PNN's Teach Your Craft Contest: Learn to Knit a Chunky Scarf

Hello! My name is Britt Breu and I am a freelance writer who loves all things craft. My crafts of choice are those involving fiber - wool, alpaca, mohair, silk, soy, cotton, etc. I believe that craft has moved into a new era with new motivations. People are now interested in making something unique, ethically and sustainably produced and environmentally friendly; and craft gives them the opportunity to do this. Join me in looking at craft of all kinds. I will be bringing you tutorials, the best of the web, reviews, happenings and great projects you can do at home. Above all, I want to inspire you to get creative and be crafty. Enjoy the tutorial and vote for me in PNN's Craft Contest.

Learn to Knit

Knitting is all the rage these days and why wouldn't it be? With something as simple as two needles, the right yarn and a few easy-to-learn techniques, you can turn out one-of-kind garments, home and fashion accessories - the only limit is your imagination. Making your own knitwear is also easy on your wallet, kind to Mother Earth and gives a huge sense of satisfaction and pride in your work.

As part of PNN's Teach Your Craft Contest, I have put together a quick and easy knitting tutorial for beginners. The great thing about this lesson is you will be making something you can wear almost immediately. Our project is a slender scarf made out of chunky yarn, the perfect accessory for this season's knitwear-crazed fashion trends.

Knitting with larger gauge needles and bulky yarn makes for an easy introduction - even if you are all thumbs. Believe me, if I can do it, anybody can! If you have any questions during this tutorial, just send me an email and I will be happy to help you!

What You Need:

- One skein of smooth, bulky yarn (usually denoted in the US with a #5 or #6; when in doubt ask a sales clerk)

- One pair of straight Size 19 US (15mm) needle

- Tapestry Needle

- The video demonstrations of basic knitting skills featured here on the right     side of this page

Getting Started

Okay, once you have everything you need to get started, get comfortable and let's get right into it. The first thing we will do is cast on. Casting on is the foundation for anything you knit by putting those first stitches onto your needle.  Here I will teach you the easy variation of the 'long tail' cast on. It is called this because a tail must be long enough to cast on the number of stitches needed to begin the project.  To cast on, do the following:

- Make a slip knot

To make a slip knot, fold the yarn over on itself so it forms a loop. Make sure to leave a 12-inch tail at the end.

Take the top strand of yarn and pull it through the bottom of the loop. Now slip the loop over your needle and pull it tight. The slip knot counts as your first stitch. Viola! You now have a slip knot and continue casting on.

- Cast on

Holding the needle with the slip knot in your right hand, take the yarn tail in your left hand. With your left thumb pointing upwards, sweep it under the yarn to make a loop around your thumb. Pass this loop over the needle in your right hand. Pull tightly (but not too tight) around the needle.

Now repeat this step another eight times. Afterwards you should have 10 stitches on your needle and a small 'tail' of about six inches.

The Knit and Purl Stitches

The great thing about knitting is that it really only uses various combinations of two basic stitches: knit and purl. Combining these different types of stitches will give you a multitude of unique stitch patterns. Our scarf will be done in basic Stockinette stitch, or alternating rows of knit and purl stitches, which will allow you to become acquainted and easily differentiate the two.

- Row 1: Knit

To make the knit stitch, take the needle with the stitches into your left hand. Insert the other needle (called the working needle) diagonally into the first stitch. Take the yarn and wrap it over the tip of the right needle. Pull the yarn through and allow the stitch to fall off the left needle. See, that wasn't so hard.

Repeat this step 9 more times until you have reached the end of the row. The knit stitch makes a 'v' shape and looks like a scarf around someone's neck as knitting guru and author of Stitch N' Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook, Debbie Stoller, so accurately describes it.

- Row 2: Purl

The purl stitch is just as easy and goes something like this: with the stitches in your left hand, insert the right needle diagonally into the front of the first stitch. Wrap the yarn from the front around the tip of the right needle and pull the yarn through, allowing the original stitch to fall off.

Repeat this stitch 9 times until the end of the row. Now you know the very basics of knitting! The purl stitch  looks like a tiny noose (another brilliant coinage from Stoller). It is a somewhat morbid analogy, but you will never forget how a purl stitch looks! 

- Repeat Rows 1 and 2

Repeat these two rows until you have reached a length you are happy with.  100 rows total will produce a scarf around 50 inches long. If you want it a little longer, just continue knitting until you are satisfied or you run out of yarn - whichever comes first!

Finishing Up

So you have come this far and the good news is you only are minutes away from finishing your first knitting project. Isn't that exciting? To finish your scarf, you need to make sure the stitches can't come undone. This is achieved by binding off. 

- Bind Off

To bind off, hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and knit one stitch onto the needle in your right. Then knit another stitch onto the right needle. Now you will have two stitches sitting on the right needle. Insert the left needle into the first stitch on the right (the stitch closest to your right hand). Lift the first stitch over the second and drop it off the needle.

There is now only one stitch on your right needle. Repeat this until you are left with one stitch on your right needle. Slide the final stitch off and pass the yarn tail through the loop to make a knot. Cut the yarn from the skein, leaving around six inches of yarn at the end.

- Weave In the Ends

You will have two strands of loose yarn on your scarf: one at the beginning and one at the end. We are going to weave those tails into the body of your scarf so they aren't visible. Thread the yarn through the tapestry needle. On the purl side of the scarf, weave the yarn end into the stitches in the first and second row.

Congratulations! You've Just Finished Your Scarf!

That's it! You are now the proud maker and owner of a chunky scarf! Now go out there and teach the craft to others!

And if you liked this tutorial and my site, please vote for me in PNN's Craft Contest!

craftcontest