hi all. so i found out today that i got a part in my school’s play. it’s ‘and then there were none’ by agatha christie, and i am emily brent. she’s a crazy old conservative spinster and i spend a lot of time onstage knitting. so the director asked me if i wouldn’t mind learning how to knit.
any tips?
Go to a craft store and ask someone there to teach you. It’s not difficult, and I’m assuming you need to be making convincing motions and not making a garment that someone has to wear.
It’s super easy. If you can get someone to show you, you’ll pick it up in under 5 minutes.
There’s a couple of booklets you can get at the craft store that can help you out. One that I’m thinking of is called “I Taught Myself to Knit”. If I recall correctly, it has very clear photos and diagrams to help you out. You should have no problem picking up the basics of knitting. Oh, choose a non-fuzzy type of yarn such as the Red Heart brand. If you have to pull out stitches, it will be much easier than an angora-type yarn. Plus, you won’t have to buy so much for the play. You could unravel some from your piece before each show and reknit it during it.
Where are you in Jersey? I’ll show you how if you want. Or I could probably recommend a good yarn store.
Basically, if you’re just going to be doing it on stage, you don’t have to learn the particulars of casting on, binding off, or even purling. Learning just the knit stitch is easy.
http://www.theyarnco.com/instruction.php
This site, plus a willingness to start over a few times, has gotten me knitting. I’ve made 1 1/2 scarves so far, and just learned how to purl today!
Congratulations on your role. A director asked me to knit once, but the best I could do at the time was crochet a really long line and undo it, over and over. Luckily my character was a little crazy, so it worked.
(sorry for the double-post, I keep forgetting that we can’t edit here)
Knitting’s an awesome thing for anybody in theater/television to learn, anyway. Not only can you put it on your resumé, but it can really pass the time while they don’t need you.
Get the book “Knitting for Dummies”. My wife wanted to learn how to knit and was looking for craft stores that held classes. After a couple weeks of dead ends, I got her that book, some yarn and some needles and within 10 minutes, she started making a scarf. It ended up being a very nice scarf.
Knitting is very easy to learn. All you are doing is making loops with yarn.
This is very difficult to explain without pictures, so go to Michael’s or even the library and find a book. You may want to ask some older female members of your family…they might be able to show you.
I started about five years ago, and I made a blanket all in knit stich. Then I made another one with two colors, also in knit stitch. Then I made another one, knit stitch only. After three blankets, I felt brave enough to try the purl stitch.
I now happily knit away using a cable needle. It’s very easy to pick up, and you get such a sense of accomplishment once you’ve completed your project. (Plus it gives me something to do while I’m watching tv.)
I wish I could knit, but I crochet instead. I was never able to pick up knitting, because my mother taught me backwards. Now, later in life, she knits like nobody’s business, and I’m still making doilies. Anyone want a doily?