The Two Foundation Stitches You Need to Start
Every knitted piece begins with two stitches: the cast-on and the knit stitch. The cast-on creates the loops on your needle that you will work into. The knit stitch is the loop you pull through each existing loop to build rows. Once you can do both, you can make a flat piece of fabric. The purl stitch comes next and lets you create texture, but you do not need it to begin.
You will need two needles of the same size and yarn. The needle size and yarn weight should match — a yarn label tells you which needle size to use. Start with medium-weight yarn (labeled 4 or 5) and size 8 or 9 needles, which are easier to hold and see than thin yarn and tiny needles.
Key Takeaways
- The cast-on creates your starting loops by wrapping yarn around one needle in a specific pattern, and the long-tail cast-on is the most common method for beginners.
- The knit stitch is made by inserting your needle through a loop, wrapping yarn around it, and pulling a new loop back through the old one.
- Tension — how tight or loose you pull the yarn — affects how even your stitches look and how fast your piece grows.
- Dropped stitches and twisted stitches are the most common mistakes, and both are fixable by picking the loop back up with your needle.
How to Cast On Using the Long-Tail Method
The long-tail cast-on is the most common starting method because it creates a neat edge and uses both needle and yarn efficiently. You will need a length of yarn before your ball — roughly three times the width of what you plan to knit. For a scarf 60 inches wide, pull out about 180 inches of yarn and tie a loose knot to mark where your yarn tail ends.
Hold one needle in your right hand. Make a loop with the yarn tail (the long end) and slip it onto your needle. Pull the yarn so the loop sits on the needle but is not tight. Now hold the needle in your left hand and the two yarn ends in your right hand — the tail between your thumb and forefinger, the working yarn (the end attached to the ball) between your forefinger and middle finger. Spread your thumb and forefinger apart to make a V shape with the yarn.
Insert the needle up through the loop on your thumb, then over and through the loop on your forefinger, then back down through the thumb loop. Pull both yarn ends to tighten the new stitch on the needle. Repeat this motion until you have as many stitches as you need. Most scarves start with 20 to 30 stitches; a dishcloth uses 30 to 40.
How to Make the Knit Stitch
Once your stitches are cast on, hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand. The working yarn (attached to the ball) should hang from the last stitch on your left needle. Insert the right needle through the first stitch from left to right, going in front of the left needle.
Wrap the working yarn around the right needle, going under and then over it. Pull the right needle back through the stitch, bringing the new loop with it. Slip the old stitch off the left needle. You have made one knit stitch. Repeat this motion for every stitch on the left needle. When you reach the end, all stitches will be on the right needle. Switch the needles so the full needle is in your left hand again, and knit the next row the same way.
After four or five rows, you will see a flat piece of fabric forming. The bumps on one side are the knit stitches; the smooth side is the back. Keep going until your piece is as long as you want it.
Understanding Tension and Even Stitches
Tension is how tightly you hold the yarn as you knit. If you pull hard, your stitches will be small and tight, and your piece will grow slowly. If you barely pull at all, your stitches will be loose and floppy, and your piece will grow fast but look uneven. Most beginners pull too hard because they are concentrating on the motion.
The goal is to pull just enough that the yarn sits snugly on the needle but you can still move the needle through the stitch easily. Your stitches should look roughly the same size all the way across a row. If some are much bigger or smaller than others, you are changing how hard you pull. This gets better with practice — after a few projects, your hands will remember the right tension without you thinking about it.
If your edges are messy or uneven, that is usually a tension problem, not a stitch problem. Knit a few rows, look at the edge stitches, and adjust how hard you are pulling. Many knitters find it easier to keep tension steady if they wrap the yarn around their pinky finger before wrapping it around the needle.
Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
A dropped stitch happens when a loop falls off your needle. You will see a hole in your fabric with a loose strand running down from it. Stop knitting and pick it up right away — the longer you wait, the more rows the dropped stitch runs through. Insert your needle through the dropped loop from front to back, then use your working yarn to pull the loop back up through each row until it sits on your needle again. This takes practice but is not permanent damage.
A twisted stitch happens when you insert your needle through the stitch the wrong way, wrapping the yarn around it backwards. The stitch will look crossed or tilted instead of sitting straight on the needle. Twisted stitches are usually not a problem — your piece will still work — but they look uneven. To avoid them, always insert your needle from left to right through the front of the stitch, not from right to left or through the back.
If you knit too tightly and your hands hurt, you are pulling too hard. Loosen your grip on the yarn and take breaks every 15 minutes. Knitting should not cause pain. If your stitches are falling off the needle, your needles may be too small for your yarn, or you may be pulling so hard that the stitches slide off the tip. Try needles one size larger.
Moving Forward: Purl Stitches and Patterns
Once you can knit a flat piece with even stitches, you can make a scarf, dishcloth, or blanket by knitting every row. If you want texture and pattern, you will need the purl stitch, which is the reverse of the knit stitch. A purl stitch wraps the yarn in front of the needle instead of behind it, creating a bump on the opposite side of the fabric.
Many straightforward patterns alternate knit and purl stitches in different orders. A garter stitch (knit every row) looks the same on both sides and is very stretchy. A stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row, repeat) looks smooth on one side and bumpy on the other. Once you know both stitches, you can follow a written pattern that tells you which stitch to make in each position.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tight should my cast-on stitches be?
Cast-on stitches should be snug enough that they do not slide off the needle, but loose enough that you can insert your working needle through them easily. If you have to force the needle through, your cast-on is too tight. You can always loosen it by gently pulling the yarn tail after you finish casting on.
What do I do if I run out of yarn in the middle of a row?
Tie a new ball of yarn to the end of your old yarn with a square knot, leaving a 4-inch tail on each side. Knit over the knot as if it were a regular stitch. Later, you can weave those tails into the back of your fabric with a needle. If you want to avoid a knot, you can tie the new yarn on at the beginning of a new row instead.
Can I fix a mistake from several rows back?
Yes, but it takes patience. You can unravel your knitting back to the mistake by pulling the working yarn and letting stitches slip off the needle. Once you reach the row with the error, pick up the stitches again with your needle and keep going. Many knitters do this rather than rip out the whole piece.
How do I know when to stop knitting and bind off?
Bind off (also called casting off) when your piece is as long as you want it. To bind off, knit two stitches, then pull the first stitch over the second and off the needle. Knit one more stitch and repeat. When one stitch remains, cut the yarn, pull the end through the loop, and pull tight. This locks the edge so it does not unravel.