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What do you need to start knitting? The following list of "FAQ's" or frequently asked questions should help you get started.
See the resource page for information on how to locate classes and teachers near you. I recommend a class or teacher.
For furthering your technique, try to attend the Stitches Convention (see resources.) Many yarn stores and craft stores hold classes and seminars during the year. Get on the mail list of your favorite store near you if they hold events.
http://www.woolworks.org/guilds.html This page has a list of guilds from Woolworks. Organized by state.
Generally, I recommend that people start with circular needles (these are short needles attached by a nylon cable in between.) If you get used to them, you can do both flat knitting and knitting-in-the-round (seamless) with ease. They also are more compact, and can be used on a plane or in tight seating where you might poke someone with the end of a straight needle.
The join between the needle and cable MUST be smooth, so buy the best ones you can. (Inox, Addi, Susan Bates) The interchangeable kits often have rough joins between the end of the cable and the needle that snaps on and off, so I don't recommend these. You need 16 and 24 inch sizes in 3.5, 5 and 6 mm probably to start. Depends on the project you start with.
If you are going to do circular (seamless) or sock knitting you will need double-pointed needles in the same sizes. I recommend bamboo or casein over metal. These needles can be harder to start with for the beginning knitter but by no means impossible.
I prefer the sets of 5 needles (European) to the sets of 4 (American.) To use double-pointed needles, you cast on normally on one needle, portion out the stitches on three or four needles, and knit around with the fourth (fifth.) Each needles is a segment of a circle in circular knitting. The first round is joined just like in circular knitting.
You need double-points to do turtle necks and socks, also tam-o-shanters and berets. They knit circles down to a very small diameter where circular needles can't bend around to fit. Don't be afraid of double-pointed needles, they are useful and can't be beat for socks, mittens and gloves.
A set of coil-less safety pins makes for good markers. You need them to mark the beginning of circular rounds and repeats in patterns. Commercial split-ring markers and even square-knot tied tiny rings of contrasting color smooth yarn work well.
A spool of 1/8 inch satin ribbon. Can be used as a ravel cord if you must start a project with provisional casting on (leaving live stitches at the bottom.) There are a lot of methods to learn for provisional casting on, but the easiest is to cast on as you normally do with waste yarn ( a smooth yarn of similar gauge) and knit for a few inches. Knit in one row of ribbon, cut a generous end, then start the design yarn. You pull the smooth ribbon out when ready to release the live stitches and pick them up again. Believe me, this is the easiest method to learn.
Tape measure Get one of the little ones that roll up into a plastic case, so you can carry it in your purse.
Yarn needles While there are ways you can learn to NEVER sew a seam, you often need yarn needles for grafting or sewing. I recommend the set by Clover in a little screw-top tube. They are gold-colored and have bent tips for ease of picking up stitches. You'll need a set of sharp-ended yarn needles as well. Put them all in the Clover tube and carry it always with you. The screw cap has a little eyelet; I put a coil-less safety pin through it and pin the whole tube to the inside of my purse. Then I always have a set of needles available to finish the sock I invariably carry with me.
Knitting Bag, Needle Carrier There are so many kinds of these. I favor a knitting tote that has ziplock bags inside. It is about 8 x 10 X 2, but holds ALL my circular needles and a lot of other things as well. This I use for storage. For carrying around knitting, I use a ziplock bag for small projects and a drawstring cloth bag for large ones.
Schoolhouse Press and Patternworks both carry a huge selection of knitting accessories.
Well, a scarf is good if you WANT a scarf as the end result. There are some good scarf patterns, some are circular tubes that make a double fabric. A plain, garter scarf is extremely boring, however. (knit every row until it is very long and you are very sick of it.) I think a potholder is a better place to start, or a dishcloth. (In case you think dishcloths are for novices only, there is a group of knitters who are passionate about them and knit hundreds of them a year.)
I like hats, as a plain watch cap is a great tool to learn circular knitting and end up on double-pointed needles with not much trouble.
I almost never knit scarves. TOO boring. But if I did, I'd do the scarf-hat from Schoolhouse Press. It is a tube with two closed ends like sock toes. You punch in one end and put that on your head as a hat. Wrap the scarf around and face the wind.
Definitely NOT mohair or fluffy yarn to start. It is darn hard to rip out. Ripping out is also called "Frogging" (ie, rip-it, rip-it) and is a good habit to learn. Yes, your hard work is undone by frogging, but you get the pleasure of knitting it again and get an end result that won't make you cringe every time you see a glaring error. I've taught people to knit and ripped out in front of their horrified eyes, feet of fancy knitting done by me, to show that if you learn to knit quickly and smoothly, you won't be afraid to take out the offending bits.
Smooth worsted weight wool or a good grade acrylic wool mix (Lion Brand Wool-ease or Paton's Canadiana are good acrylic or mixes.) I favor wool; acrylic is not as warm and doesn't hold up as well as you'd think.
A smooth cotton is also very good, but less elastic and harder to start with. Still, for a dishcloth, Sugar 'n Cream cotton is a great choice. Wool is elastic and easier on the hands of a beginner.
The new fashion bulky yarns are mostly very easy to use and very forgiving of gauge and even-ness. Too forgiving in fact. If you want to learn smooth, even knitting, a smooth worsted weight wool is best. However, you may get a very pleasing sweater finished in the new bulky "thick and thin" style wools. They aren't cheap, but widely available and very "in."
Yarn storage If you start to accumulate yarn (a bad habit we all get into, especially if there are sales going) you need storage. Large plastic bins and even pillow cases work well. Remember about moths. They are tragic. There are herbal repellents. Napthalene is somewhat toxic, but if moths are a problem in your area, you may need to resort to a few as preventative. Air out the yarn in fresh air and don't store mothballs in areas where you live and breath. Damp basements are not good storage areas. A dry attic may be better. If you use herbal repellent, under the bed is a fine place to store yarn.
Yarn Disposal: If you buy yarn and you just aren't ever going to use it, your yarn store may take it back (save those receipts!) If they won't accept a return you can auction it off on Ebay. A digital camera is helpful to show what the yarn looks like. If you don't have a camera, take a snapshot and find someone who can scan it in for you to create a jpg. file. Not necessary for auctioning yarn, but really helps the potential bidders to see what you are offering. A scan of the ball band is also a good idea. If you don't have your own homepage, there are sites that will host pictures for your auction. There are also swap sites available, check with your e-mail list for yarn swaps. Local guilds also have swap days sometimes.
A local yarn store is a great resource, try to find one recommended to you by other knitters in your area.
Although it pains me to say it, Walmart can be good for certain yarns like Woolease. Not all of them carry a good selection, but the price is right. I get my spools of satin ribbon there--they have a good craft selection usually. Michael's (replaced Lee Wards) often has good sales but average yarns (not too many top grade wools) and if you have Ben Franklin store in your area (New England has these) they often have good selections of acrylic and some wools.
There are wonderful mail order places (Schoolhouse Press, Patternworks, Lion Brands)
Ebay auctions are a great place to find bargains as long as you don't get caught up in a bidding war! Many people auction off excess yarn from their "stash" here and there are some great vendors who sell new yarn via Ebay.
Fiber festivals (spinning and wool festivals) and shows like Stitches Market are fabulous places to find unique and beautiful yarns. If you can go to a show in your area, do so. They are fun and you can meet some terrific people.
My opinion (maybe worthless, as I am right handed) is that since knitting, like piano playing, is done with both hands, you can learn to knit the same way as a right hander.
There are two styles of knitting; continental, throwing the yarn with the left hand, and English, throwing with the right hand. Try them both and see which works for you. It's best to learn both. For Norwegian or Fairisle color patterns, it's great to knit with both hands, as you can put a color in each hand. I don't recommend reversing the instructions as it makes it harder to follow patterns and since you CAN use your left hand as the main knitting hand in Continental knitting, why not do it that way?
Machine knitting really doesn't resemble hand knitting in technique. It is a bit more like sewing in that you must interact with machinery. For this reason, men who aren't so interested in handcrafts are often attracted to the knitting machine. However, there are also plenty of men who hand knit, so don't assume knitting is a woman-only thing. But if you are the type that likes machinery (for example sewing machines, sergers and the like) machine knitting maybe just the thing for you.
Knitting machines are a bit finicky but very fast and you can do some amazing things with them. These machines do lace, two-color-per-row fairisle and tucked (textured) stitches wonderfully well. However they don't do simple things like garter stitch, ribbing and cables without some fancy attachments.
Machines come in single bed ( flat knitting) and double bed (can make tubes, ribs and circular knitting.) Single-beds can sometimes be upgraded to double beds. But even a single bed can do a form of mock ribbing and even socks (knitted flat with a small seam.)
Try it out. If you like it, go for it. But it really isn't very much like hand knitting at all. If you do take to it, you can make yards of lace curtains, kid's clothes in a hour, skirts, dresses, even yards of knitted fabrics. It's a whole genre unto itself.