Guest Author - Gillian Buchanan

Knitting is an ancient craft. It has waxed and waned through the centuries and different items have gone in and out of fashion through the years. Stocking knitting has been popular since about the 17th century and during the 18th and 19th centuries other items became fashionable or were popularised through pattern manuals.

People knit for all sorts of different reasons. There is usually the practical element of making something instead of buying the item in the shops. There is a great sense of pride when you finish any knitted item and there is a huge variety of lovely yarns available now. The development of the internet has provided huge resources online and there are hundreds if not thousands of patterns readily available. Online yarn shops proliferate and so it is easy to enhance one’s yarn stash even if a yarn shop does not exist in the local area. Many knitting magazines and e-zines exist and there are literally hundreds of pattern and technique books on sale and available for free download so it is very easy to find clear information explaining how to knit.

Knitting is not a difficult craft and it is possible to work quite happily in stocking stitch and garter stitch to create lovely garments and items for the home. Many people are enjoying sock and mitten knitting and there is a huge range of circular, straight and double pointed knitting needles on sale to make these items easier to knit. Many different yarns are now available on sale with more coming into the shops every day, so it is not difficult to find yarns you like. Most knitters these days will have a “stash” of some kind filled with impulse buys, often of variegated sock yarns or one or more packs of yarns in their favourite colour(s). Yarns do go in and out of stock all the time so if you see one you like and can afford, it’s a good idea to buy it when you see it. Think of the kind of item you might make with it - socks or a scarf may require two to four balls/skeins and a sweater can require as many as 20 balls depending on the yarn thickness and type. Check with your retailer if in doubt.

People knit for charity, for the home, for relatives, for sale and for enjoyment. Whatever the reason you have decided to learn to knit, now is one of the best times there has ever been to take up the craft, with the huge range of patterns, knitting sites and lovely yarns available.

This excellent reference book has masses of information about knitting techniques. It illustrates all the basic techniques and has a huge range of different ways to cast on and off and increase and decrease. A must for any knitter's bookcase!

This is another very good book which contains reference information on all the basics of how to knit and finish off a garment or item.