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You absolutely can learn how to knit from watching YouTube tutorials. Before I get started with this blog, I want to make that clear! I’m not poopooing learning knitting skills online – in fact, I use it myself now and then to look up knitting techniques, especially things like M1PL and M1PR ‘cause I always forget which is which.
However, as fantastic as all the YouTube tutorials are for helping you get to grips with your stitches, they do lack one thing that’s invaluable when it comes to learning how to knit: an actual person. Someone who knows what they are doing and can give you immediate feedback. Of course, you can learn to knit and pick up all sorts of knitting skills without this, but in my humble knitter opinion, it’s all just so much easier when you do.
I used to teach beginners’ knitting classes back in the day, and I heard the same things over and over again. “I tried to learn on YouTube, but I couldn’t really get it,” or “the person in the video moved too fast and I couldn’t see what they were doing properly, so I just gave up”. But then an hour into my beginners’ knitting workshop, and they had already nailed a knitted cast-on, knitted 10 rows of garter stitch, and were feeling confident enough to start having a go at purling.
And a knitting workshop isn’t just for beginner knitters either; I think classes can be great for crafters of all levels. Knitters who have been knitting for years but now want to try steeking for the first time, intermediate knitters who want to knit their first pair of socks, or anyone looking to improve their finishing techniques, like our Janice teaches here at Baa! from time to time.
So, if you’re an aspirational stitcher who’s been wanting to learn how to knit, or you’re an established knitter looking to pick up a new knitting skill, here are a few reasons why you might consider booking yourself onto a knitting workshop rather than DIYing it with YouTube.
One of the trickiest things about learning how to knit is translating what someone else is doing on screen into what your own hands need to do.
You can watch someone knit a stitch ten times, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to recreate it straight away. It’s annoyingly easy to wrap your yarn around the wrong way, slip your needle into the wrong part of a stitch or accidentally twist your stitches without even realising. I spent years wrapping my yarn around the needle the wrong way, so trust me when I say that once you’ve got into the habit of doing something a particular way, it can take a wee while to undo it!
When you’re at a knitting workshop, though, your tutor can look at what you’re doing and spot those small mistakes before they become habits. They can show you exactly where you’re going wrong, demonstrate the movement with your own knitting and help you get it right. Which is much easier than pausing a video and rewatching it for the 15th time, wondering what on earth you’re still doing wrong.
I’m sure you’re no stranger to following a knitting pattern and coming across an instruction that makes absolutely no sense to you. Being able to ask someone a question and get an answer straight away is one of the best things about learning in person.
I will admit that with the rise of AI, getting answers to questions is becoming easier and easier (if you’re AI-inclined), and don’t get me wrong, YouTube is brilliant for looking up individual knitting techniques when you need a quick reminder, but I really do think there’s a difference between finding an answer online and having someone next to you looking at what you’re doing and helping you work out what’s gone wrong!
I’m sure it’s probs possible to upload a video or a photo into some sort of GPT thingy and ask why you’ve now got 22 stitches instead of the 20 you started with. Whether the answer would actually help is another question! But at a knitting workshop, you can ask your tutor right there and then what to do. You don’t have to guess or ask Google; you can just show them your knitting, and let them help you sort it out.
I’ve touched on this already, but there’s an element of panic that comes with something going wrong when you’re learning something new. Sometimes it’s easy to see what’s happened, like a dropped stitch, but sometimes, your knitting just looks wrong. Things are a bit wonky or your stitch count doesn’t add up, and you’re not really sure why, let alone know what to type into YouTube to find something that will help you fix it.
In these instances, it’s so easy to get frustrated or rip out perfectly good stitches or worse, decide that knitting just isn’t for you after all. Having someone there to help takes so much of that stress away. You can hand over your needles and say, “Help, I don’t know what I’ve done,” and your tutor can help you work out what’s happened and how to fix it. Even better, you can actually watch them as they fix it and learn how to sort it out yourself next time – arguably the most important knitting skill you could have in your toolkit!
I’m relatively introverted and anti-social, but even I get a buzz from doing something (read: knitting) with other people (knitters).
There’s something really, really nice about learning how to knit alongside people who are there doing the same. You can celebrate when something finally clicks, and there’s something reassuring about realising that you’re not the only person struggling with a particular stitch or having to undo something for the second time. We’ve all been there!
Of course, if you’re on the quieter side and would rather get on with your knitting and listen to the conversation happening around you, that’s absolutely fine too. You don’t have to be an extroverted knitter to enjoy being part of a knitting workshop. Sometimes it’s just nice to spend a couple of hours doing something creative with some really nice people.
Since lockdown and the rise in working from home, I think actually getting out of the house is a bit underrated. Sometimes it’s nice to experience another set of four walls for a change. Aside from learning how to knit, a knitting workshop gives you a couple of hours away from your usual routine and a chance to do something creative, rather than just sitting in front of your phone screen or tablet after tea, having another go at your knitting practice.
Obviously, we’re a little bit biased, but we absolutely love our knitting shop here in Stonehaven, and we know our Stonehaven crafters love it too. Our knitting workshops with Janice and crochet classes with Fiona Meade are always popular – I mean, what’s not to like about spending an evening doing something creative surrounded by loads of lovely lovely yarn, with a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits?!
Do I need to elaborate on this one?
Yes, I am an enabler, but when you’re excited about something, it’s nice to ride that motivation train. If you’ve just done a sock-knitting class, for instance, isn’t it nice to be able to pick up another ball of sock yarn so that you can get straight on with knitting your next pair?
Or if you’ve just learned to knit in a beginner’s knitting workshop, how convenient is it to have all the bits and bobs you need right there? You can leave with yarn for your first ‘proper’ project and a tapestry needle to hand for weaving in those ends, too.
Obviously I’m not saying you have to buy anything, but it’s nice to have the option, you know?
If you’re in Stonehaven and fancy learning to knit, want to improve your knitting skills or just want to spend an evening doing something creative, well, you’re in the right place! We’d love to see you at one of our workshops. If you head over to Craft Workshops at Baa!, you can see what knitting workshops we have coming up, as well as all the dates for our popular crochet workshops with Fiona Meade.
We host a variety of workshops in the shop, and classes do tend to sell out pretty quickly. So, if you’d like to be among the first to hear when new classes are added, give Janice a follow on Eventbrite.
And for the keen crocheters among us, you can follow our lovely crochet tutor, Fiona Meade, too.
Hope to see you at a knitting workshop or crochet class soon!
