A beginners guide to knitting

Recently, at the behest of a few of my close friends, I sat down and decided to take up a new, admittedly unexpected hobby. That is, knitting. 

At first, it seems like an odd choice in hobby for a sophomore in high school, but knitting has come to be one of my favorite pastimes for a couple of reasons. Knitting can provide creatively inclined people with an outlet to create, and can be great for stress relief and relaxation.

“It calms me down and gives me a purpose, and I can do it while doing other things,” sophomore Thea Cunningham, an avid knitter, says. “I listen to music, and sometimes I’ll play videogames and knit between rounds.”

Conveniently for local knitters, Gloucester has its very own yarn and knitting supply shop, Coveted Yarn. Tucked away in a wing off the West Gloucester Trinitarian Church, Coveted Yarn offers a wide selection of yarn types and knitting materials for any level of knitter. One of the employees at Coveted Yarn, Monica Jean, offers some recommendations and guidance to knitting novices.

“I would recommend using a size 8 or 9 needle, right in the middle, and usually a worsted or chunky weight yarn, and that is pretty much all you need!” Jean says. “I also highly recommend YouTube videos if you don’t have someone to teach you, and places like here offer free help and some paid classes. You really don’t need to invest much!”

Jean also offers some advice to newcomers. “It can be frustrating, when getting started, and I like to tell people that your first project probably isn’t going to be great. But, once you get going, everything is based off of 2 stitches. Once you know those, you can do anything.” Jean refers to the knit stitch and the purl stitch, the two fundamental building blocks of knitting. 

So, what are some easy projects to get started on? Well, Jean has some suggestions. “Popular [beginner projects] are dishcloths, easy fingerless mittens, headbands… A lot like to start with scarves, but those are a longer project, and if you can start small, that’s better.”

If you’d like to support Coveted Yarn, the link to their website can be found here. 

In recent years, knitting has been branded an activity exclusive to elderly women and housewives, an obsolete practice that yields only chunky socks and unflattering, itchy sweaters. However, a community of knitters is arising in the younger generation as tutorials spring up on platforms like YouTube and Tiktok. Young people are reclaiming the practice, and crocheted bralettes and chunky cardigans are now a closet staple for many teens. 

Knitting is a way to create clothes, accessories, supplies, etc, that allows the maker to completely personalize them. It’s also one of the few ways to get clothing that is 100 percent sustainably made, if you yarn shop locally, and it’s likely to stay in your closet for a long time. So, if you’re online shopping for that expensive top or looking for a new hat for your friend’s birthday, next time, try making it yourself.