When starting a new hobby its incredibly tempting to just dive in to your dream project. While that is possible with knitting, it can also create a lot of frustration with how quickly it can become complicated and overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing stopping you from immediately starting on a sweater project even when you’ve never knit a stitch in your life. I even have a recommendation for both a pattern and a tutorial for your first sweater! I’ve included some recommendations below for other projects, but you can find a multitude of free and paid patterns on Ravelry. Use the filters in Ravelry to narrow down your search to free patterns and by level of difficulty.
1. Towels and Washcloths
Towels and washcloths/dishcloths are useful, easy to make and knit up quickly. I’ve created a free, simple washcloth pattern for you to use as your first project, including step-by-step instructions and video tutorials.
2. Coasters
Coasters are another quick and straightforward project suitable for newbie knitters. You can play around with different yarn colors and create a set of coasters to match your home decor. Use a yarn that is machine washable for easy clean up.
3. Beanies
Most everyone could use a new warm hat or two for fall and winter so knit hats and beanies are quick projects that are perfect for learning how to knit in the round and decrease your stitches. There are a couple of different methods for knitting small circumferences such as double-pointed needles and the magic loop method. Magic loop involves using circular needles with a longer cord.
4. Scarves
Scarves can be super simple to knit, but beware! You may encounter boredom or burnout with how long it takes to knit a scarf to the desired length. You may not want to risk giving up if it takes much longer than you expect.
5. Baby Blankets
Baby blankets make great gifts for friends and family that are expecting. You can of course purchase a pattern, but there are actually thousands of free patterns available on Ravelry for download. There are even more paid patterns available if none of the free options are right for you.
6. Shawls
Shawls can be simple as a beginner project and make great gifts for friends and family. Construction usually involves increases and decreases. Shawl patterns can also can be very complex when you get into lace-work patterns.
7. Socks
There are a lot of techniques to learn in order to knit a pair of socks: knitting in a small circumference, short rows, picking up stitches, kitchener stitch, etc. However, they can be a great way to learn and can knit up quickly if using a heavier yarn. Sock or fingering weight yarns do tend to take more time.
8. Fingerless Gloves & Mittens
Fingerless gloves and mittens can be quick projects when using heavier yarn. You can learn skills such as putting stitches on hold, increases and decreases.
and Yes, Sweaters!
I highly recommend Handmade by Florence‘s Step-by-Step Sweater for your first sweater project. She has an excellent YouTube tutorial for every step of the way and an easy to follow pattern. It is also knit with worsted weight yarn, so it knits up much quicker than lighter weight yarns. You can find the free pattern on Ravelry.