When I was a beginner knitter, most of my knitting friends weren’t much further along. We were all experimenting, learning, and growing rapidly. We learned new skills from one project to the next, explored voraciously, and crashed along with joyful chaos.
I hadn’t given it much thought in quite a bit, but a while ago, my friend Beth posted about some feedback she’d gotten on her gorgeous Freda Faye Wrap pattern. Knitters kept telling her they would like to knit her shawl, if only they were a better knitter. Beth pointed out that this idea is self-defeating nonsense, and I agree. Let’s talk about why.
If You Can Knit and Purl, You Can Do Anything Else, Too
If you know how to knit and purl, then you can learn any of the other stitches, too. Cabling is just moving the stitches around. Lace is just lumping some stitches together and making a couple extra loops. Bobbles, nupps, stretched stitches, colorwork: it’s all doable.
Don’t Let Others Tell You What You Should Be Scared Of
I think sometimes, in expressing our frustration with a project, more experienced knitters can scare away others who are perfectly capable of making that same thing. But it’s helpful to remember that just because someone else struggles with them doesn’t mean you will, too.
If You’re Really Worried, Knit With Training Wheels Now, let’s acknowledge that some patterns are, of course, more difficult than others. Some are going to involve more techniques, some are going to require you to do several things at once. But you can figure them out, and there are tools to help.
1. Use stitch markers. LOTS of stitch markers. 2. Use a lifeline. This will allow you to easily rip back. 3. Make sure you know where your local yarn store is. You can often drop in and they'll quickly help or get you an appointment. 4. Have the internet handy to look up stitch definitions or tutorials for a new technique.