i feel the problem isn't making mistakes, but rather not being able to identify mistakes. new knitters can make mistakes and then, due to being unable to read their knitting, don't know how to compensate for it, or find that they can't even identify where they've gone wrong and have to unravel all their progress and start over. on the other hand, an experienced knitter who knows how to read knitting can identify where they went wrong and know how to fix it by laddering down or putting in an increase or decrease or whatever. mistakes aren't a problem, but beginners should learn to identify them.

Since casting on and knitting that first row is the worst part of knitting, when I teach a new knitter, I usually hand them a piece that’s already got a few rows on it. Later, I teach them how to cast on using the knitted cast on.

As someone who does multiple crafts including knitting, the advice I would give: allow mistakes, there is no other way to learn. The idea that everything you make has to be perfect will kill your love for the craft. If you can fix it with no issue then do just that. If you can't without a massive headache then work around it or wing it and make it intentional.

I’m a continental knitter-

Way back when, I learned how to knit English style- and it just didn’t click with my hands. I found it finicky, fiddly- just couldn’t get the hang of the tension. So- I went to loom knitting

The loom-knit kit I got had a crochet hook in it, and I learned you could use that single hook to make projects. So that’s what I did, for many years. Crochet came easier to me than English style knitting did-

And a few years ago- I decided to try learning to knit, again. Only this time- I discovered continental. There’s been no going back- for me. The way you hold your yarn is so similar between both crafts that the transition was way easier for me to make- and this time it’s’ stuck. So I personally am a continental die-hard

That said

People constantly trying to push it as the superior knitting style does make me roll my eyes. It’s not about what’s the best, it’s about what’s best *for you*. For me that’s continental, but if you wanna go English run WILD baby, whatever floats your boat.

I think people are unnecessarily afraid of seaming and sewing. I knit a whole jacket out of knitted squares before I ever knit something in one piece--I seamed them all together until it was a jacket, and it felt so much more doable than knitting it in one piece. I think if you're not used to shaping garments, doing seams instead can teach you about construction. I'm glad I did seamed before I knit a garment all in one piece. Also, now having done that, I have no need for wasted yarn. When I have extra yarn, I knit squares or appliques. That way I eventually have enough to create a whole new patchwork garment with, or I can use the applique to cover mistakes in my knitting. Knowing how to sew is a sloppy knitter's answer to everything.

The emphasis on continental knitting drives me crazy. Most of us are not on a tight deadline for our projects, so it does not matter if it's "faster." English knitting is a valid way to learn as a beginner and to continue knitting as you become a more comfortable or advanced in the craft. Throwing is a good, clear visual to help you keep track of what you're doing, especially when you learn more complex stitches, and there is nothing wrong with sticking to it.

My first project was a pair of socks, knit with 4-ply wool on four Cdn 13 (2.25 mm) needles.  I don't believe this made learning to knit any more difficult, except for managing the looseness between the needles, and I had my mother to guide me through pattern instructions that weren't clear to me.  I finished the socks and wore them out.

I've usually taught people to knit on hats because by the time they're able to notice their mistakes and get discouraged, they're done. Scarves are discouraging even for me as an experienced knitter, they just take so long!

I think that having new knitters do pot holders, scarves,  or similar mundane projects first is a disservice.  A hat or something simple like a tagboard that can be worn and appreciated would be better for an adult or young adult  who seems capable.

My aunt D taught me to cast on by holding a smaller gauge knitting needle parallel to my main knitting needle and looping over both. After finishing the cast-on, take out the smaller needle. This overcame my tendency to cast on so tightly that I couldn't move the stitches, let alone knit into them! (I got better over time.) Another aid I found very useful is the book "Knit Fix: Problem Solving for Knitters" by Lisa Kartus. She clearly explains the structure of the stitches and how to repair mistakes. I'm sure there are many useful books that help with these details; that was a book I ran onto. You and Nutella take care and keep cozy. -Sally in MO-USA

My mother was taught to knit, but hardly did any until she saw a lovely lacy vest pattern and then bought the wool. She was hooked for life then. I began with a jumper I wanted to wear.

I’m a thrower and I’ve always felt sorry I’m not a continental or Norwegian knitter — until now, as you show me the fabulous Hazel Tindall. Now I feel much more comfortable.

In re winding yarn: I hand-wind a very loose ball so as not to stretch.

I wind cakes twice: once from the skein and then rewind looser from a center pull. I only wind as I need the yarn, and if I have leftover, I re-skein it. This may be my own silly way of doing things, though!

I’ve met so many knitters scared of knitting socks, when I personally think socks are one of the best beginner projects. Maybe not the first thing you ever knit, but the 2nd or 3rd. It teaches you stretchy cast on, ribbing, stockinette in the round, decreases and Kitchener stitch; and depending on the heel, it can teach short rows, knitting flat, picking up stitches.
Don’t put unnecessary fear in to new knitters, socks are fantastic projects!

The worst advice I’ve got is ‘beginners should start with a scarf/square coaster’

This advice is what stopped me fully learning to knit for over 30yrs. I didn’t want a scarf or coaster. I have no use for them?! No one I know wants them either.

What helped was me ignoring that advice completely and choosing a project I actually wanted the outcome. End result being a drawer full of socks and now I know how to knit.

The worst advice is for someone else to pick your project! Choose something you want regardless of how much others think it’s a task too hard for a beginner. I kept getting people who wanted to put the sock down and go make a scarf because socks were ‘too complicated for beginners’ 🙄

I’m about to move onto bralettes and I already have people telling me it’s too hard to learn, to give up and I should do something simpler like an oversized jumper. Absolutely not listening to them. I want the bralette. I’ll make the bralette.

I can’t understand why new knitters are advised to knit with cotton as their first knit.
Cotton is, in my opinion, the hardest fibre for a beginner to work with. ❤

It's not necessarily bad advice, but too much advice for me. The amount of videos  I watched and blogs I read giving advice on the most efficient way to go stranded colourwork and neat cabling etc when I'd not even picked up a needle and done a flat square sample just meant I wasn't understanding half of what I was reading and overwhelming myself and overcomplicating  with things I didn't need to know.

I hadn’t know until a few years ago that there were many ways to cast on. I’ve knit for about 70 years

I do seams occasionally, especially when knitting jackets with thicker yarn. However, I never change yarns at the edge and NEVER EVER do I make a knot in my knitting anywhere. My most influential craft teacher cut through every knot she found in any kind of craft. Thus, I had quite a few unravelling and major redoing events, because I tried the short cut with no means to hide the knot. As annoying it was then to do the whole hog of getting rid of the ends properly, that gave me a very solid grounding in finishing techniques, that (mostly) make ends disappear, buttons stay on, and seams look neat and tidy. She didn't want the yarn changed at the edge, because it would be either sloppy before darning in the stuff, or bulky with the two strands.

I started out as a product knitter, but over time and the better I became I started enjoying the process too 😁 Nothing like when you hit that flow 🤗

5:48 I alternate stitches between the new and the old yarn over 10 stiches 😅