As colder days and nights draw in and staying warm becomes a priority, knitting yourself an oversized, cozy scarf is the perfect project. Even if you have never knitted anything before, this tutorial will walk you through the simple steps and terms to create a beautifully sumptuous scarf that you'll enjoy wearing and will keep you warm.
A Complete Guide to Knitting a Scarf for Beginners
When choosing your yarn, opt for bulky or super bulky weight. The thicker the yarn, the quicker your project will be to complete. You will have fewer stitches to knit, making this a project you could realistically expect to finish in just a couple of hours. When you're a beginner, it's a good idea to embark on a project that can be completed in just a few sittings. Nobody wants unfinished knitting projects laying around!
What Do I Need to Get Started?
To make this scarf you'll need the following Fiskars tools:
And you'll need the following materials:
Yarn is typically sold in hanks, which resembles a loop, twisted together for storing and transporting. It cannot be knitted as is, and will need to be wound into a ball before you can use it.
Steps to Knitting a Scarf
Step 1. Wind the hank into a ball.Carefully remove any packaging labels using the Fiskars® Original Orange-handled Scissors™.
Untwist the hank and lay it in a circle on your worksurface. Some people like to place it over the back of a chair to prevent tangles.
Pick one of the two ends and start to wrap it around your fingers to wind it into a ball.
Eventually, you will have a ball of yarn that is ready to be used. We wound three hanks of yarn into balls for our scarf.
Step 2. Cast on.How many stitches you will need to cast on depends on how wide you want your finished scarf to be. We cast on 15 stitches to give us a finished scarf around 10" wide.
Take the tail end of one ball of yarn and tie a slipknot at the end, leaving a tail of about 6" - 8".
Take one of the knitting needles and place it through the slipknot. Pull on the yarn to tighten the knot around the needle. This is your first stitch.
Holding the first needle in your right hand, wrap the yarn behind the thumb and index finger of your left hand. Hold the yarn out of the way by tightly tucking it under your little finger.
Bring the needle across to the left hand and pick up the yarn that is across the front of your left hand and pull.
Pull down on the yarn so that it tightens around the needle. This will be the second stitch on the needle.
Cast on as many stitches as desired, using the same technique.
Step 3. Knit stitch.Now you have cast on your stitches, it's time to knit your first row.
Holding the needle with the stitches on in your left hand, take the second needle in your right hand and insert the point into the first stitch, from the front to the back.
Pick up the yarn and wrap it between the needles. Hold the yarn in place in your right hand and pull the needle back through the yarn, pulling the stitch off the needle on the left and picking up the stitch onto the right needle.
Repeat the steps until you complete one entire row of knit stitch.
Step 4. Purl stitch.Next, we are going to complete one row of purl stitches.
Again, holding the needle with the stitches on, in your left hand, insert the needle into the first stitch from the back to the front.
Pick up the yarn and wrap it between the needles. Hold the yarn in place in your right hand and pull the needle back through the yarn, pulling the stitch off the needle on the left and picking up the stitch onto the right needle.
Step 5. Knit the scarf.Our scarf is made of a stockinette stitch, which is alternating rows of knit stitch and purl stitch. As soon as you have completed one row of knit stitch, the next row will be a purl stitch.
Step 6. Starting a new ball.Eventually, you will get to the end of the yarn and you will need to join a second ball.
Complete your last stitch with the first ball, leaving a tail of about 6" - 8".
Pick up the end of the new ball of yarn and make a stitch with it. Hold the tail end of both balls of yarn out of the way. After you have completed 3 or 4 stitches with the new ball, the yarn will be secure and you can continue to knit as normal.
Leave the two ends hanging from the knitting. They will be woven in at the end.
Step 7. Cast off.When your scarf has reached the desired length, you're ready to cast off, which means removing the stitching from the needles.
To cast off, knit two stitches on your final row as normal.
Use the needle in your left hand to pick up and remove the first stitch on the needle in your right hand. Allow the stitch to drop.
Knit another stitch as normal, so that once again there are two stitches on the needle on the right. Again, use the needle in your left hand to pick up and remove the first stitch on the needle in your right hand.
Continue in this way until you have one final stitch left on the needle on the right. Remember, you should always have only one or two stitches on the right needle at any point.
Wrap the tail end of the yarn around the needle and use it to make the final stitch. Pull it all the way through the stitch and tighten, to finish casting off.
Step 8. Weave in the ends and trim.To finish the scarf, use a tapestry needle to sew in the loose ends and hide them within the fabric of the knitting. Then trim the ends using the Fiskars® Thread Snips.
Now you have your finished scarf – get ready to bring the cozy everywhere you go!
FAQs for knitting scarves
What are the best size knitting needles for beginners?
After you've selected your yarn, read the packaging labels for needle size recommendations and use those to select your needle size. Typically, thicker yarns require bigger needles. For beginners, thick yarn and needles are best because the project will grow quickly and will be ready to wear in no time!
What do I do if my stitches fall off my needle?
If your stitches fall off your needle, don't panic. You can usually slide the needle back through the stitches and carry on knitting as usual. Be sure not to twist the stitches as you place them back on the needle.
Why are my stitches so tight?
When you're a beginner, it's quite common to knit very tightly, making it difficult to insert the tip of the needle into the stitches. Make sure you knit by inserting the needle all the way to the fat part of the needle, not just to the thin tip. With more practice, you will learn to relax and reduce the tension in your stitches.
How wide should you knit a scarf?
This is totally up to you! The width of your project can vary depending on how many stitches you add. I would plan out a general width you like and keep that as a guide. I wanted my scarf to be about a foot wide, so I had lots of coverage for the chilly weather.
How much yarn do you need to knit a scarf?
Again, this varies as it depends on how long you want your scarf to be. I used three hanks of yarn for my scarf and it ended up being about four feet long.
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