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you are weaving fabric and as your work grows, you will be able to see how the stitches interlock to form the fabric. As you add rows, ridges will appear on your work. You can use these ridges to count the number of rows you have completed. It takes some practice, but once you have mastered the knit stitch a whole new world of possibilities will begin to open up for you.

To finish your work, you will need to cast off all the stitches. This is also called binding off and it is quite easy to do. Knit two stitches. Slip the tip of the source needle into the first stitch you knitted on the receiving needle and carefully pass it over the second stitch and off the receiving needle. Knit a third stitch and then pass the second stitch over it and off of the receiving needle. As you move across the final row, you will easily see how each stitch is held in place by the one following it. When you have one stitch left, simply cut the yarn, leaving a five or six inch tail. Pull this tail through the final stitch and tug it gently. This tail, as well as the one at the beginning of your work are to be 'worked in'. If you cut them off, your work will unravel. Take a large sewing needle (tapestry needles work well) and thread the tail onto it. Sew the tail horizontally into the interlocking loops of the row it is closest to in the work. You only have to work it into a half-dozen or so stitches. You can then cut off any yarn that is left over.

What you have created is a garter stitch swatch. Take some time now to study your work. Is it even? Or are some rows, or stitches, tighter or looser than others? Did you end up with the same number of stitches as you started with? Stretch it length wise, width wise and corner to corner to see how the fabric behaves and how the the stitches have been intertwined. Now, very proudly, display it! It may not look like much, but if this is your first knitting experience, you have accomplished a great deal.

Keep practicing! There is more to come!

Learn more about this author, Toni McKilligan.
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