What to Knit Next? Knitting Ideas to Grow Your Skills

If you’ve mastered the basics of knitting, you might be wondering what to knit next.

This is a common question from new knitters.

That’s why I put together this knitter’s roadmap.

This map will guide you through what to knit for racking up knitting skills that progressively build on each other.

You’ll be able to knit cowls, hats, mittens, socks and the ultimate project … your first sweater!

Start small with a pot mat to practice the knit stitch. Then knit a cowl, where you’ll learn how to knit in the round (aka. circular knitting)

Then progress to a hat, where you’ll build on your circular knitting skills while also learning decreases and knitting with double pointed needles.

See how this works?

Knit progressively more advanced patterns to build your skills.

Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to Sweatersville!

This post includes lots of knitting ideas to help you get going on your knitting journey!

The Knitting Journey Begins

1a. Pot Mat

The best first project, contrary to popular belief, is not a scarf.

In my humble opinion, it’s a pot mat!

A pot mat is a thick square-ish fabric on which you place a hot pot.

It prevents the pot from burning the table or countertop.

A pot mat is a quick project that allows you to practice the knit stitch and condition the muscle memory of your hands.

But it won’t take an eternity to finish and can be completed with one or two balls of yarn.

So after learning the basics of knitting, start with a pot mat as your first knitting pattern!

Skills needed:

cast on
knit stitch
cast off
weaving in ends

Skills learned:

slipped selvedge
making a single crochet chain

1b. Scarf

Don’t get me wrong – I love a scarf.

My only knock against it is that knitting one takes a long time.

Having said that, if you’re looking to perfect the knit stitch, a scarf is a great way to practice knitting.

With this beginner scarf, I use super bulky weight yarn and 10mm needles. This makes the knitting go by a lot quicker!

Skills needed:

Skills learned:

knitting a selvedge edge
weaving in ends

2. Cozy Cowl

The journey begins with a cowl. This cowl is fantastic for new knitters because it knits up very quickly thanks to it being knit in chunky weight yarn.

A cowl is essentially a tube with no shaping. This makes it an excellent introduction to knitting in the round.

For this cowl, I chose seed stitch for the body. Seed stitch produces a cosy nubby texture, which is great to look at and fun to touch.

man wearing a green knit cowl — This cowl looks great on men too!

It’s made up of knits and purls – two stitches that are foundational to knitting. I think seed stitch looks beautiful on men and women, making this a lovely unisex cowl.

Skills needed:

Skills learned:

3a. Big Hat

Knitting a hat is a big milestone in the life of a knitter.

A hat signals to the world that you can knit more than just squares and rectangles.

You can knit complex 3D shapes!

The Big Hat is a knit in the round using super bulky yarn. It’s chunky, cozy and just a delight to wear!

This pattern will bring you into the world of knitting in the round with circular needles and double pointed needles. You’ll also learn how to shape the knitting using decreases – a very important technique.

Skills needed:

Skill learned:

2×2 rib stitch
knitting in the round
decreasing with K2tog
knitting with double pointed needles (aka. DPNs)
making a pom pom

3b. Blank Slate Hat

If you don’t feel ready to knit in the round, you can also knit a hat on straight needles and seam it together at the end.

That’s where the Blank Slate Hat comes in.

Because it’s knit flat on straight needles it’s an easier version of the Big Hat.

So if the Big Hat with its circular knitting and double pointed needles seems intimidating, then start with the Blank Slate Hat first to get your first hat jitters out of the way!

Skills needed:

Skill learned:

4. Simple Shortie Socks

Once you’ve knit a hat you may be feeling confident and wondering what to knit next.

If you want to ride the high and take it easy, knit a few more hats or easy projects like the classic beanie, twisted headbands, chunky slippers or the chunky infinity scarf.

However, if you’re raring to rack up more skills then look no further than these beginner socks.

A sock is no joke.

While it may look simple, a sock involves turning a heel, picking up stitches along the heel flap to create a gusset and decreasing at a steady rate to create the sloped body of the sock.

This beginner sock goes over all the skills you’ll need to knit a sock successfully. It’s also knit with worsted weight yarn, which makes the knitting process much faster than knitting with sock weight yarn.

Skills needed:

Skill learned:

decreasing with SSK, K2tog and P2tog
reading a pattern
grafting with Kitchener Stitch

5. Fingerless Mittens

If you’re comfortable knitting in the round with double pointed needles, then you’re ready to tackle these fingerless mittens.

While tiny, these mitts pack a punch! They’re a skills-dense project where you’ll learn how to knit rib stitch, increase and decrease, place stitches on hold, all while knitting on small double pointed needles.

These mittens are an advanced beginner project, but you’ll learn A LOT of skills through knitting these mittens.