14 Unique Knitting Stitches for Beginners
These knit stitches for beginners will ACTUALLY catch your attention.
When you've just begun knitting, it can often feel like you're tied down to the same simple knit-and-purl stitches you've seen everywhere. From garter stitch to seed stitch, all of those basic types of knitting stitches are pretty and useful, but they don't really help your work stand out. It may surprise you to learn there are a bunch of unique knitting stitches for beginners that require no more than a few simple increases, decreases, and slipped stitches. Some are even just as easy as seed stitch!
Since yarn is a precious commodity and it's easy to make mistakes as a beginner, I definitely recommend trying out any of these knit stitches for beginners as a swatch first, before deciding whether or not to make them into a scarf or a blanket. You may even begin to collect all of your little swatches and sew them together to make a blanket! Enjoy the process of learning these unique knitting stitches and let us know in the comments down below which stitch was your favorite.
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If you can knit and purl, you can do the waffle stitch. This simple take on checker or plaid would be great for blankets, sweaters, and everything in-between.
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How to Knit the Seafoam Stitch
This was the first unique stitch I ever tried as a beginner. To accomplish this, you wrap your yarn around your needles varying amounts of times, and then drop them off. It's so ridiculously fun to knit.
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How to Knit the Popcorn Stitch
Bobbles are pretty divisive in the knitting community, but it something every beginner should try once. This detailed tutorial will teach you exactly how to accomplish them, and it's easier than it looks!
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If you're looking for subtly unique knitting stitches, this does it. The diamonds look like a mattress texture or a big fluffy coat, and it's all accomplished by knitting and purling.
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This is where things get really wild. Yes, beginners can knit this! All you need to know (other than knitting and purling) is how to slip stitches, which is literally just transferring a stitch from one needle to another without knitting it. Adventurous beginners, this one's for you.
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How to Knit the Trinity Stitch
Another one for adventurous beginners, this stitch requires purling three stitches together (which is exactly what it sounds like) and knitting into the same stitch multiple times. Don't worry; we have a detailed set of instructions to teach you how.
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While this stitch almost creeps out of beginner territory, you only need to know how to do a yarn over and a double wrap knit stitch, the latter of which is explained in detail in the tutorial (and is literally just wrapping your yarn twice while doing a knit stitch). You'll kick yourself for not trying this one.
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How to Knit the Chevron Stitch
The Chevron Stitch is particularly fun with colorful yarn, but will look great on solid colors, too. In order to accomplish this, you'll need to know a few basic increases and decreases, but we've linked every tutorial you may need.
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How to Knit the Feather and Fan Stitch
This stitch has a big cult following; it's one of those magical unique knitting stitches that looks so much more complicated than it is. If you can yarn over and knit 2 together, you can make yourself a beautiful Feather and Fan scarf, blanket, cowl... anything!
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Another stitch that requires some basic increases and decreases, but it leaves you with an absolutely beautiful texture. If you're a very confident beginner, you can absolutely pull this one off.
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How to Knit the Herringbone Stitch
The Herringbone Stitch is an absolute classic. Once you've mastered basic increases and decreases, this is the first stitch you should try. The slanting, long vertical lines almost makes the finished project looked woven instead of knit, which is such a cool technique to have.
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Once you've learned how to slip stitches, you can accomplish unique knitting stitches like this one. The slipped stitches gives this motif a three-dimensional look, which is particularly fun to add to sweaters or home decor pieces.
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This stitch uses the slip stitch technique but in a very different way, hiding the slipped stitches in the back to create a pinched look in front. It's amazing the sort of texture you can achieve with slipped stitches, and it's all very beginner-friendly.
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The Linen Stitch is another of those unique knitting stitches that barely looked like it's knitting, at all. Once again, we see our good friend the slip stitch making your knitting look much more complicated than it actually is. This stitch is great for something sturdy, like a bag or dishcloth.
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If you're still just learning how to knit, we can help! Check out our12 Knitting Tips for Beginners + Free Knitting Classes Online
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Which of these beginner stitches is your favorite?
