The Non-Wool Beginner's Class

So my thinking has been: if I could knit 20 hats a year to give to charity, I could teach 20 people how to knit and if they each donated 20 hats, that would make 400 hats. That's a lot of hats!

My Plan: 
Teach others to knit and multiply my ability to give! One person has only so many hours in a day, but a multitude has many times more...

Inspire. Show some things I've made: dishcloths, scarves, hats, vests, sweaters, etc. Explain that we'll start small and work towards big. Dishcloths are a great way to begin, as you can knit a dishcloth in just about any stitch pattern. These stitch patterns can later be incorporated into hats, scarves, mittens, socks, sweaters and vests, afghans, and, well just about anything you can knit!

Teach the basics by starting with casting on and the knit stitch, then the bind off. Knit a very Basic Garter Stitch Dishcloth. There's a lot of "knit stitch" practice in an 8" x 8" dishcloth, and dishcloths are like mini-gratifications of accomplishment :)

The Basic Garter Stitch Knit Dishcloth Pattern:

Recommended materials:
Size 7 or 8 knitting needles and 100% cotton worsted weight yarn.
I recommend 9" Takumi/Clover Bamboo knitting needles.

Cast on 32 stitches.
Row1: Knit across. Turn...
Remaining Rows: Repeat row 1 until dishcloth is desired size.
Bind off, cut yarn leaving a 4”-6” tail to sew in.

Add stitches and accomplishments. Each accomplishment, no matter how seemingly small, brings confidence to a new knitter. Since there are really only two stitches (knit, purl) and the yarn over, it's more a matter of combining and manipulating these basic stitches that create a work of art.

I just taught my first class to the ladies at Faith Scraps, an all day, all crafts event held at North-Mar Church in Warren, OH. It was fun, and I can see I need to find a place to teach knitting more often, because I'm sure there are going to be questions I just can't answer over the phone... and I must confess, I LOVE TO TEACH KNITTING!!! :)