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Have you ever wondered how those beautiful sweaters and mufflers are made using just a pair of needles and wools? Well, that’s the magic of knitting. Knitting is a fabric formation process comprising interlacing yarns in a series of connected loops with needles. While the headed needles battle against each other what comes up as an end product is a beautiful artifact. Knitting is one of the most enigmatic art forms existing and has become today’s top crafting craze.
Tools needed:
The basic tools needed for knitting are:
• Two needles of size in accordance with the yarn and the pattern you want to work on
• Yarns
Remember that the basic knit stitch is the simplest to begin with and through this simple stitch you can explore wonderful designs and patterns as you would acquire neatness with time in your work. You have to begin practicing with the process of casting on say with 5 stitches. To do this you have to first form a base series of twisted loops of yarn on a knitting needle while the other needle is run through each loop side by side in order to snag a bight of yarn and later pull a length back through the loop. This would make a new stitch and the cast-on stitches will be on the needle in your left hand finally. This process can be carried forward either back and forth in rows or in round knitting.
Knitting Yarns can be made from any number of synthetic or natural fibers. They are of various kinds - Wool, Angora, Silk, Cashmere and Vicuna.
Different styles and stitches of knitting:
There are two basic styles of knitting-English and Continental. The difference between the two is in how you hold the yarn. In the English method the yarn is held in the right hand. In continental knitting, the yarn is held in the left hand. So, it totally depends upon you but whatever it is you should be able to master either method.
The two basic stitches are knit or plain and purl or wrong. They are actually identical, just the obverse and reverse of the same stitch. The variations and combinations of these two stitches create all the different stitch patterns. Knitted garments are most commonly made in pieces, where individual sections of the garment are knit separately and then sewn together once all the pieces have been completed.
Knitting is about creating your own magic with your magic tools. This art has been passed from one generation to the other. Try and be innovative, creative and experiment with your needles and yarn. Unleash your creativity!
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