Hello everyone and welcome to the second post in Love & Crochet's Learn to Knit Beginner Stitch Series! Make sure you have been through part 1, How to Cast On in Knitting, before learning how to knit the garter stitch from this article. The first post covers everything you will learn in the course too!
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Materials
Head to Part 1 for a quick overview of what you need to knit and a concise review of why we selected the specific products pictured below. We highly recommend that you purchase these materials! Just click on the links below to buy them immediately, or head over to Part 1 of The Learn to Knit Beginner Stitch Series to learn more.
Amazon links for the knitting needles, scissors, yarn, and embroidery needles ⬇
Joann Links for the knitting needles and yarn ⬇
With that said, let's learn how to knit the garter stitch! The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow, and the clear pictures will make learning your first stitch even simpler.
How to Knit the Garter Stitch
1. Position your hands
Take the empty needle in your right hand with a grip like how you would hold a kitchen knife. Do the same with the needle where you cast on before, but make sure the "knotted" side of the cast on row is facing inward, or to the right. Check out the picture below to better understand where your hands are placed on the needles.
2. Insert the right needle in the topmost cast-on (from the bottom)
3. Wrap the yarn around the right needle, from front to back.
4. Finish the stitch
Don't panic while reading this step- if you're more of a visual person, scroll down for a short video.
With the yarn still wrapped around the right needle, change the angle of where the needles cross so they are parallel.
Next, take the tip of the right needle and insert it through the top of the loop which both needles are currently in.
Pull the loop off of the hook using the tip of the right needle. Here it should look like there is one fewer stitch on the left hook and one more stitch on the right hook. Make sure the tail yarn isn't in the way of knitting your next stitch—if so, pull it over and behind your work.
The step above is difficult to explain, which is why I highly recommend watching the video below. This clip actually goes through making the entire stitch, so if you had any problems with the previous steps in this post, the video should clear it all up.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until the end of your row. Swap the needles in your hands and continue to repeat.
Don't worry if the stitch at the top of your needle seems slightly larger than the rest—you won't see it at all in the finished piece.
Below is a picture of what your first row should look like. Progress is barely noticeable in the beginning, but as each row is completed your project will gain more length :)
Thank you for reading this article! I hope to see you in our next post of the Learn to Knit Series, How to Cast Off, and the many yet to come! Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions via the comments below or email: sarah@loveandcrochet.com. Until next time!
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