Please join me in welcoming guest, Tom Melby.  He is the owner and director of an animal shearing equipment company called Clippers Ireland.  He says, “I am passionate about wool, and recently created an infographic entitled ‘The Complete Beginners Guide to Knitting’.”   He has asked for it to be posted here on Holly Knits thinking that readers might enjoy.   I am wondering if it can serve as inspiration for gift giving . . . a gift of a set of lessons, or a package of knitting inquiry or a box of yarn . . “touch me, you’ll fall in love with me.”  You get the idea.  And, of course I am happy to give Tom the spotlight as anyone who is passionate about wool is a friend of mine!

I say to the beginner knitters out there, knitting takes practice and patience, however offers a dose of pride at the end when the effort shows itself in a beautiful handmade garment.

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The Complete Beginners’ Guide to Knitting Introduction by Tom Melby

Getting in the right frame of mind to learn knitting can often be the most difficult step. However, when you get the knitting bug it can be difficult to stop!

Before you even start knitting you need to have certain items on hand. For beginners, straight needles are generally the easiest to use.  From there people generally move to circular needles, and for more advanced knitting double-pointed needles are excellent.

The first stitch you need to learn is the slip knot as it is the one that anchors the yarn to the needles and makes it possible to cast on. The purl stitch is also a very useful addition to your knitting arsenal early on, and it is basically just a backwards version of knitting that allows you to come up with hundreds of different stitch patterns. You can find out more about knitting for beginners in this info-graphic from Clippers Ireland and you can find out more about me and my business here at my website.

BEGINNERS’ INFO-GRAPHIC ~ (Click on image)