Ohhhh I am so excited!!! You started to knit, and it looks so good. And you are even thinking of making a skirt 😊 I understand your fears of dropping a stitch too well. Crocheting is so much more convenient in this way. My solution is never (ok seldom) to knit with straight needles. Besides socks, where I use dpn’s I always knit with circular needles and when I stop knitting, I put the fabric away from the needle ends in the middle of the cable and press the needles into a ball of yarn. So far this never unravelled. And if you want to be super secure, you could invest in interchangeable circular needles. Most brands come with stoppers you can click or screw on the cable (instead of the needles).
Here are some examples:
Hiya hiya and Knit pro are very similar in technique (both have screwing mechanics)
http://poststitchknittingblog.com/2017/06/10/interchangeable-knitting-needles-101/
https://www.craftcritique.com/tag/knitting-needles/
I use a different brand of needles, which have a click mechanism, but I am not sure if you can purchase these needles easily outside form Germany. This brand has also crochet hooks (for Tunisian crochet) which fit on the knitting needles cable. I sadly could not find a review of the needles with the stoppers shown in English only the crochet hooks….
So, my advice would be trying out different brands of interchangeable circular needles. I find this form of needles the most versatile and secure. Later I would try out different materials (I love metal) and tip forms (more rounded or super pointy), but this is not necessary at the beginning, I guess.
I started with knitting hats like crazy :-D I made rectangles of ribbing (so I learned knit and purl at once) and sewed them together. I found this very gratifying. But in this area, I would just do what you love, may it be a scarf a hat or littles swatches for a pillow or blanket.
And with the question of time… this is not easy to answer. I first learned the “standard” German method of knitting (western continental) but my stitches never looked good (you could see the rows because my knit and purl stitches had a different tension). Besides I found my fingers hurting from knitting. So, I investigated different ways of knitting and learned the Norwegian purl, which I liked more and then learned combination knitting which is the method I still use. My journey needed perhaps more tie as I learned different hand movements and I am still not a fast knitter but without the method of combination knitting, I definitely would have stopped knitting. I would try to look at knitting as something to discover. There are so many different methods to learn and one will be the right one for you…. Hm I notice I am not giving helpful advice…. :-D
So I just say again, that I am so exited that you tried out knitting <3 <3 <3
Oh trust me, you are for sure giving helpful advice which I greatly appreciate! Wow I am loving the look of those interchangeable needles. I admit I am intimidated by the circular needles though. I always thought you had to be experienced in order to use those. Hmmm now my brain is working. I have heard of Tunisian crocheting but never really looked at it until after watching the video you sent. My first thought was why do we need a cable attached to the hooks for crocheting? Then after looking at what it is it all made sense.
Thank you for those project ideas. I want to make a scarf first but that pillow case idea is nice. I’ve always wanted to buy a pillow form to dress lol! I think it would be neat if I knitted a cover for one. I definitely remember you speaking of combination knitting. I know it will be fun for me to explore the different styles. This has been fun for me already because it’s new and I have you all to talk to about it and many posts you made as a reference when I need it. 😁
Thank you so much for complimenting my first attempts at knitting and providing such a helpful, informative and thorough response! ❤️❤️❤️
I have to admit I loooooove to think about knitting and crochet technique, so I had fun to answer <3
With the Tunisian crochet: this was my first attempt to produce something like a knitted fabric without learning to knit :-DDD But the fabric has absolutely no stretch so its not so nice for clothes (which you know I love to make) and I find it hard on my hands, because the long cable/or hook (you can do it with long strait hooks) bears all the weight.
And your knitting really looks good, my first attempts had more holes than stitches 😂😂😂