How to Loom Knit for Beginners – Free Video Series!

Inside: Learn how to cast on, knit, purl and bind off in the How to Loom Knit for beginners video series. Plus loads of tips to make learning and looming easy!Cast On

How to Loom Knit: Lessons 2-5

After nearly a decade of loom knitting, it’s time to revisit the basics with a new series of videos. This series is like taking an online loom knitting class!

If you missed the first lessons, you can find them in my post, 13 Questions for Beginners to Get the Best Start Loom Knitting. It covers a comprehensive introduction to the craft and answers many common questions.

Today, I hope you’re ready to dive right in and get started with yarn and loom in hand!

This post is dedicated to all the essential skills for a loom knitter:

• Lesson 2.0 – Cast Ons
• Lesson 3 – Knit Stitches
  • Lesson 3.0 – Comparison of 4 versions of the knit stitch
  • Lesson 3.1 – Flat Knit Stitch
  • Lesson 3.2 – U Knit Stitch
  • Lesson 3.3 – True Knit Stitch
  • Lesson 3.4 – E Wrap Knit Stitch
• Lesson 4.0 – Purl Stitch
• Lesson 5.0 – Bind Offs

I encourage to follow along with each video while you practice. By then end of Lesson 5 you will have all the techniques you need to make your first project. But more about that in Lesson 6.

You will need a knitting loom, yarn of an appropriate weight for the loom, a loom tool and scissors.

Are you ready to learn how to loom knit?

Lesson 2.0 – Cast Ons

Casting on refers to the method of securely wrapping the yarn around the pegs on your loom. In order to knit or purl, you need to have a stitch on each peg. There are dozens of methods for casting on.

Each method has a purpose.

In the video below I teach 3 unique cast ons:

• Double E Wrap
• E Wrap/Flat Knit
• Chain Cast On (using either your fingers or a crochet hook)

Lesson 3 – Knit Stitches

One of the ways that loom knitting differs from needle knitting is that loom knitters have several ways to create a knit stitch. The 4 knit stitches we use have some minor differences in tension and the 4th one twists the stitch to change the appearance.

The 4 knit stitches we’re going to cover in order from tightest tension to loosest are:

• Flat Knit Stitch
• U Knit Stitch
• True Knit Stitch (also called the Reverse Purl)
• E Wrap Knit Stitch (also called Twisted Knit Stitch)

Lesson 3.0 – Knit Stitch Overview (Compares all 4 knit stitch variations.)

Lesson 3.1 – Flat Knit Stitch Instruction

Lesson 3.2 – U Knit Stitch Instruction

Lesson 3.3 – True Knit Stitch Instruction

Lesson 3.4 – E Wrap Knit Stitch Instruction

Lesson 4.0 – Purl Stitch

The purl stitch is the opposite of a knit stitch. What that means is that on the front of your project it makes a small horizontal bump, but on the back it looks like a knit stitch.

Some loom knitters like the ease of the knit stitches, but try to avoid purls. I admit they are not as smooth as an E Wrap or U Knit. However, did you know that you can learn to purl quickly in one direction. Right handed loom knitters tend to purl better from right to left while lefties are the opposite.

Let me tell you why purls matter.

1. Including both knits and purls lets you create designs and texture on your knitting.
2. When you knit a flat project, using both knits and purls prevents your project from curling at the edges. Knit stitches tend pull the fabric toward the back while purls pull toward the front. Using both stitches keeps this tug of war balanced.

Lesson 5.0 – Bind Offs

Now you’re ready for the big finish! It’s not the end of the How to Loom Knit for beginners series, but it is the end of your project. Now it’s time to bind off. That simple means remove all the stitches securely from your loom.

Just like cast ons there are dozens of methods for binding off and each has it’s purpose.

Since this is a beginner series I’m only going to teach two of them.

• Basic Bind Off (you will use this one a lot!)
• Drawstring Bind Off (used for hat crowns, bags and other items that need to draw the knitting closed)

PIN IT!

I hope you enjoy and use the basic techniques in Lessons 2-5. Lesson 6 (How to Loom Knit Easy Stitch Patterns) is going to put it to the test by learning to combine a cast on, knits, purls and a bind off to create projects. No more practice samples. Let’s loom knit something you can actually use!