Not your Grandma’s Knitting: Learn to Knit Online

I know I’m not the only one with an urge to do something crafty & creative right now. There is something so very satisfying with making something out of raw materials and your hands. (Even if it does turn out a little lopsided!)

For me knitting is the craft of choice but EPL has a lot to offer for whatever makes your creative heart go pitter pat.

One of our newest resources is CreativeBug, opens a new window. Do you ever get frustrated by Pinterest’s lack of clear descriptions? Find a picture of a craft but not enough detail on how to actually make it happen? If you want to avoid a Nailed It level fail in your craft life then CreativeBug is for you. CreativeBug offers both classes and daily practice skills in a variety of crafts. You can find knitting tutorials & patterns, videos, material lists and downloadable instructions for patterns & techniques. Want to knit a necklace? How about a fox? Maybe you want to start a gratitude journal, scrapbook or to paint? You can find out how on CreativeBug!

Once you have some skills under your belt we also have eBooks with patterns and projects for when you want some inspiration.

A couple of my personal favourites are Grumpy Cat’s Knitting Nightmares – if you’re looking for knitting projects for your pets either sweaters or toys you can find them here all along with a side of sass. Or maybe Vampire Knits - find knitting patterns inspired by your favourite vampires whether they live in Forks or Bon Temps.

If you really want to join the online knitting community you can join Ravelry, opens a new window it’s a great community where people share patterns (both free & paid) as well as help each other with knotty problems and talk about their favourite materials. Don’t know if you should use circular needles or double pointed? They have community boards to help talk you through the finer points and terminology you’re going to be learning. They’ve recently set up a resource that helps you get connected with you local yarn store (LYS) so you can also find ways to support small business while getting your crafting supplies taken care of.

Another option is Knitty, opens a new window its an online magazine with a back catalogue of quirky knitting patterns, and feature articles from designers about how they were inspired to create a design or investigating historical knitting patterns and bringing them back.

If your crafting is taking a more homesteader Little House on Prairie type direction then you can learn how to make your own soap (and not in the Fight Club way!). Or even how to make your own soup and homemade stock. Just don’t mix up which pot is which!