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 23, 2026 BY BRITTANY
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This step-by-step guide covers everything you need to learn how to knit as a beginner: choosing yarn and needles, holding them, casting on, the knit and purl stitches, binding off, and picking your first project. My goal is for this to be the only resource you need. There’s a lot here, so take it one section at a time. Each step has a video and a short practice swatch so you can build skills before you start a real project.
What you’ll be able to do by the end:Â cast on, make knit and purl stitches, create garter stitch and stockinette stitch, bind off, weave in your ends, read your own knitting, add new yarn, and choose a first project you can actually finish.
In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to get started, 10 step-by-step lessons with video tutorials, a quick primer on reading knitting patterns, fixes for common beginner mistakes, places to find your first pattern, a knitting terms glossary, and answers to frequently asked questions.
- What You Need to Get Started
- Should You Pick a Pattern First?
- How to Knit Step 1: Make a Slip Knot
- How to Knit Step 2: Holding the Yarn & Needles
- How to Knit Step 3: Casting On
- How to Knit Step 4: Learn the Knit Stitch
- How to Knit Step 5: Knitting Bind Off
- How to Knit Step 6: Learn the Purl Stitch
- How to Knit Step 7: Learn the Stockinette Stitch
- How to Knit Step 8: Learn to "Read Your Knitting"
- How to Knit Step 9: Adding More Yarn
- How to Knit Step 10: Picking Your First Project!
- How to Read a Knitting Pattern
- Common Beginner Knitting Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
- Where to Find More Knitting Patterns
- Knitting Terms for Beginners
- Frequently Asked Questions
What You Need to Get Started
You need very little to knit something wonderful: yarn, a pair of knitting needles, a yarn needle, and scissors. Here’s how to choose each one.
The Best Yarn for Beginners
Not all yarn is equally easy to learn on. A smooth, medium-weight yarn makes everything simpler, because you can see each stitch clearly and your needle won’t split the strands. You already have enough to think about.
Look for a yarn that is:
- Plied (twisted together from multiple strands) so it doesn’t split
- Smooth, with clear stitch definition
- Worsted weight (medium, category 4)
- Light in color, so you can see your stitches
A few affordable options that fit:
- Lion Brand Heartland
- Red Heart Soft
- Caron Simply Soft
- Loops & Threads Impeccable (Michaels Craft Stores)
- I Love This Yarn (Hobby Lobby Stores)
You don’t have to use these exact yarns. Just choose something with the same qualities.
Why color matters:Â dark yarns like black or navy look great finished, but they’re hard to see while you’re learning. A medium or light color makes it much easier to read your stitches and spot mistakes.
Save the fuzzy yarn for later. Fuzzy or mohair-style yarns are tempting, but they hide your stitches (that’s called low stitch definition), which makes mistakes hard to spot and fix. This can be tricky, especially if you’re just starting out. It’s a good idea to get comfortable with the techniques in this guide before diving into those super soft and fuzzy yarns.
How much do you need? One skein is plenty for every swatch in this guide.
The Best Knitting Needles for Beginners
Straight vs. circular. Knitting needles come in two main types:
- Circular needles are two needle tips joined by a flexible cord, and usually come in 16″, 24″, 32″, and 40″ lengths. They’re best known for working in the round (like hats), but you can also knit flat on them.
- Straight needles usually come in 10″ and 14″ lengths. You can only work back and forth in rows, like a scarf.
Straight needles are perfectly fine for every tutorial in this guide, and you can buy them one size at a time instead of investing in a full set. They’re affordable and available in individual sizes, so you don’t need an expensive set with every size. But eventually you’ll be limited in the projects you can make. Circulars are my personal go-to, because you can use them for any project. Once you know what you like, a circular set will open up projects of every size.
Needle length matters. When you knit flat on circulars, the cord has to hold your whole project plus a little slack. That’s why 16″ circulars won’t work for a flat 8″ scarf, but 24″ or longer will. With knitting, the size of your project determines the length of the needle you need.
Needle material. The material changes how the yarn moves:
- Metal:Â smooth, and yarn glides quickly
- Plastic:Â smooth, and yarn glides more slowly
- Wood:Â smooth, and yarn glides more slowly
Picking the right needles is important because it can make a big difference in how much you enjoy knitting. If you’ve got a set that’s uncomfortable, snags on the yarn, or just feels like it’s working against you, it can turn a fun activity into a frustrating one real quick.
So here’s what I suggest: get a pair of metal needles, a pair of plastic needles, and a pair of wooden needles. Give each a try with the tutorials below. By comparing them side by side, you’ll figure out pretty fast which one you enjoy working with most.
A note on speed:Â slippery metal needles are fast, but stitches can slide off the end by accident. Wood and plastic grip the yarn a little more, which many beginners find more forgiving. If you’re on the fence, wood is a good place to start.
Which needle size? Check the yarn label. Toward the back, you’ll find a recommended needle size. For most worsted weight yarns, that’s a US size 8 (5 mm). So when you’re at the store getting supplies, look at the yarn label and buy the needle size recommended there. It’s not the only size that can be used with the yarn (and in future projects, you should always follow the needle size in the pattern), but since you’re just picking a yarn to learn on, it’s the best way to decide what to buy so you can follow along with this guide.
For this yarn, a size 8 knitting needle (or 5 mm) is a great place to start. So when you’re at the store getting your supplies to learn how to knit, look at the yarn label and buy the needle size recommended there.
It’s not the only needle size that can be used with the yarn (and in future projects, you should always follow the needle size in the pattern) but since you’re just picking a yarn to learn how to knit, this is the best way to figure out what needle size to buy so you can follow along with the rest of this guide.
Yarn Needle and Scissors
When you finish a project, you’ll have loose ends: your starting tail, your finishing tail, and any extras from adding yarn or changing colors. A yarn needle (also called a tapestry needle) and a good pair of scissors let you weave them in for a polished finish. These are must-haves.
When choosing a yarn needle:
- Pick one with an eye big enough to thread easily
- Avoid plastic ones, which can snag
- Consider a set with a few sizes
My favorite is the Clover Chibi bent-tip needle, and it’s inexpensive on Amazon.
Optional extras that are actually handy:Â a small tape measure or ruler, and a stitch marker (a paperclip or scrap yarn works as a free substitute). You can add these later.
That’s it: yarn, needles, a yarn needle, and scissors. There are plenty of gadgets and accessories out there, and they’re fun to explore, but you don’t need them yet.
Should You Pick a Pattern First?
Now, one more important thing before we get started, and it’s not a wildly popular idea. You may have found an amazing knitting project on Pinterest and can’t wait to make it. But here’s the deal: it’s not the best idea to learn how to knit from a pattern right away.
When you’re just starting out, everything about knitting will feel new and a bit awkward. Your first tries might not look perfect, and that’s totally okay! Even if you do everything right, it takes practice to get smooth, even stitches. Your skills will get better with time, and your stitches will look smoother.
That’s why I’m a big advocate for learning how to knit with small stitch swatches. These little practice pieces help you get the hang of it and build confidence. Then, once you feel more at ease, you can try making your first real project. I’ve got some ideas at the end of this guide!
I recommend working through all 10 steps before you start a real project. Hold on to the excitement for your dream project while staying realistic: your early attempts won’t be flawless, and that’s part of the process.
How to Knit Step 1: Make a Slip Knot
The slip knot attaches the yarn to your needle. There are a few ways to make one, but they all give you the same result: a knot with a sliding loop to place on your needle and start your project.
Here’s how to do it:
How to Knit Step 2: Holding the Yarn & Needles
Holding the needles and yarn is what most beginners struggle with, and it will feel awkward and uncoordinated for a while. Stick with it, and it will eventually click.
There are two main knitting styles, and the difference is which hand holds the yarn:
- Continental knitting:Â yarn held in your left (non-dominant) hand for most right-handed knitters
- American (English) knitting:Â yarn held in your right (dominant) hand
Neither is right or wrong. Try both, and go with the one that feels most natural and controlled. The stitch videos below show both styles.
How to Knit Step 3: Casting On
Casting on creates the first row of stitches on your needle, the foundation of every knitting project. There are many ways to do it, and the most common is the long tail cast on.
With the slip knot on your needle and the yarn in your hands, work the long tail cast on until it feels comfortable, or until you run out of room on the needle. Don’t worry about how many stitches you make, since you can rip it out and reuse the yarn.
Don’t worry about how many stitches there gets to be, just keep going until it starts to feel natural (you can rip it out later and reuse the yarn). Here’s a quick video to show you how it’s done:
Tail length tip: a common rule of thumb is about an inch of tail for every stitch you plan to cast on, plus a little extra. If your tail runs short, just start over with a longer one.
Practice:Â The most important takeaway from this step is to make sure your cast on stitches are even in size and shape, and that you feel like you’ve found a “groove.” Keep making cast on stitches until it feels natural, and don’t worry about how many you make. When you accomplish this, you’re ready to make your first swatch.
What good cast on stitches look like:Â each loop should sit snugly on the needle but slide along it with a gentle push. If you can’t slide them, your cast on is too tight. Try holding the yarn a little looser, or cast on with a needle one size larger.
Nearly every knitting stitch is built from two basic stitches: the knit and the purl.
How to Knit Step 4: Learn the Knit Stitch
The knit stitch is the first stitch to learn after the long tail cast on, and a small swatch is the best way to practice. Unravel your cast on stitches until you have 15 loops on your needle. Each loop is a place to make a stitch.
Choose the style that works for you:
Knit Stitch Continental Style
Knit Stitch American Style
Work a knit stitch into each of the 15 loops. At the end of the row, turn your work so the needle full of stitches is back in your left hand, and start the next row.
Check yourself at the end of each row:Â you should still have 15 stitches. If you have more or fewer, don’t worry. Counting after each row is how you learn to catch accidental extra stitches or dropped stitches early.
Practice: Keep knitting rows until your stitches look uniform. Don’t worry about how long the swatch gets, since you can unravel it later. When you finish your last row, jump to Step 5 to bind off.
Knitting every stitch of every row makes garter stitch, a textured, stretchy fabric that’s great for scarves and blankets.
Garter stitch counting tip:Â garter stitch makes bumpy ridges. Every ridge (one bump on the front) equals two rows, so you can count your ridges and multiply by two to know how many rows you’ve worked.
Knit Stitch Practice
Keep adding knit stitches to your swatch until it feels natural and your stitches start to look uniform. Again, don’t worry about how long your swatch gets. You can unravel and re-use the yarn later.
When you finish the last row you want to practice, jump to the bind off step and tutorial.
By itself, a knit stitch worked every stitch of every row in the project will create the garter stitch pattern – a textured and stretchy fabric that’s great for all sorts of projects.
How to Knit Step 5: Knitting Bind Off
Finishing a swatch (or any project) takes two things: binding off, which secures the loops and takes them off the needle, and weaving in the ends, which hides your yarn tails.
Here’s how to bind off to finish your first practice swatch:
Keep your bind off loose:Â an edge that’s too tight will pucker and won’t stretch like the rest of your fabric. If yours comes out tight, try binding off with a needle one size larger.
Don’t skip weaving in ends. It hides the tails from your cast on and bind off, plus any extras from adding new yarn, and it makes the difference between a project that looks homemade and one that looks polished.
How to Knit Step 6: Learn the Purl Stitch
The purl stitch is next. Start with a new slip knot, cast on 15 stitches with the long tail cast on, and try the purl stitch in both styles:
Purl Stitch Continental Style
Purl Stitch American Style
Purl all 15 stitches, turn your work, and continue row by row. If it feels harder than the knit stitch:Â that’s completely normal. Most beginners find purling less intuitive at first. It’s the same motion in the opposite direction, and it gets easier with repetition.
Practice: Keep purling until your stitches look even, then bind off using Step 5.
You’ll notice that purling every row looks exactly like your knit swatch: garter stitch. This is because knits and purls are “opposites” of one another. In other words, your all knit and all purl swatches will look the same. But when you alternate knit rows and purl rows, you get the classic stockinette stitch.
How to Knit Step 7: Learn the Stockinette Stitch
Most stitch patterns are combinations of knits and purls, and stockinette is the most recognized. You’ll discover as you keep knitting that the majority of stitch patterns are some combination of the two. Cast on 15 stitches again, then:
- Row 1:Â Knit every stitch.
- Row 2:Â Turn your work and purl every stitch.
- Repeat Rows 1 and 2.
As you alternate knit and purl rows, the smooth “V” fabric of stockinette takes shape. (Its edges will curl, and that’s normal.)
Why does it curl? Stockinette naturally rolls toward the back at the top and bottom and toward the front at the sides. That’s why stockinette scarves and blankets usually have a border of garter stitch or ribbing. It’s also the reason many beginner patterns start with garter stitch.
Not sure which row you’re on? If the smooth V’s are facing you, you’ve just finished a knit row and the next row is a purl row. If the bumps are facing you, the next row is a knit row.
Practice: Keep alternating rows until your stitches feel natural and look uniform, then bind off.
How to Knit Step 8: Learn to “Read Your Knitting”
Did you notice that knit and purl stitches look different on your stockinette swatch? “Reading your knitting” is a fancy way of saying you can identify the stitches on your needles. It’s important if you ever set your project down and come back: you’ll know where you left off by finding your place again. It’s also how you spot mistakes.
- A knit stitch looks like little V’s below the needle.
- A purl stitch looks like a horizontal bump or bar next to the needle.
A Knit
A Purl
Try this: pick up one of your swatches and point to a knit stitch and a purl stitch without looking at the description above. Once you can do that, you’ve got it.
How to Knit Step 9: Adding More Yarn
You probably won’t run out of yarn while making these swatches, but you should know how to join a new ball, since you will need to on real projects. To keep it simple, add new yarn at the end of a row. You can cut your yarn at the end of a swatch row to try it, or just watch and take notes for later.
This tutorial shows you how to add new yarn for all four basic stitches.
Leave a tail:Â whenever you add new yarn, leave a tail of at least 6 inches so you have plenty to weave in later.
How to Knit Step 10: Picking Your First Project!
By now you’ve made swatches of all the basic stitches. Time for the fun part! Making beginner-friendly knitting patterns with step-by-step tutorials is kind of my thing, so I have several projects for you to choose from. Think about the type of project you want to make, and click through to the pattern and step-by-step tutorial:
How to Choose Your First Project
- Pick a beginner-level pattern with a video tutorial. This is why the best place to find a first project is online rather than in a magazine or book: you likely won’t find a step-by-step tutorial in print to help you read the pattern.
- Keep it small. A blanket sounds practical, but it can take dozens of hours, and a first project that drags on can kill your motivation.
- Aim for a quick win you can finish in a few hours or over a weekend: a headband, mug cozy, boot cuffs, a small cowl, or a scarf in bulky yarn.
How to Read a Knitting Pattern
When you’re ready for your first pattern, it may look like a foreign language. It’s really just shorthand. Here’s what you’ll see most often:
- CO:Â cast on
- BO:Â bind off
- K:Â knit
- P:Â purl
- st / sts:Â stitch / stitches
- RS / WS:Â right side / wrong side (the “front” and “back” of your work)
- Rep:Â repeat
- * * (asterisks):Â repeat whatever is between the asterisks as many times as the pattern says
Example: “CO 20 sts. Row 1: K all sts. Row 2: P all sts.” means cast on 20 stitches, knit the first row, and purl the second row. You already know how to do that.
Check the gauge. Patterns list a “gauge,” the number of stitches and rows that fit in 4 inches. It tells you how your stitches should be sized to match the pattern. Knit a small swatch first if you want your finished project to fit as intended, and if your swatch is too small or too big, try changing needle size.
Follow the pattern’s needle size. As mentioned earlier, the size on the yarn label is a starting point. For real projects, use the needle size in the pattern.
Common Beginner Knitting Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
My edges are getting wider (or narrower). You’ve likely added or dropped a stitch. Count your stitches at the end of every few rows. You should always have the same number you cast on.
My stitches are too tight to work. Tension that’s too tight is the most common beginner problem. Relax your grip, and try a needle one size larger while you learn.
My stitches look twisted. The yarn is probably being wrapped in the wrong direction. Rewatch the stitch video for your style and compare.
I dropped a stitch. Don’t panic. Stop, and gently work the loop back onto your needle. Reading your knitting (Step 8) helps you see where it happened.
My swatch looks uneven. That’s what swatches are for. Even stitches come with practice, and your work will look noticeably smoother after a few rows.
Where to Find More Knitting Patterns
Ravelry:Â the biggest pattern database on the web, with filters for every skill level
Yarn manufacturers:Â Red Heart, Yarnspirations, and Lion Brand offer hundreds of free patterns, and you can often find one printed on the yarn label
B.Hooked Knitting:Â browse all my free free knitting patterns here
Magazines and books:Â great for tips, and themed pattern books are easy to find
Pinterest:Â thousands of free and paid knitting patterns
Knitting Terms for Beginners
- Bind off:Â finishing a piece by securing the stitches and taking them off the needle
- Cast on:Â creating the first row of stitches on your needle
- Frog: To rip out or unravel your knitting work
- Garter stitch:Â the fabric made by knitting every row
- Gauge:Â the number of stitches and rows in a set measurement, usually 4 inches
- Knit stitch:Â the basic stitch that makes V’s on the front of your work
- Plied yarn:Â yarn made of several strands twisted together
- Purl stitch:Â the basic stitch that makes horizontal bumps
- Row:Â one line of stitches worked across the needle
- Skein:Â a bundle of yarn, usually a ball or hank
- Stockinette stitch:Â the fabric made by alternating knit and purl rows
- Swatch:Â a small practice piece of knitting
- Tail:Â the loose end of yarn left at the start or end of your work
- Worsted weight:Â a medium-thickness yarn, common for beginners
- Working yarn:Â the strand connected to the ball of yarn
- WIP: Work in progress – or a project you’re currently working on.
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve learned how to knit from the very beginning: choosing your supplies, casting on, making knit and purl stitches, binding off, and picking a first project. The most important thing is to keep practicing. Your stitches will get smoother with every row, and every knitter started with awkward, uneven swatches.Â
Be patient with yourself, celebrate the small wins (like your first even row), and don’t worry if it takes a few tries to feel comfortable. When you’re ready, choose one of the beginner projects above and make something you’ll be proud of.