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Knitting Toys 101: How to Knit & Purl

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Knit and purl are the two foundational knitting stitches. You will need to learn them both to be able to knit adorable toys. But first we are going to make a pit stop for a little encouragement. Afterwards we will peek at my newly organized yarn. And finally I will share the teeny tiny vintage hangers I found at my local antique mall.

A Little Note of Encouragement

I hope you’re enjoying working on your cable cast on and that you’re finding it fairly simple to do. But this little note is for those of you who may be reading this and knitting is not coming so easily. Maybe you’re feeling frustrated and disappointed. Your hands aren’t cooperating. The videos don’t make sense. You just want to give up.

Knitted bunnies in clothes in a garden.

If you haven’t read the blog post for how to make a cable cast on click here!

Been There Done That – Got the T-Shirt

I want you to know that I’ve been exactly in your shoes before. When I first began knitting, approximately fifteen years ago, I became incredibly frustrated. There wasn’t a lot of online help at that time, but there was something more going on. During those years I had a house full of small children. I rarely had a moment to myself.

Activities that required concentration and that demanded my already exhausted brain cells were not working well for me. I wanted to knit. Really I did, but I found it incredibly difficult. I made a handful of shoddy things and put it away for years because I believed I just wasn’t “good at knitting”.

Permission Granted

When I picked it back up late last year, I was ready. I had the mental real estate available for a challenging endeavor. But I’m here as your friendly neighborhood crafter to give you permission to put it down. If you don’t have the time, the mental band width, or the creative energy right now, it’s ok. Put the knitting down, file it away, and give yourself a break.

But if you are ready, I want to give you a little advice. You may get frustrated. At times you may want to throw the knitting needles down the garbage disposal. You may want to set your gorgeous hand dyed yarn on fire. It’s ok. We all get frustrated, especially when we are just learning how to knit. But trust me, it’s so worth it! There is nothing more relaxing than hearing the little clicks of your knitting needles while making something you absolutely love.

Knitted bunny with cable knit sweater with small colorful hangers.

Ya Basic

Knitting is a wonderful and relaxing hobby………..once you learn the basics, that is. Until you get comfortable with two small sticks in your hands (while simultaneously carrying yarn and wrapping it around said sticks) it can be discouraging, disheartening, even downright disappointing.

Once you have the basics down, knitting is glorious! Adding new skills will be a total breeze! So let’s get started!

How to Knit and Purl

Ok, so here’s the deal. I’m lazy. I am going to show you how to knit and purl, but I’m going to do it on the video. My brain doesn’t do well writing instructions out and honestly who likes reading instructions anyway?

But I do want to leave you with a fantastic little poem that Teresa from Fuzzy What Knots. It is super helpful when learning the knit stitch!

In through the front door,

Round the back,

Peek through the window,

Off jumps Jack.

Fuzzywhatknots

I will again highly recommend you purchase the incredible and vital (in my humble personal opinion) resource. It goes into so much detail about everything knitting, from fiber content to designing shawls and everything in between!

Vogue® Knitting The Ultimate Knitting Book: Completely Revised & Updated

This post contains affiliates links and at no cost to you I may earn a teeny tiny commission if you choose to purchase them. Please know that I only recommend products I use and love! Thank you for supporting Le Petit Saint Crochet!

Yarn (re)Organization

It’s deja vu all over again.

Yogi Berra

I reorganized my yarn stash again. I found that it was not enough to just have them sorted by brand and weight. Actually I only need to keep the colors I use for the projects I’m truly interested in working on.

Because I’m totally obsessed with knitting the Little Cotton Rabbits patterns at the moment, I have my yarn sorted for those projects. Originally I had all my worsted weight yarn sorted by brand only. But here’s why that doesn’t work, I only use colors that I love for the animal bodies. At this point I’m not interested in knitting up a neon green bunny. It just doesn’t appeal to me. Now it might in the future so that’s why I’m stashing it away, not getting rid of it.

The Berroco Vintage animal body colors are sorted in one spot.

Berroco Vintage

My Paintbox Wool Mix Aran are sorted in another spot.

Paintbox Yarns

I keep all the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino colors together since this is what I use to knit the animal clothes.

Debbie Bliss

Tiny Clothes Hangers

I have a thing for vintage toys, it must come from my stepdad. He was an antique collector with a special interest in all things that reminded him of his childhood. He grew up very poor in the mountains of North Carolina during World War II. Although he didn’t have much as a child in the rural hills of Appalachia, those happy memories always stayed with him.

Recently I was shopping at my local antique mall, which I do a lot. I spotted a booth that had an odd assortment of dolls and toys. There’s nothing I like more than a weird doll straight out of a horror movie! I knew there were treasures to be found. My eyes locked on a small collection of doll clothes hangers and I knew they would be perfect for my knitted dresses and sweaters. Plus, they were only $6.50 so I had no choice but to buy them.

Knit and Purl

My hope is that this post will encourage you. I know that knitting can be challenging, but focusing on the basics is super important. Learning the cable cast on and how to knit and purl will give you the confidence to be able to create handmade toys.

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15 Comments

  1. sorry but I am NOT at all interested in knitting. I joined for the crochet. Thus I shall leave this group.

  2. Those yarns are gorgeous… and I’m totally a sucker for oddity vintage finds too. Great score on the mini hangers!

  3. Knitting and crochet are so closely related! Glad to see both on your blog!! Every project is so cute!

  4. I really loved reading this even though I am scared of knitting. The permission to set it aside has let me set it aside for a few years and come back to it. I’m excited to learn!