How to knit
1st Row
Basic Knitting: “Casting On” and Knitting Your First Row
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let's learn some basic skills for
casting on and for knitting our first
row what we'll do to begin is make a
slipknot when you make a slipknot you
make a loop and then through that loop
you take your first finger and your
thumb and you grab the yarn from the
long end and pull it through now you
have an adjustable Slipknot now you'll
take your needle one of your needles and
you'll put it through this lip top
you'll take this long and I'm sorry this
short end here it's just going to be a
little tail that hangs off the side
you'll never really work with that the
next part this is called casting on when
you're adding stitches to your needle
for your first row let's say my project
requires ten stitches to begin so I have
this is counted as one stitch this
slipknot to make a new stitch you'll go
under this first stitch through the back
notice that I didn't go under the stitch
but I went through it to the back of the
needle I take my long and that's not the
long one I take my long yarn that's
attached to my ball there and I go
around the back of that needle and then
I'll tilt it somewhat to the side so
that Oh popping through there is that
yarn that I just wrapped around now the
first graders they learned for knitting
that you slide this off but if you slide
it off then you're still only left with
one stitch so what you'll do is this
part right here you'll put it back onto
that first needle and now you'll have
two stitches
let's do another one so you'll go under
and through the back take this here wrap
it around pull it through and now you'll
put it back on that first needle now you
have three stitches there's a little
rhyme that we do with the first graders
and it goes like this
under the root around the dome catch I
Taunton and bring it home let's watch
that again around the dome catch I
didn't bring it
Oh sometimes you kind of catch other
things with it so I'll redo that stitch
I went into that yarn let's try that
again under the root Taunton and bring
it home a good tip is to keep your hands
high up on the needle sometimes the
children are tempted to knit way down
here and you don't have as much control
all of the action is happening at the
very tips of the needle another thing to
remember is well this hand is a very
helpful tool for keeping the needles in
place so that this hand is free to make
the movement of the yarn going around
what I also do sometimes I use this
pointer finger so this can be the
trickiest part is catching the yarn as
you pull it through that pointer finger
can help guide it through and then
you'll be able to put it back on
let's count our stitches how many do we
have now one two three four five six all
right we have four more to make catch at
Taunton bring it home all right now that
you have your row and you're ready to
begin the first row the stitches are
always a little tight and awkward and
then it loosens up a little bit over
time so this first row sometimes this
first stitch is confusing you want your
work that is already complete in your
left hand
and in your right hand this is always
the working needle that's transferring
over so this first stitch your yarn is
going to be coming out to the right side
and then your right needle will go under
just as we did earlier we go under the
root take an arn from this side around
the Doane same thing use that pointer
finger catch a Taunton ah but instead of
bringing it home and putting it back on
we're just going to slip it off and
bring it oh it seems kind of scary but
that's how it that's how it goes under
the root around the dome catch Taunton
and bring it home notice my hands are at
the tops of the needles still and my
stitches are just slowly scooting up
towards the top under the root around
the dome catch a Taunton and bring it
around the dome catch a Thompson and
bring it home so you'll do that until
you reach the end of the row and you'll
just keep repeating that over and over
the thing that the first graders often
have a hard time with is knowing how to
start their row once they've finished so
I'm on my 10th stitch I have finished my
last stitch in the row and then we say
no now what ah right I switch the
finished work to my left hand I take my
empty needle into my right hand and I
start again remember having the long
string coming out to the right and then
stitching again you go on your next row
happy knitting
