Yes you can learn to knit as an adult. It will be challening and you will feel clumsy at first, but it's well worth the effort. The most important thing is to stay loose. Tight knitting is very difficult to work with. Also, give yourself plenty of time to get the basics down before setting ambitious goals. Relax and enjoy!

Lefthanded? So am I. When viewing a video or watching a righthanded knitter, view it through a mirror. It's much easier than trying to transpose the instructions.

All you need to start is a ball/hank/skein of yarn and some knitting needles, size 7 to 13, to make it easier to see what you're doing. The yarn should be cheap, smooth, medium weight, and a light color, like you'd find at most variety stores. The reasons for starting with this yarn is to make it easy to see what you're doing and easy to rip out (frogging, "rippit") if you make a mistake.

Trying to juggle 2 needles and yarn will not be easy at first, but after a few hours you should start to find your comfort zone.

Here is a great Youtube video to show you what to do first. It covers cast-on, garter stitch, and bind-off. It's a good idea to watch this as an overview before trying to learn by just reading.

What this video leaves out, is how to use your fingers to control yarn tension. It's important to work that out as soon as possible to speed up your work and add control before developing any bad habits. If you know someone who knits, watch what that person does with the yarn as it moves along. Everyone has their own way of doing this. My method is to bring the yarn under my pinkie, over the next 3 fingers, then wrap it once around the tip of my index finger, loosely, so I can use my finger to wrap the yarn around the other needle during a stitch, instead of switching hands as shown in the video. This method also allows me to grab the yarn with my pinkie when I pick up my work, which is a smooth way to get started.

Here is a photo of how I hold my yarn. I'm lefthanded, but I'm sure you righties get the idea. The funny thing about this is that most of us can't tell you what we do, we have to show you. I had to pick up my knitting and go through the steps before I could write this. LOL!

The cast-on in the Youtube video is an interesting combination of the Single Cast-On and actually knitting a stitch as you go. Here are some more videos for casting-on, from Knittinghelp.com.

Your first knitting efforts will probably be dismal, so start with small projects that don't matter much. Here are some suggestions: coaster, dishcloth, pad to put under a houseplant, dollhouse rug, knitted ribbon to tie around a jar, or curtain tieback.

Your first stitch pattern should be plain old Garter Stitch, which is just straight knitting (used in the Youtube video).

Once you're comfortable with the knit stitch, it's time to learn to purl. Here is a short purl stitch video from Knittinghelp.com to show you how.

This is enough to get you started. Many great projects can be made with just these basics. When you're ready for more, please visit Knitting Projects and Knitting Links. Have fun!