How to Knit a Heart

Knitting is a very enjoyable and useful hobby, but don't think your selection of things to make ends with hats and mitts and scarfs! You can knit almost anything, with the right instruction, and I'm here to show you how to knit a heart! This particular heart can be used as a coaster, cloth for wiping things, a present for a friend, or just decoration without a specific purpose except for looking nice. Whichever use you have for it, you'll be surprised how simple it is to make a heart, using only the basic knitting materials.

(I got this pattern from a website called "Julie and the Knits".)

Chunky yarn - I used red, but the colour you use is your choice.

Pair of knitting needles - I used 9mm needles, but any needles around that size should be fine.

Scissors - When do you not need these?

Tapestry needle - Another thing you need for all knitting projects!

You'll also need to learn how to increase and decrease. It might sound tricky at first, but don't worry; you'll get the hang of it quickly!

Let's do this! :)

Cast on five stitches.

Knit this row, using the standard knit stitch.

Increase the first stitch of this row, by knitting in the front and back of the stitch (KFB). Knit to the end of the row.

Knit the whole row, standard.

Knit to the last stitch, and increase it (KFB).

Knit stitch this row.

Increase the first stitch of this row (KFB), and knit to the end of the row.

Standard knit the four rows 7, 8, 9, 10.

Cut the yarn leaving a tail a couple inches long, and push your work to the bottom of the needle it's currently on.

Cast on five stitches on the same needle your work is on.

Repeat what you did for rows one to ten.

If you've counted correctly, both pieces should now be on the same needle. If they are... congrats! If they're not... go back and see what you did wrong, and fix it.

Now join the two pieces of knit work, by knitting a row across them.

Standard knit the next four rows.

Decrease the first and last stitches of this row, by knitting two stitches together (k2tog). Knit the stitches in between normally.

Knit stitch this row.

Repeat the two last steps, until you have only two stitches left.

Cut the yarn, take your tapestry needle with the yarn through the remaining 2 stitches and weave in all the ends.

And you're done! Don't worry if your first heart looks a little off; the first couple times you make this, you might lose count of what row you're on.

This is my first Instructable, and I'd be very happy to hear thoughts on it! And, of course, share pics of the hearts you knit! :)

Thanks for reading!