This video shows how to quickly knit a jumper with GIANT needles and thick, gorgeously tactile wool.  It shows absolutely every stage, clearly and pleasantly – from taking that first ball of wool and finding the loose end (tucked in the middle) to begin, then how to cast on that first row….. right to sewing it up together.

The video is made by Good Housekeeping – a UK magazine brand with many years of earned trust in passing on traditional woman/housework skills to succeeding generations.  In its current incarnation, as you can see, it has traditional skills but not frumpy style.

If you love knitted textiles, but are put off knitting because it all seems a bit mystical and maybe technically difficult – don’t be!  If you have the love of wool and texture, you’re halfway there.  Kaffe Fassett fell in love with Scottish wool, bought a pile of it with needles – and asked a lady to teach him to knit on the train going back to London.  Bish-bosh.  He knitted and that first jumper was on the cover of Vogue, launching him on a career revolutionising knitting with his passion for colour and texture – although admittedly he had a trained artist’s eye.

But enjoy.  A jumper is a big project (although this video has made it simple).  You can always begin with a scarf – which is just a big rectangle – yet within that, you can make scores of personalised, fascinating changes – colour, texture.