Knitting Guides & Techniques
Knitting Guides & Techniques
From yarn weights and gauge to sweaters, socks, finishing and fixing mistakes — one topic per guide.
Overview
Knitting is many small skills
In our experience, when a project goes wrong it goes wrong in one place: the sweater came out too big, an abbreviation made no sense, the edge is too tight. Each guide below takes one of those places.
Before you cast on
Gauge, yarn choice and reading the pattern. This is where the size of the garment is decided.
Techniques along the way
Bind-offs, short rows, colorwork and the contiguous method: one technique at a time, learned on a swatch and then used in a project.
Once the knitting is done
Seaming, blocking, washing and care — and fixing a dropped stitch or a hole.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about using the guides.
Which guide should I start with?
If you have never knit a garment from a pattern before, we'd start with the gauge guide and the guide to reading a knitting pattern. Those two explain why garments come out the wrong size and what the abbreviations in a pattern mean. Read the rest as the need comes up.
Do I really have to knit a gauge swatch?
Yes, if you want the garment to fit. Your gauge decides how wide the work becomes, and two people knitting the same pattern with the same yarn and needles can knit to different gauges. A swatch is a small piece; reknitting a sweater is the whole thing again.
What is the difference between a guide and a dictionary entry?
The dictionary explains what a term means, briefly — useful when you are mid-pattern and stuck on a word. A guide shows you how to do it, step by step. Dictionary entries link on to the guide on the same topic where one exists.
Do the guides cost anything?
No. Every guide on Knittingtips.net is free to read, and you do not need an account or an email address.