Knitting

My first project was a dishcloth. Easy, fast, basic square, corner to corner, only one increase or decrease per row. Mostly just practicing the knit stitch over and over again. I did that until I had made so many that they were piling up. Then I moved to scarves, lol. To be fair, I was about 13 at the time. It was long long ago, lol.

There's basically two ways you can go as a beginner:

1) Play it safe. Practise the basic stitches until general holding the yarn and tensioning gets to feel more natural. For this, something like a dishcloth can be a good shout as even with a few beginner mistakes in it, it's still going to result in something usable. A scarf can work too but as Anna says, they do take a long time so they can get boring. Hats etc complicate things because they're in the round, but you'll be used to that from crochet so it's probably fine.

Since you are already a crocheter though going back to cotton cloths probably sounds insufferable which brings us to...

2) Jump in at the deep end. Find a pattern you really like, and just set about learning what you need to learn to get there. I wanted to make a whole jumper as my first thing, so made a sort of sample rectangle with all the stitches I'd need and then just went for it! Didn't quite fit in the end, but hey, the horrible acrylic yarn only cost about a tenner in total 😂

Behold my "first project" sampler rectangle, this must have taken me about a fortnight but it did teach me a lot!

Yarn and needles-wise it's similar to learning crochet. You want a light coloured yarn in something like worsted/aran weight, and generally a 5mm needle is a good place to start to work with it.

A scarf is probably the best place to start. Easy stitches, straightforward pattern. Socks will probably work as a second project, but I wouldn't start there.

My first project was a garter stitch scarf. I picked a yarn and bought the needles listed on the band. Pros: super forgiving Cons: I had no concept of gauge so my second project (a hat) was baby sized.

I've become partial to wooden needles. I have metal and wood. Metal needles are so slippery that stitches slide right off (when you don't want them to). For some yarns, sliding right off is a plus but it is a matter of personal preference. I love interchangable needles which I learned about AFTER I built a fairly large straight needle collection. I almost never use my straight needles these days. Circular needles are more versatile and more easy to use when on a crowded commuter ferry.

Scarves are probably one of the first projects we were taught in school. And other things that only require straight pieces to complete like some traditional socks and tank tops. After that socks and hats are probably some of the easier projects! Hats are super fast to complete too.

Also watch YouTube videos at half the speed and copy their movements to learn the stitches and techniques! Very handy for me at least who learns best but copying and trying.

I mostly use 4mm 20cm needles for my socks. Size 5 for stuff like hats. Circle needles for scarves and blankets. But it depends on the tightness of your knit and your project and yarn strength.

@Timecircleline I'd recommend a hat. It's quicker than a scarf and you learn lots more from it (eg: decreases).

Also, if you come from crochet, take a look at continental knitting! You tension the yarn in your left hand which is more crochet-like.

If a long tail cast on (probably what your mum was trying to teach you) was too much at once, try a knitted cast on: put a slip stitch on your left needle, knit it but don't slide it off, put the new stitch next to it on your left needle, repeat.