Throwback Thursday is here so let’s go back to your very first project. The craft doesn’t matter, just think back to the first time you attempted to make something, ok?
Most of you know that I am a proud graduate of YouTube University! LOL In other words I am a self taught knitter. I learned to crochet as a kid in summer camp. At that point I can’t even say I knew what knitting was or even considered trying to knit. Once I became aware, I instantly said I couldn’t do it, the material produced by knitting looked like it had to be complicated.
The absolute first project was a scarf, well something remotely close to a scarf. I mean it had so many holes, LOL but I did it. Then I tried the hat and scarf set. It wasn’t perfect but I was so very proud.
When I made this I had no clue about natural fibers or local yarn stores. I was a complete fiber virgin. For years all I knew when it came to yarn was Michael’s or ACMoore (now closed), I mean LionBrand was it as far as I knew. I look back now and a sense of pride takes over. I have truly come a long way.
Do you remember your first project? What did you make? Do you remember the yarn you used? Did you keep the project? If you did keep it, do you still have it?
As I write this, I can remember being totally afraid of making sweaters. When I taught myself, I wasn’t even aware of the fiber community. I never imagined myself here, but boy oh boy am I happy that I am. What do you remember about the beginning of your making journey? On this Throwback Thursday let’s remember the start of our fiber stories.
I will add in conclusion, knitting has definitely improved my self confidence. Especially once I pushed fear of sweater knitting out of my path. Each and every time I bind off a sweater project, I do a little dance! Can anyone relate?
Ha ha! I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 11-12 years old, in 4-H learning how to sew in a zipper. My Mom, a fabulous multi-crafter, peeked over my shoulder and said “Awwww, Honey, those seams are quite crooked. I’m sure you can do better. ”
Have you ever had to use a seam ripper while sobbing at the Singer? Blurry tears, shoulders twitching. Yeah, like it was yesterday. The bonus of the story – I can still run a straight line of stitches down a zipper.
It has been so exciting to follow your knitting journey! Even as a long-time knitter, you have pushed me to challenge myself!
My first project was a knitted hairband. My mom was a knitter and crafter; when I was around 15 I had a school friend who wanted to knit, but her mom didn’t know how. She would come to my house, and of course this only child wanted the attention as well, so I learned 🙂 My mom got Vogue Knitting, and McCall’s Needlework and Craft – and Family Circle, Woman’s Day, and Good Housekeeping had lots of projects in their issues – and kits to order. This was the early 60’s, so yarns were limited – when we moved back to NYC from CT, we would go to the Lower East Side on Sundays, to Bell Yarn and the like – the instructresses there often didn’t even measure you, but gauged how much yarn you would need just by looking at you! Long-time designer Miriam Greenfield’s DH set up a small sewing machine shop in our neighborhood (!!) and she would be there a couple of times a week; she designed for Brunswick, and was later director for Unger. My mom died when I was 21; I still cherish the years we crafted together – thanks for letting me share my memories!!
My first project was a crocheted ripple afghan, wider at the top because I hadn’t yet learned how to make sure the edges stayed even, in acrylic yarn in shades of blue from a kit I probably bought at K-Mart or some such store. I was a teenager, it was in the early 70s and my mother proudly displayed it on the back of the couch for years.
My first knitting project was a grey cardigan made from, I think, Bernat yarn. I was in my early 20s and pregnant with my daughter when I took a knitting class at Sears taught by Helga, whose last name I can almost remember (crazy memory!) Swatching was not part of the course so that remained my bugaboo for a long time.
The first project I picked out myself was a scarf. I chose a white and grey marked yarn (acrylic, worsted, in that “log” put up that I thought was the only way yarn was sold!). I had three skeins and I knit it on size 2 needles – it was VERY dense. I put black fringe on the ends and I loved it, and god only knows where it is now.
I may not always dance, but I do celebrate for sure. My first project was a pair of socks. My mom didn’t think I had the discipline to knit, so she wanted to get it over with quickly. More than 60 years later, I have to say, I won!
I taught myself to knit as a child. My first knit was a sweater for my Barbie.
Before that, my first fiber related projects were woven potholders made on a potholder frame. Totally non-fiber related: popsicle creations.
I bet that was beyond cute
I learned to knit from a roommate when I was studying abroad in Italy almost 20 years ago. It was a scarf and I used huge yarn and comically large needles but I still have it! I have a vague memory of being overwhelmed by the beauty in the little yarn shop she took me to as well. Now, I am close to finishing my first sweater and I’m so grateful to her for putting me on the path.
yay for the first sweater! That is an awesome feeling
Thank you!!! It feels like a milestone!
Aww… is that Lion Brand Homespun? I remember buying that stuff when I was a baby knitter!
My Gram was a muti-crafter, knit, crochet, sew, quilt, and she originally wanted me to sew but I was geometrically challenged. So she sat me down at age 8 with some plastic circulars and commercial yarn and I learned to knit. And knit. And knit. It was intended to be a hat. It was a pretty teal yarn from a box store and I was unimpressed with knitting. She would knit, and I would knit, and we would watch Murder She Wrote. She would ask, “Why is that hole there?” And I would shrug. “Dunno. Not sure.” I never finished it. I think I had it until a few moves ago. After that I knit a lot of scarves (Lionbrand was my boo too, especially around Christmas, those salllllesss). I made a few throw blankets. But nothing with any increases or decreases because they were scary LoL. Four years ago I met a new friend who knit a LOT and I wanted to get back into it with cool things like shawls. My first shawl was the Spindrift shawl from Curious Handmade, and it was with indie yarn I randomly found on Etsy. I had no idea about indie dyers or any sort of community. But I was teachable (classes at my LYS and YouTube), so here I am today. I started my first sweater/top last year (with colorwork!) but it’s still not done. I’m on knit everything island and got bored. ♥️
Yes those lionbrand sales. I totally understand. I still have some in my closet that I need to give away
My mother sewed many of our clothes when I was growing up, so my first project was Barbie clothes from scraps of our dresses and outfits. This was full-on with a pattern and a child’s version of a Singer Touch and Go sewing machine. I treasured that sewing machine and used the heck out of it! In high school I made several dresses, and even an unlined suit(!). What confidence (and time) I had back then! ~ Where has that confidence gone? ~ There is a thought to ponder as I look back over 60 years…
My first fiber project was an acrylic granny square shawl, made of three large granny squares stitched together. The yarn probably came from Woolworth’s or kMart – this was years before Michael’s existed in my Georgia home town. It was probably 35 years before I took up knitting, and now it is my craft of choice. Up until last year, I only knit hats for our church needlework outreach. I have yet to tackle a sweater. One of my wips is a pair of socks (my second), another is Casapinka’s OlivePink shawl.
I want to find the confidence I had as a teenager and tackle a lovely, classic sweater that I will enjoy as much as I enjoyed that red linen-like suit!
awww I love that you made your own barbie clothes. I can just see it in my head.
I learned to knit from a friend in my 20’s. I made my bf ( now husband) the ugliest scarf ever. But he proudly wore it. It was acrylic and it curled like mad. I then made an Afghan, but didn’t know about gauge, yarn weights or weaving in ends. So I tied knots. Well it eventually fell apart. And I lost interest. Fast forward 20 years…I work for the post office. I was picking up lots of boxes from a home based business. So I googled the name. And I was gobsmacked by the yarn pics. Beautiful, vibrant gradients. All I knew right then, was that I needed to learn to knit again, because I needed that yarn in my life. I had no idea that anything like that existed. Now I have a good sized collection of that gorgeous yarn, and have worked on my skills to do justice to it.
YAY for not giving up.
I am self-taught as well and cringe when I think fo the stuff I made at first. I also gave a lot of it away as gifts (more cringing). One of my first sweaters was in acrylic boucle yarn my mom gave me. So hard to knit with and absolutely horrible. The sweater and the rest of the yarn went straight to Goodwill. Fortunately many of my co-teachers were also knitters and had been longtime users of Peace Fleece yarn. So wonderful and wooly. I was an instant convert and haven’t looked back since. I love nothing better than a good, sheepy wool yarn. And I’ve learned to knit for myself and not feel like I have to give everything away.
Yes knit something for you..yes
My mom was a knitter & my older sister crocheted. I could not get the hang of either.
When my younger sister was pregnant with her first baby I was determined I was going to crochet a baby blanket. Remember I hadn’t picked up a crochet hook for 20 years after all the epic fails. But I told myself a baby blanket should pretty easy. I hunted down the perfect yarn and pattern a round baby blanket. Well I worked on this blanket for weeks just kept hooking going around and around. Never looked at the progress until I finished the last stitch. Well the blanket definitely wasn’t round it was shaped like an egg. Needless to say I was so upset that I didn’t give it to her at the shower. I did show it to her saying I would make another one for her. She grabbed it laughing and said no it’s perfect she used that egg shaped blanket with all three of her kids. 34 years later we still laugh about it.
SEE you have the best sister ever! I love that!
My first project was a romper/jumper in middle school. It actually fit.
WOW! That’s impressive! You go!
Am I the only one who doesn’t remember learning how to knit or sew? I was so young, and I learned first of all from my mum, and then the girls had sewing classes in school (wow, that was a long time ago) right up until I left school at 18. I had a superb sewing teacher from age 11 to 16, who was a stickler, and who improved my sewing/tailoring skills immensely.
I had the best dressed dolls around! All knitted and sewn clothes by me. They were probably my first projects, but I don’t have any of them now – moved too many times. I started making most of my own clothes from about age 11, but sadly don’t have any of them now. My oldest item I still have is my grad dress from 1977 – it no longer fits, but I cannot bring myself to get rid of it.
Like you I mostly knitted in acrylic yarn for many years, until I moved back to Canada 14 years ago and joined a knitting group, and then found out about all the different natural yarns available. Now I spin my own yarn, quilt, weave as well as knit and sew. I love to keep learning new crafts (except for crocheting, which is only done if necessary!!).
LOL what you got against crochet? I promise the first time I went into a yarn shop I heard birds sing. LOL
Absolutely nothing wrong with crochet – it just doesn’t ‘float my boat’! I don’t have the muscle memory for it, and my hand gets tired very quickly. Knitting, on the other hand, I can do for 10 hours straight!
I love discovering new yarn stores, too. I scout out every yarn store I can whenever I go anywhere new.
My Gram tried to teach me to knit when I was about 9. I was fidgety and she was impatient. Eventually I was excused to go play. I taught myself to crochet as a teen and made a few things- the worlds ugliest shawl for my mom that was acrylic and multicolored in not an attractive way. She kept it for decades. I made one granny square throw for a friend who supplied the yarn. Crochet was ok, but it never captured me like knitting has.
I was 19 and my sister and I had gone to Lee Wards (gone but not forgotten). She had discovered their sale bins. I scooped up 20 balls of soft pink yarn that was definitely acrylic but had a mohair look to it. Knit dresses were the rage and I had to have one. Long cold winters meant I would actually wear it. I stopped in at the yarn shop up the street from where I worked, and explained that I needed a book to help me knit. If it had patterns so much the better. I was pointed at Elizabeth Zimmerman’s “Knitting Without Tears”. That book became my bible. I created a lovely dress with no pattern, but lots of measurements. Wore it until it really was almost toast. There was way too much yarn, and a few years later I used the rest to knit a tiny dress for my daughter. All three of my girls wore it and we still have it for grandbabies.
I think the thing I love to knit most now are socks. Elizabeth Z taught me those as well. All based on gauge and measuring. Toe up are my jam, because I can perfectly customize them to each person’s foot in a way that makes sense to me.
I didn’t make the leap from acrylic to natural fibers until my second husband talked me into getting sheep by telling me that it would mean “Free Wool!!” He was a farm kid who missed his critters. There not one thing that was free about that wool, but I was truly in love with the animals and their fiber. I still have the socks I knit from the first shearing. They are lumpy and the moths have gotten them in spots, and I am very proud of them.
You ask the best questions GG!!
I love that story!! Thank you for sharing. Those have to be the best socks ever.
The very first thing I remember making was a gathered nightcap for the cat. I used a Kleenex. I was about 4.
My mom sewed and cooked. My dad was a carpenter. My grandma knitted. My parents provided every kind of art and building material you can imagine.I don’t remember the first time I used tools, sewed, knitted, cooked or held a paintbrush. If you told me I came to life by magic with tools and art supplies already in my hands, well, it might actually be true.
But the first mostly okay thing I knitted was a pair of socks. My grandmother talked me through them. We didn’t even use a pattern, although I found one after those socks were done so I could work on them without her.
Wow socks without a pattern? You are magical!
I learned from my Gramma but it’s so long ago that I can’t remember not knitting! It’s always been such a big part of my life!
I do remember knitting in college, and it was cold there so I used to knit Lopi sweaters. They were the original color block sweaters that are so popular now. There are so many more varieties of yarn available now!
For me, knitting is my stress reliever.
Now I have to look up Lopi sweaters. 🗣 thank you for sharing
I’ve knit practically everything except a sweater. I haven’t pushed through the fear yet! My first finished object was a scarf for my husband made out of Lamb’s Pride. The mohair scratched his neck and left little red bumps and stuck to his stubble. He wasn’t real impressed with the wearing, but it looked good! I gave it away. I learned a lot, especially that I’m not a big fan of mohair.
I know how you feel about the sweater. You will do it when you are ready. thanks for reading 👩🏾💻😊🧡
Thank you for sharing your first steps on the Knitting Journey with us. I was not a knitter or even a crafter prior to 2004. I took a $10 Introduction to Knitting class at a local crafts store. (Now closed.) Though I was given fuzzy acrylic yarn, I stayed all afternoon and finally mastered the knit stitch! I definitely fell in love with knitting, and after the class—in the pre-YouTube days—I turned to Debbie Stoller’s first book, Stitch ‘n’ Bitch. (Still a book I recommend to new or would-be knitters.) Though I’d never learned hands-on skills from books before, Debbie taught me how to purl and how to bind off. She has my eternal gratitude! After a long scarf apprenticeship I moved on to knitting in the round and hats…and the fun hasn’t stopped since!
Aww thanks for sharing your story
Stitch n Bitch “The Happy Hooker” was one of the first crochet pattern books I bought and I still love it!
My Mom taught me to knit and the first project was the dad Christmas gift muffler. You know, the one done in rainbow Lion Brand, in irregular garter stitch, starting out 6 inches wide and ending up 10 inches wide. But my dad used it every winter for the rest of his life. <3
Yay Dad!
I LOVE this!!
I don’t remember my first knitting project, but I do know that I met my BFF in home ec knitting class in 7th grade (we were the last class with mandatory home ec for girls). She was afraid she would get an F on the disastrous scarf she was knitting, so I helped her (ok, kind of knit it for her) and we have been friends for 45 years!
Hi GG! My mom was always a crafter, and taught me to crochet, but I never got the hang of knitting as a child, just a bunch of beehive looking globs.
When I was married for the first time and in a very abusive relationship, I tried again, but the knitting was so tight, I couldn’t go forward.
Flash forward to when I got a divorce, everything changed, my tightly wound nerves loosened, along with my knitting, and viola! I made my dad a scarf for my first project. I think it might have been with redheart or something, I don’t remember, but I was so proud!
Waaaay back in middle school or early high school I found an old crochet book of my mom’s and decided I was going to learn to do that. I very unsuccessfully made a few doilies and a scarf or two – and that was it for about 20 years. Then in the early 2000’s I decided once again that I wanted to crochet. I bought one of those “teach yourself to crochet” kits and the rest is history! For a long time it was only scarves, dishcloths, and hats – then I had a grandson and I went crazy on hats and some baby sweaters. I’m still terrified to try a sweater fo rmyself!
I learned to crochet from my Mom. I made a red, white and blue (variegated yarn) drawstring purse. I carried that thing until I wore it out! This was 1976. My first cross stitch project was my dad’s initials on a handkerchief when I was about 6. For some reason, I thought cross stitch was hard until it was part of my Home-Ec curriculum, then I loved it! My grandma, aunties and Mom all knit/crocheted. One aunt taught me to cable. I don’t remember my first knitting project, but I was an adult before I got back to it and I’ve been going great guns ever since.
About 5 years ago my niece knit her littles a couple of gnome hats. My then 13-year-old took one look and told me “if you knit me one, I’d wear it!” Challenge accepted! My niece introduced me to Ravelry, I took myself to YouTube University, just like you, and I’ve been knitting obsessed ever since.