Learning to knit (a baby blanket)

Why knit? Why indeed. Few things in life send a shiver down my spine, but they include World War One paraphernalia (specifically gas masks), antique dolls and knitted baby booties. Especially knitted baby booties.

But I am Inspired by to give knitting a try by the multicoloured jumper my husband grandma knitted for him when he was 18 months old and which has since been passed on to my son Tom. It’s the best item in Tom’s closet, complimented wherever we go and still in good shape after 35 years and two not very careful toddler owners.

My fears are that Joe’s gran was a pro, I am not and that badly home knitted items look truly sh*t. What creeps uninvited into my mind is the knitted clown toy we named Buttons that a kind friend (never before mentioned) of my parent’s in law handmade when she heard of our impending little one. It was a terrifying knit-mare that far exceeded even the imagination of Stephen King. I fought through the guilt to deliver it to the charity shop, along with another handmade gift, this time from my parent’s friend, of an odd-sized crocheted blanket which was more hole than wool.

I have one ambition for my first ever knit - not to instantly look homemade. I believe this to be the true sign of a great homemade item.

How do you begin knitting?

I longed for a simple start, where someone who knows how to knit sends me everything I need, along with instructions on what to do, the only possible improvement as my first knitting project to be them knitting it for me.

Beautifully soft merino wool in the beginners knitting kit

During an evening of research on the sofa watching Netflix I purchased, in a moment of spontaneity that matched neither my views on badly knitted items or my disastrous bank balance, the Sophie La Girafe Sleepy Baby Blanket Knitting Kit from Stitch and Story. My thinking centred around blankets always being useful and I’m least likely to go wrong if knitting a rectangle. The use of different coloured wool to make up the stripes adds a challenge (although only time will tell if an extra challenge is needed). It even comes with a label to sew on to the final item, making it appear professional to the untrained eye.