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l e a r n to k n i t
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 Welcome to the wonderful craft of knitting! With this booklet youll
learn many of knitting's essential skills. You will also learn how
to use these newfound skills to create two basic patterns: a beautiful
garter stitch hat and a matching pair of hand warmers!

table of contents

winding a skein into a ball

casting on

making knit stitches

binding off

adding a new ball of yarn

the patterns
-hand warmerS pattern

-hat pattern

pattern abbreviations
 winding a skein into a ball

1 2 3

Yarn that is in the form of a skein (or hank)
must first be wound into a ball. Otherwise,
it will end up in a very tangled mess! Yarn
comes in skeins so you can feel its drape
and softness. Also, storing yarn in a ball
over a long period of time can stretch out
its natural fibers.
First, unfold the skein so it is one big loop.
Examine where the skein is secured to make
sure that everything is tidy and no strands
are astray. If you have a buddy who can hold
the loop around his or her hands, thats
easiest. If not, try the back of a chair, your
bent knees, or even your feet!
Snip the yarn that is holding the skein
together, and finding an end, wrap the yarn
around your hand a few dozen times. Slip
the yarn off your hand, keeping it neatly
contained.

4 5

Now firmly holding the beginning of the Slip your fingers out and wind around
ball, wind the yarn perpendicular to the first them again, perpendicular to the last
wraps. Include your fingers, and wind until wraps. Continue in this manner until you
your hand feels full. have a ball!
 casting on
Casting on is the process of putting the first row of stitches onto the needle. In
the world of knitting there are many ways to do almost everything, including casting
on. Here, youll learn the Knit-On Cast On (also known as the Thumb Cast On).
Its our favorite technique because its easy, effective and exposes you immediately
to the knit stitch. You only use one needle to do it, and it begins with a slip knot.

1 2 3

To figure out where to tie your slip knot, Bring the yarn that is on top around to the Slide the knitting needle under the yarn
first measure out a length of yarn 3 back of the loop. that is behind the loop.
times the width of what you plan to make.
So for a 6-inch wide scarf, measure out
approximately 21 inches of yarn, and at
that point, make a loop.

4 5 6

Pull both lengths of yarn so that the slip Loop the terminus end of the yarn (the With the tip of the needle, pick up the front
knot is just grazing the needle. Try to resist tail) around your thumb. The tail should strand of the loop in an away-from-you
the temptation to tug on the yarn, making come from the needle, around the back of motion (i.e. from front to back), sliding the
your stitches too snug around the needle. your thumb to the front of your thumb. needle up your thumb.
If your cast on is too tight, your first row of
knitting will be quite unpleasant and your
finished piece will have a taut edge. So,
be gentle!
 7 8 9

With your right hand, bring the yarn that is Now, with a toward-you motion (i.e. from Slip your thumb out of the loop and pull
coming from the ball (the working yarn) back to front), bring the needle through the both strands of yarn to gently secure the
behind and around the needle in a counter loop on your thumb, allowing the loop to stitch on the needle.
clockwise direction. pass over the tip of the needle.

10

Position a new loop on your thumb and

continue to cast on in this manner until
you have the correct number of stitches.
(Every pattern tells you how many stitches
to cast on.)
 making knit stitches
Its time to knit! A brief overview: there are only two stitches in knitting, the knit
stitch and the purl stitch. Both are methods of pulling loops through loops to
create a fabric, and both are worked in rows from right to left on your needle.
Here you'll learn just the knit stitch.

In general, there are two basic methods of knitting, English and Continental.
The difference is that English knitters hold the working yarn in their right
hand and Continental knitters hold it in their left. Well be teaching you the
English method. If youre left handed, dont fear. Righties and lefties are all the
same when it comes to knitting!

As with casting on, try to work with a relaxed hand and avoid tugging the yarn.
In the end, some people are kind of loose knitters and some people are kind of
tight knitters. Whats important is to be consistent and comfortable!

1 2 3

When you start a new row always hold the
needle with the stitches on it in your left
hand with the working yarn at the right end
of the needle. The needle that will make
the stitches is in your right hand.
Insert the right needle through the first Use your right hand to bring the working
stitch on the left needle with an away- yarn up around the back of the right
from-you motion. needle, wrapping it counter clockwise
around the tip of the right needle.
 4 5 6

Pull the loop that is on the right needle
through the stitch on the left needle in a
toward-you motion.
And with a new stitch on the right needle,
allow the stitch to fall off the left needle.
To knit the next stitch, make sure the
working yarn is coming from the side of
the needle that is away from you (i.e. from
behind the work) and repeat the above
steps. Insert the right needle into the first
stitch on the left needle.

7 8 9

Wrap the yarn counter clockwise around Pull the loop on the right needle through Remove the stitch from the left needle, and
the right needle. the stitch on the left needle. observe a new stitch on the right needle!
 10 11 12

Continue to knit in this manner across the
whole row of stitches.
When youve knit all of the stitches from
the left needle, place it in your left hand
with the working yarn at the right end of
the needle.
Start the new row with the usual knit stitch,
inserting the right needle into the first
stitch of the left needle. Keep in mind that
the first stitch on the needle is always a bit
loose. Thats okay, just dont mistake it for
two stitches!

13

Working every stitch of every row in knit

stitch results in a stitch pattern called
garter stitch. It is the easiest stitch to
learn, but it is also one of our favorites!
It looks the same on both sides, lies very
flat, and has a lovely, lofty texture, making
it an ideal stitch for scarves, blankets,
collars and button bands.
 binding off
Binding off is the process of removing stitches from the needle. Sometimes
youll see binding off referred to as casting off. Theyre the same. As
with casting on, make sure to be loose when you bind off. Some people even
bind off with a larger needle to ensure a relaxed bind off edge.

1 2 3

Knit the first two stitches of the row. Insert the tip of the left needle into the Allow the stitch that is on the left needle to
front of the right-hand stitch on the right drop off the needle, leaving just one stitch
needle. Lift that stitch up and over the on the right needle. Knit another stitch and
left-hand stitch. repeat Steps 2 and 3.

4 5 6

Continue to bind off across the entire row Cut the working yarn, leaving at least an Thread the tail through the remaining
until one stitch remains on the right needle. 8-inch tail, and remove the last stitch from stitch, and pull the tail tight.
the needle.
 adding a ball of yarn
An important (and surprising!) rule of knitting is that you never tie
a knot. When you finish a ball of yarn, heres what you do instead:

1 2

Stop knitting with the old ball when there
are at least 8 inches of yarn remaining. To
begin the new ball, put the right needle
into the next stitch. Leaving an 8-inch tail of
the new yarn and holding the old and new
tails in your left hand, wrap the new yarn
counter clockwise around the needle to
make a stitch as usual.
This leaves two tails. It also leaves stitches
that seem loose and a small hole in your
knitting, but never fear! All of this will be
fixed at the end when you learn how to
weave in your ends.
 the patterns

pattern information

Gauge: 5 stitches = 1 inch in garter stitch

note : To check your gauge, cast on 20 stitches and knit every row for 4 inches. If the
width of the finished square is wider than 4 inches, you should use smaller knitting
needles; and if the square is narrower than 4 inches, you should use bigger needles.
Dont worry too much if you need to acquire more needles; every budding knitter has
to build a needle collection!

finished Sizes:

Hand Warmers - Women's (Men's)

note : Here and in the pattern, the numbers before the parentheses are for the
womens size, and the numbers in the parentheses are for the mens size.

Circumference: 5 (6) inches comfortably stretching to about 8 (9) inches

Length: 8 (9) inches

Hat - Unisex
Circumference: 17 inches, comfortably stretching to about 24 inches
Height: 10 inches tall (uncuffed)

pattern note: To slip the first stitch of every row knitwise insert the right
needle through the first stitch on the left needle as if to make a knit stitch, but instead,
simply slip the stitch from the left needle to the right needle.

hand warmerS pattern

Cast on 40 (45) stitches.

Slipping the first stitch of every row knitwise (see Pattern Note, above), knit every row
until the piece measures 5 (6) inches from the cast on edge.

Bind off so that the tail ends up at the corner diagonal from the cast on tail (see Photo 1,
below). Cut the yarn, leaving a 3-foot tail and pull it through the remaining stitch.
 sewing the seam

1 2 3
A bind off edge

B cast on edge

Thread the bind off tail onto a yarn needle
and securely sew corner A to corner B.
Then fold the piece in half so that the bind
off edge meets the cast on edge. Still
using the bind off tail, sew together the
two edges. Here's how...
Insert the needle under the next cast on Continue to sew under subsequent cast on
stitch (this looks like two strands of yarn and bind off stitches...
that form a V), and bring the needle
through the opposite bind off stitch (which
also looks like a V). Pull the yarn through.
(Here we use red yarn in order to clearly
illustrate these steps.)

4 5 6

until you have sewn 2 (2) inches of
seam. Sew the last stitch twice.
Weave the needle along the selvage for
1 (2) inches for the thumb opening.
Sew the next cast on and bind off stitches
together twice. Then continue to sew the
two edges until you reach the corners.
Make sure as you go that the corners will
line up properly when you get to them.
Sew the corners twice. Cut the yarn.
 WEAVING IN THE ENDS

1 2

To weave in the tails, bring the needle up then down the adjoining bump. Work
the bump of a stitch across a few inches of knitting like this,
sewing up and down adjoining bumps.
Repeat for the other tail and trim the tails.

Turn the hand warmer right side out and

youre done with the first one. Make
another just like the first and then youre
really done!
 hat pattern
Cast on 53 stitches.

Slipping the first stitch of every row knitwise (see Pattern Note, above), knit every row
until the piece measures 17 inches from the cast on edge.

Bind off so that the tail ends up at the corner diagonal from the cast on tail. Cut the
yarn, leaving a 4-foot tail and pull it through the remaining stitch.

hat finishing

1 2

Thread the tail onto a yarn needle. Along
the selvage that is closest to the bind off
tail, sew the needle under every third garter
stitch ridge or bump.
When you reach the corner, pull the yarn
tight so that the selvage gathers together.
Thread the yarn through the circle of
stitches one more time to secure. Pull
very tight.

Still using the bind off tail, sew together the bind off and cast on edges as you did for the
Hand Warmers (see Sewing the Seam, above). Make sure that the bottom corners align.
Sew the bottom corner twice to secure.

Weave the cast on and bind off tails into the outside of the hat so that when you fold the
cuff, the weaving will be hidden. Any other tails above the cuff should be woven into the
inside of the hat (see Weaving in the Ends, above). All done!

Purl Soho Patterns are the copyrighted property of Purl Soho and purlsoho.com. All rights (including images and text)
reserved. Please note: Our downloadable patterns are for personal use only. Please neither give away nor sell the patterns
you download. Additionally, projects made from our patterns may not be sold, but they may be enjoyed for home use!
 pattern abbreviations
Knitting patterns have a language of their own. For the uninitiated it can look
like some kind of mysterious code, but its not actually that complicated
and youll soon get the hang of it! Here are the Craft Yarn Councils most common
abbreviations that youre likely to encounter in American knitting patterns.

alt alternate mm millimeter(s) sl st slip stitch(es)

approx approximately M1 make one stitch ss slip stitch (Canadian)

beg begin/beginning M1 p-st make one purl stitch ssk slip, slip, knit these 2
stitches together
bet between oz ounce(s) a decrease

BO bind off p or P purl sssk slip, slip, slip, knit
3 stitches together
CA color A pat(s) pattern(s)
or patt st(s) stitch(es)
CB color B
pm place marker St st stockinette stitch/
CC contrasting color stocking stitch
pop popcorn
cm centimeter(s) tbl through back loop
prev previous
cn cable needle tog together
psso pass slipped stitch over
CO cast on WS wrong side
pwise purlwise
cont continue wyib with yarn in back
p2tog purl 2 stitches together
dec decrease/decreases/ wyif with yarn in front
decreasing rem remain/remaining
yd(s) yard(s)
dpn double pointed needle(s) rep repeat(s)
yfwd yarn forward
fl front loop(s) rev St st reverse stockinette stitch
yo yarn over
foll follow/follows/ RH right hand
following yon yarn over needle
rnd(s) round(s)
g gram yrn yarn around needle
RS right side
inc increase/increases/ inch(es)
increasing sk skip
[ ] work instructions within
k or K knit skp slip, knit, pass stitch over brackets as many times
one stitch decreased as directed
k2tog knit 2 stitches together
sk2p slip 1, knit 2 together, pass ( ) work instructions within
kwise knitwise slip stitch over the knit 2 parentheses in the place
together; 2 stitches have directed
LH left hand been decreased
* repeat instructions
lp(s) loop(s) sl slip following the single
asterisk as directed
m meter(s) sl1k slip 1 knitwise
* * repeat instructions
MC main color sl1p slip 1 purlwise following the asterisks
as directed
This instructional booklet is perfect for first-time knitters. With it you will actually learn how
to knit, from casting on to binding off (and all that happens in between!). These basic
skills will prepare you to embark on your first two knitting patterns: a beautiful garter stitch
hat and a matching pair of hand warmers. Welcome to the wonderful craft of knitting!

materials needed
To make an adult-size hat and pair of hand warmers youll need...
- 2 skeins of Purl Sohos Worsted Twist, 100% merino
- US #7 knitting needles, circular or straight
- A tapestry needle

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