A Beginner’s Guide to Knitting from the New York Times

When I worked at a newspaper, it was often said that news is what happens to your editor on the way to work.

If that’s true, there must be a knitting editor at the New York Times. They seem to cover the craft a lot, including in this general introduction to the craft: How to Start Knitting (and Learn to Love it).

The author, Allana Okun, notes that a lot of people start knitting but eventually stop because of frustration or boredom. She argues that’s because starting with a scarf, as most people are advised, is actually a bad idea because they are so long, repetitive and show mistakes easily.

Instead she encourages people to learn the basics and then knit a hat.

The article covers the basics of how to get started knitting and why a person might want to do so. It would be a good one to send to a friend you’re trying to encourage to knit, or to the person who wonders why you do it. They might just decide they want to try, too.

[Photo: Kyle Dorosa, via the New York Times.]

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Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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