Start by getting basic knitting supplies: two size 8 or 10 knitting needles (straight, not circular—easier for beginners), one ball of medium-weight yarn in a light color (dark colors make stitches hard to see), scissors, and a yarn needle for finishing. You can find starter kits at craft stores like Michael's or Joann for under 15 dollars. Introduce knitting vocabulary: yarn is the string, needles are the tools, a stitch is one loop on the needle, casting on is how you start, knit and purl are the two basic stitches, and binding off is how you finish. Show your child how to hold the needles: one in each hand, with the yarn feeding from the ball. Explain that knitting is repetitive and meditative—it takes patience but creates beautiful results. Watch a 5-minute intro video together if your child is a visual learner.

Casting on is how you get the first row of stitches onto your needle. Start with the long-tail cast-on method (most common for beginners). Pull out a length of yarn about three times as long as you want your finished piece to be wide (for practice, about two feet). Make a slipknot and slide it onto one needle—that's your first stitch. Now, using your thumb and index finger to hold the yarn tails, create loops and slip them onto the needle one by one. Aim for 20-25 stitches for your practice piece. The stitches should be snug but not tight—if you pull too hard, you won't be able to knit them later. Watch a tutorial together and pause to practice each step. Your child will probably mess up the first few times—that's normal. Undo and try again until they get 20 decent stitches on the needle.

Now it's time to knit! Hold the needle with cast-on stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right. Insert the right needle into the first stitch from front to back, wrap the working yarn around the right needle, pull the yarn through the stitch, and slide the old stitch off the left needle. That's one knit stitch! The new stitch now lives on the right needle. Repeat across the row: insert, wrap, pull through, slide off. When you finish the row, you'll have moved all the stitches from left needle to right needle. Flip the work—now the full needle is in your left hand again—and knit another row. This is called garter stitch (all knit stitches). Aim for 20-30 rows. Your first rows will look messy and uneven—that's okay. By row 10, you'll see improvement. By row 20, it'll start looking like fabric.

The purl stitch is the knit stitch's partner. Hold the needles the same way, but this time insert the right needle into the first stitch from back to front (opposite of knit), wrap the yarn around, pull through, and slide off. It feels backward at first. Purl one row, then knit one row. This alternating pattern (knit one row, purl one row) is called stockinette stitch—it creates the smooth fabric you see on most sweaters. Practice 10-15 rows of stockinette. Notice how the fabric looks different from garter stitch: one side is smooth (the right side), one side is bumpy (the wrong side). Stockinette curls at the edges—that's normal. Understanding knit and purl unlocks almost every knitting pattern because they're the two fundamental stitches.

When your practice piece is 4-6 inches long, it's time to bind off (finish the edge so stitches don't unravel). Knit two stitches onto the right needle. Use the left needle to lift the first stitch over the second stitch and off the needle—you've bound off one stitch. Knit one more stitch and repeat: lift the first stitch over the second and off. Keep going until only one stitch remains. Cut the yarn (leave a 6-inch tail), pull the tail through the last stitch, and tighten. You've finished your first knitting project! Weave in the loose ends using a yarn needle. Even if it's lumpy and uneven, celebrate—you made fabric from string and sticks. Decide what to do with it: use it as a potholder, coaster, doll blanket, or just keep it as proof you learned to knit. Discuss what to make next: a simple scarf, headband, or dishcloth are great beginner projects.