So you’ve decided you want to take the plunge and get into knitting – but what will you make for your very first knitting project? Once you start delving into the world of knitting you’ll soon discover there’s an infinite array of options out there. It can be a bit overwhelming so we’ve put together some ideas to help make your first project a success. We hope this will help you build your confidence in the basics, and create something you’ll be proud to show off.
Materials
All the patterns below can be created using the materials we recommend in our free guide “Learn to knit for your mental wellbeing“: 5mm needles and Aran or Worsted weight yarn.
Techniques
There are 4 basic techniques common to all the patterns. If you are new to knitting the best thing is to ask an experienced knitter to teach you. The second best thing is to learn online. We recommend the tutorials by Very Pink Knits and Tin Can Knits.
The techniques you’ll practise in your very first project are:
- Casting-on
- Knit stitch
- Casting-off (or binding-off)
- Weaving in ends
If you do have a knitter handy you might want to ask them to cast on for you so that you can just concentrate on getting to grips with the knit stitch at first. Because you only do the casting on at the beginning of the project it is harder to embed in your memory – whereas the patterns below will give you plenty of opportunity to practise the knit stitch. This repetition will start building muscle memory so that it’ll soon become second nature and you won’t have to think about it.
Choosing your first pattern
All the patterns we suggest for your first project are based on the humble garter stitch square or rectangle. Garter stitch means that you simply knit every row, so it’s perfect for beginners. A knitted square can be the basis for a huge variety of different projects, and once you have mastered the basics you’ll be ready to unleash your creativity.
For now, have a think about what most appeals to you for this first project – do you want to make something to wear (for yourself or someone else), something useful for the home, something fun and quirky, or something for a good cause? Take a moment to tune in to what you need in this moment and season of your life, and give yourself permission to go with that.
5 easy ideas for your first knitting project
Something to wear
If you fancy making something to wear here are two simple beginner patterns from Project Knitwell (a non-profit organisation that champions the therapeutic benefits of knitting).
- Fingerless Gloves – Knit a rectangle and then sew the long edges together, leaving a hole for your thumb to poke through.
- Cowl – Knit a long rectangle and then sew the short edges to create a tube for a cosy cowl.
Both of these can easily be adapted to different sizes – just stop when you feel it’s long enough. They make cosy gifts, and can also be heart-warming tokens of self-care. Why not make both for a matching set?
Something useful for the home
I’m a big fan of home-made cotton dishcloths. They brighten up dull chores and are brilliantly sustainable – chuck them in the wash and re-use time and time again. You could make sets of 7 in rainbow colours, one for each day of the week. What a lovely house-warming gift that would make!
You don’t really need a pattern to make a dishcloth – just cast on 30-40 stitches and knit until you have a square. You can check whether you’ve created a square by folding your knitting in half diagonally, and seeing whether the edges line up. If you feel you need some more guidance here is a basic dishcloth pattern by Yarnspirations. They have lots of other free dishcloth patterns too – you’d be surprised how creative these can get!
There are pros and cons to knitting with cotton. It’s more environmentally friendly compared with other options, and is vegan of course. However, it can be a little tricky to knit with as the yarn strands are looser, and less stretchy. Some people find this uncomfortable, but that’s not something I have noticed. If you’ve not tried it before it’s worth giving it a go!
Something for a good cause
I learnt to knit at primary school in South Africa. Each year during Lent we all knitted squares that would be put together to make blankets and given to charity. It was an important lesson for me that even my very imperfect efforts could make a meaningful contribution. If this appeals to you there are many charitable causes that collect squares to make into blankets. Your local hospital charities may also run knitting initiatives. It’s always a good idea to check their requirements for sizing and type of yarn, as well as how and when they accept donations. Our favourite charities are:
- Knit-a-square: creating blankets for vulnerable or orphaned children in South Africa
- Craft Forward: creating blankets for London’s unhoused community
Both of these request 20cm squares – just perfect for beginners (this usually works out at about 35 cast on stitches).
Something fun and quirky
If you prefer the idea of something less utilitarian a Little Birdie could be a fun first project. It is basically a simple knitted square that is stuffed and sewn up to create a sweet little bird. This could be a gift for a little person in your life (great for babies as there are no small parts to swallow), or merely decorative. You could create a flock to hang on a tree, or make into a garland.
What’s next?
We hope this has given you some useful inspiration so that you can get started with your first knitting project – and that it helps build your confidence and gives you a taste of the many great benefits knitting can offer. Once you’ve mastered the basics the world is your oyster. Here are a few ideas for taking things up a notch:
- Learn the purl stitch – this could enable you create a wide variety of patterns, eg. stocking stitch by alternating knit with purl rows; or ribbing – knit 1, purl 1
- Play with colours – introducing stripes is a fun and easy way to build in more colours
- Try out other yarns – experiment with thicker or thinner yarn, colour-changing yarn, or different textures
If you’d like to dig deeper into the mental health benefits of knitting do check out our cosy Self Care One Stitch at a Time audio course.
Show and tell!
Please do get in touch and share your first projects with us! You can email us or find us on LinkedIn or Instagram. We’d love to hear how you got on, and see any pictures of your work.