Q&A for How to Knit a Sweater for Beginners

If you want your sweater to be a bit loose, try making it in the next size up according to the pattern. To make it a turtleneck, simply pick-up stitches around the neck-hole, and knit to the desired length.

Knit a swatch in the gauge of your pattern with the needles you intend to use for your project. Bind off and then wash and dry the swatch as you intend to do with the finished sweater. Finally, count the number of stitches or rows in the swatch to see if you match the gauge given in the pattern.

While you're working on the instructions before, also follow the next ones.

If this is the case, you could use a bigger yarn size and/or needle size. As for extra skeins, that would depend on your project's finished size.

This would depend on your particular pattern. Are your sleeves in 2 parts? If so, then you would need 4. If not, then 2.

Don't be discouraged. Be proud of the fact you finished all the pieces. Sewing it together can be difficult.

It sounds as if you are either a beginner, or your pattern isn't written very well. If the former, find an easier pattern to your skill level. If the latter, search for a more effective pattern.

There is no need to cut the yarn when binding off at the beginning of the row. Patterns always decrease at the beginning of the row to create the shaping of a garment. Just continue to follow the pattern to the end.

Make sure you are leaving your working yarn loose when binding off. If you are still pulling very tight, you can always move up a needle size to bind off.

That means to bind off the first 4 stitches of the knit row, then bind off the first 4 stitches on the (next) purl row. That makes the indentation for the start of the armholes on both sides of the piece. It's not easy to bind off stitches at the end of a row unless you are cutting the yarn, so it's just easier to bind off at the beginning of a knit row, then a purl row.

Sometimes patterns have different backs to sweaters, etc. And, normally it looks better when you've joined it together. If you've made a mistake don't worry, as no one else will know once it's all stitched together.

Cut your primary color yarn and continue working according to the pattern with the stripe color. When you are finished, reattach the primary color and cut the stripe color.

No, for this pattern they are not. Instead, they are sewn up at the end, before getting attached to the body of the sweater.

You need to sew up to the point where you want to connect the sleeve. Once you're there, sew the sleeve together and just sew it onto the main body.

You need to sew together the back and front piece together but leave a hole in the middle while you're sewing it together. This will be your neck hole.

You need to use circular knitting needles, pick up the stitches around the neck hole then knit. Because you're knitting in the round, the neck will automatically become round as well.

The sweater is meant to fit a human, and most humans have only one neck. Therefore, the sweater should have one neck hole.

Usually you need a pattern meant for children ages 2-8 to start with. If it's an adult pattern, you really can't downsize it to a child, just like you can't upsize a child pattern for an adult. Look for a pattern specifically made for the age group you're knitting the sweater for.