Starting to knit and stitch

This page is for people starting to knit or stitch in the UK. It covers yarn and needles, reading a yarn label, finding a local group, and knitting for others.

Yarn weights

Yarn comes in different thicknesses, called weights. The Craft Yarn Council, a US trade body, numbers them from 0 for the finest to 7 for the thickest. Its table gives the needle sizes usually used with each one.

It calls these guidelines only, and says to always follow the tension stated in your pattern.

Needle sizes

Needles in the UK are sized in millimetres. Older British needles used a number instead, and a thinner needle had a larger number.

The Craft Yarn Council advises going by the millimetre size on the packet, because number and letter sizes vary between makers. It also says to always knit a tension square first. If your square comes out larger than the pattern's, try a smaller needle.

Reading a yarn label

In Great Britain, a textile label must show the fibre content. Only a product made entirely of one fibre may be called "100%", "pure" or "all". The label must be in English, and when you buy online, the fibre content must be shown before you pay.

Care symbols follow an international standard, ISO 3758, which grew out of GINETEX's symbols. A tub means washing, and the number in it is the highest temperature. A triangle is about bleach, a square is about drying, and an iron's dots show its heat. GINETEX says a care label is not a guarantee of quality.

Finding a group

The Knitting & Crochet Guild is a UK charity run by volunteers. It has free notes for learning to knit, and branches around the UK. You do not need to be a member to join a branch, and one branch meets online.

The Embroiderers' Guild is a national charity, founded in 1906. It welcomes beginners, and lists affiliated stitch groups across the UK by county.

Knitting for charity

Knit for Peace, a UK initiative, gives hand-knitted items to hospitals, refuges and community groups. It accepts only new, unworn, hand-made items. It asks knitters to give locally where they can, and to ask the organisation first what it needs.

Knitting for babies

The Lullaby Trust, a baby-safety charity, says babies do not need to wear hats indoors, because getting too hot raises the risk of sudden infant death. In the cot, blankets should be lightweight and firmly tucked in, no higher than the shoulder. One blanket folded double counts as two, and the Trust does not recommend soft or bulky bedding for babies under 12 months.