Spin-A-Yarn | Knitting Lingo

After posting about my slouchy beanie here, I was so excited to hear that several of you would like to learn to knit and crochet. Well guess what? I can totally deliver! 

I am going to start the Spin-a-Yarn Knitting and Crocheting School, and YOU can be enrolled!All you have to do is check my blog every week on Wednesdays to learn something cool and new about working with yarn. I would love it so much if you were vocal and let me know specific things you're interested in learning. For example, go "Hey, I saw this cool sweater- how do they do this pattern?" or "Holy cow, how do I know if I want to knit a project or crochet it?" Speak your minds, friends! 

Hey crafty ladies! Now that you know the basics of how to cast-on and knit and how to purl and bind off, it's time to fill you in on the details of knitting patterns. First, there are some common abbreviations, and what they actually mean is usually pretty simple, so here's an awesome website to understand those sneaky knitting codes:

Knitting Abbreviations

Once you have your stitches down, it's time to try one of these simple techniques. Each technique can be repeated as many times as you choose to make a blanket, scarf, pillowcase, etc. as long as you would like; I'm going to show you how to complete one repeat of each technique listed. I have full confidence that you can pull off any of these techniques with just a little work!

GARTER STITCH

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Cast on any number of stitches.
All Rows: Knit entire row.
(Did you realize this is what you did when you made your scarf during the first tutorial? Cool for you!)

STOCKINETTE STITCH

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Cast on any number of stitches.
Row 1: Knit the entire row.
Row 2: Purl the entire row.
Repeat rows 1-2 until you have reached the desired length of your piece.

RIBBING

(This stitch will tighten the piece up a bit which makes it great for the ends of sleeves or necklines on clothing.)

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1x1 Variation
Cast on an even number of stitches.
All Rows: Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch. Repeat until end of row.

2x2 Variation
Cast on a multiple of 4 stitches.
All Rows: Knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches. Repeat until end of row.

SEED STITCH/MOSS STITCH

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Cast on an even number of stitches.
Row 1: Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch. Repeat until end of row.
Row 2: Purl 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch. Repeat until end of row.
Repeat rows 1-2 until you have the desired length of your piece.

BASKETWEAVE 

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Cast on 8 stitches.
Row 1: Knit the entire row
Row 2-6: Knit 4 stitches, then purl 4 stitches. (If you cast on more stitches than 8, continue to repeat this pattern until you reach the end of your row.)
Row 7: Knit the entire row
Row 8-12: Purl 4 stitches, knit 4 stitches. (Again, if you cast on more than 8 stitches, continue the pattern until the end of the row.)
Continue to repeat rows 1-12 until you have reached the desired length of your piece. 

Wow. I'm pretty sure you're a knitting pro by now if you can master all of these techniques. Come back next week for a free knitting pattern that looks like lace for a blanket. (I just learned this technique myself and I'm in love with it!) The next week after that we'll dive head-first into crochet. See you later, friends!