An illustrated guide showing how to create beautiful, timeless pieces, whether you're picking up needles for the first time or a seasoned pro looking for advanced patternsFrom scarves and sweaters to bags, pillows, and more, you'll find lots of projects for practicing and perfecting your knitting skills in Knitting For Dummies, which includes an instructional online video showing you the actual knitting techniques being done step-by-step.Experienced and novice crafters alike can benefit from the book's step-by-step instructions that explain knitting in plain English. For anyone new to knitting, this hands-on friendly guide shows you how to* Cast on, knit, purl, and bind off -- the four basic skills needed to complete any knitting* Decipher pattern instructions and charts* Combine knit and purl stitches with increases and decreases for different effects* Create different kinds of cables, lace, and more* Read the language and graphics in knitting patterns and charts* Increase and decrease stitches and use these techniques to shape a project and create designIt also shows you what to do if you drop a stitch or inadvertently add one. If you know the basics of knitting and want to expand your skills to include stitch patterns with more complexity, you've come to the right place:* Combine stitch increases and decreases to create lacework* Get familiar with Fair Isle patterns and simple intarsia motifs, which involve working in more than one color in one row* Practice with plenty of projects to perfect your advanced knitting techniques* Learn to add interest with stripes* Have fun with fulling and felting* Make sweaters, from blocking and assembling your pieces to adding finishing touches like neckbands, edging, and buttonholesKnitting For Dummies includes ten quick projects to make for gifts and exercises to "unkink" your neck and shoulders should you lose yourself for hours at a time in your craft! Finally, the book ends with a couple appendixes showing you more cool effects and a list of knitting software and helpful online resources. If you're itching to start stitching, grab this book to start crafting your knitted masterpiece today.

Introduction 1Part 1: Getting Started with Knitting 5Chapter 1: Two Needles, a Ball of Yarn, and a Little Know-how 7Chapter 2: Tools of the Trade 15Chapter 3: Taking the Mystery Out of Patterns and Gauge 41Part 2: Knitting Primer 55Chapter 4: The Fundamentals: Casting On, Knitting, Purling, and Binding Off 57Chapter 5: Basic Stitches You'll Use Again and Again 77Chapter 6: Techniques Every Knitter Should Know 89Chapter 7: Oops! Fixing Common Mistakes 109Chapter 8: Knitting in the Round 123Chapter 9: Practicing with Simple Projects 133Part 3: Techniques for the More Experienced Knitter 149Chapter 10: Adding Interest with Stripes 151Chapter 11: Cable Musings and Interesting Twists 171Chapter 12: Let the Sun Shine In: Knitting Lace 195Chapter 13: Fair Isle and Intarsia Techniques 215Chapter 14: Fulling Fun: Making Your Project's Presence Felt 237Part 4: Making Knitted Garments 249Chapter 15: Anatomy of a Sweater Pattern 251Chapter 16: How to Knit a Sweater, Step by Step 259Chapter 17: Getting It Together: Blocking and Assembling Your Pieces 275Chapter 18: Finishing Touches: Neckbands, Edging, Buttonholes, and More 303Chapter 19: Starter Garments 319Part 5: The Part of Tens 339Chapter 20: Ten Quick Knitting Projects and Gifts 341Chapter 21: Ten Unkinking Exercises for Knitters 353Part 6: Appendixes 357Appendix A: More Stitches and Cool Effects 359Appendix B: Knitting Resources 373Index 377