Homesteader Depot

Tag: knitting

  • Sewing, Knitting, and Crocheting – Three Skills You Need

    Sewing, Knitting, and Crocheting – Three Skills You Need

    As a homesteader, you are a collector of skills. With every skill that you acquire, it leads you one step closer to true self-sufficiency. The following are three related skills that you will certainly want to add to your repertoire – sewing, knitting, and crocheting. Let’s learn how these skills can benefit you.

    Sewing

    If you can sew, and if you practice your techniques, you can mend your clothing and tailor it as needed. This means your clothes can last for far longer than they would have. Not only that, but you may even get to the point where you decide you can make some of your clothing. You want to learn how to sew with a sewing machine, of course, but that’s not all. You should also learn how to sew by hand since a machine might not always be available.

    Knitting and Crocheting

    While these two skills are very similar, the methodology behind them is different. You may choose to focus on just one of the fields, or you might want to learn how to do both. When you can knit and crochet, you can make hats, mittens, scarves, blankets, and more. These are fun skills to learn, and you can put them to use. Having extra blankets around is always nice. In addition, you can give gifts that you’ve made, which is part of the homesteader’s DIY spirit.

    You might be wondering how long each of these skills takes to learn. Well, it depends on the person. Some people are fast learners and can pick up the basics quickly. It might take others a little longer to get the skills down. Once you get the basics though, you are well on your way. Of course, it can take quite some time to become a true master of these skills.

     

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  • How to Get Started Knitting

    How to Get Started Knitting

    It’s only the middle of August, but apparently snow is already accumulating above some US states-can you believe it? It’s already time to start thinking about getting out that winter gear. Or, if you want to learn a new skill-making it!

    Knitting is a wonderful skill to have, and it’s never too late to learn. It’s actually has some surprisingly health benefits, like improving cognitive function, memory, coordination and relieving stress. Not to mention you get scarves, hats, and or any of the many other things you can knit right at home! It’s a great way to give an original gift for the holidays that’s functional too, and wonderful alternative to cheap made-in-China goods.

    To get started knitting, you only need two things: yarn and knitting needles. That’s it! Nothing else fancy required.

    For needles, there are three kinds: plastic, metal and bamboo. Plastic and metal are usually very affordable, so you might want to start with a pair of those to see if you take to knitting before investing in the nicer bamboo needles. There are many different sizes of knitting needles, for different sized yarn and also desired tightness of the stitch, but size 8 is the most standard size. Packages of yarn will typically have recommendations for the size knitting needle to use with them, so check before buying.

    Yarn is what you’ll want to pick out next, and with all the beautiful colors available, this is definitely the fun part! To start out, you’ll probably want to buy two or three different colors, so you have a few options and, once you’ve got the hang of the stitch, you can practice changing the yarn. All yarn is either natural fiber or synthetic. Synthetic is very affordable, but also won’t breathe very well when worn. But this is a good choice to start out with, just to get the hang of knitting, and for many projects it can be ideal.

    Next, you’ll need to learn the basic stitch. knit-637092_1920

    And if you have an internet connection, well, then the wide wonderful world of free knitting tutorials, patters and guides is at your fingertips. This is a great beginner video on the basic stitch.

    This step can be the hardest-once you get the hang of it it’s very fun-and even addictive!

    A simple scarf is a very easy and fun first project, and useful too! Make one for each member of your family for the coming winter months, and maybe even some for extended family for gifts! You’ll find you can knit in your sleep in no time this way, with lots of practice of the basic stitch, and then you can move on to more complicated projects like hats, booties for babies, etc.

    Happy knitting!

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