Bonding Over Craft: Teaching My Mom to Knit

✓Let the Interweave Knits Winter 2024 issue transport you to a winter wonderland of cozy knits! This remarkable edition features 14 extraordinary projects to immerse yourself in the uniqueness of specially crafted yarns.

My mother claimed that she couldn’t learn to knit. “Your grandma tried to teach me,” she’d say while I sat at the kitchen table, working on a scarf. “But it didn’t take.”

It always made me a little sad, hearing her say she couldn’t learn to knit, especially when she followed it up by peppering me with questions about what I was making. At last, this past spring, I suggested we give it another go: I would teach her how to knit. Because regardless that it didn’t “take” when she was younger, I was convinced that my mother could learn to knit.

And I was right.

Julia and her mom — My mother and I visiting the Natural History Museum in London.

Teaching Someone to Knit

My mom is the first person I’ve taught how to knit. I can remember, hazily, what it was like not knowing how to knit, but teaching her the skill reminded me that there are things which seem intuitive to experienced knitters, but certainly aren’t for beginners. So, for those of you out there who are hoping to teach someone knitting, I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned.

1. Start VERY slowly.

Don’t start with a knit stitch. Don’t start with purling. Don’t even start with casting-on. Start with making a slipknot.

I’ve been knitting for about ten years now, and there’s a lot I know that’s pure muscle-memory at this point, such as making a slipknot or the difference between a knit and purl stitch. If your student has never knit before, then everything is going to be vastly unfamiliar to them. Go slow, have patience, and be supportive.

Beginner garter stitch knit swatch — My mother’s first swatch in garter stitch. I was impressed how quickly she improved—you can see it in the knitting.

2. And start with swatches.

My first knitting project was an incredibly long, incredibly skinny scarf. It almost put me off the craft forever because of how quickly I got bored, and how long the project took to make.

Rather than putting your student through the endurance test of trying to knit a project right away, start with making squares. I started off with a garter-stitch square, having my mom cast on 30 stitches and knit every row until the swatch was about square. The first half was pretty messy, with mistakes that sometimes flummoxed even me. But by the second half, my mom had her feet under her, and she was just so excited to be knitting! And her second swatch, which was stockinette stitch, was leaps and bounds ahead of the first.

Beginner stockinette stitch knit swatch — Second swatch, unblocked.

3. Get them excited!

One of the absolute best things about teaching someone to knit is watching them get excited about knitting. After all, the skill you’re teaching them is both fun and useful. You can make sweaters, hats, mittens, even enormous blankets if you have the stamina for it. And that’s pretty amazing!

After my mom had completed her two swatches, she wanted to try making A Thing. We settled on a very simple ribbed hat for her first project, and the pair of us went to our local yarn store to select yarn. My mom was thrilled, feeling multiple different skeins, marveling over colors and softness. After a LOT of thought, she settled on a worsted-weight, 100% Merino wool yarn in a variegated teal. She was positively giddy when we left the store, and she cast-on that night.

Whenever I come over for tea or dinner now, I can always depend that afterward, my mom and I will settle together on the couch, needles out, ready to knit together. Now, instead of telling me she can’t knit, she turns towards me with a smile on her face.

“Look! I’m knitting!” she says.

Happy Knitting,
Julia

P.S. If you’re looking for some good, easy patterns for yourself or your beginning knitter, check out Quick + Easy Knits Vol. 2, which is available for free until July 23.