If you’re wondering, “how do I improve my knitting skills?” you’re in the right spot.

You can quickly and easily improve your knitting skills by developing good knitting habits!

I've rounded up the TOP 5 knitting habits that you should start doing to improve your knitting. These are all simple-to-adopt habits that will help you achieve big growth in your knitting.

Habit 1: Finish the Row

One of the biggest mistakes I see with beginner knitters is that they put down their knitting halfway through the row.

When they pick it back up, guess what?

They knit the wrong direction!

Then they don't know where they are they don't know how to correct it. They've got this wonky extra side that's higher than the other.

You just need to finish a row before you set down your knitting.

It's actually kind of a common joke among knitters. You have to finish the row so you get accustomed to telling family and friends, “I’'m knitting. I need to finish my row.” before doing anything else.

Get in the habit of finishing a row before getting distracted with anything else.

Habit 2: Stop and Take a Look at Your Knitting

When you’re new to knitting, you're so busy focusing on each little stitch that sometimes you “miss the forest because of the trees.”

If you just take a moment and you set down your knitting and look at it as a whole to see what's going on, you will be really surprised at what you notice.

For example, “Oh okay. My stitches are getting more consistent. Did I have anything funky going on in any other rows?”

You want to get in the habit of stopping and looking at the knitting as a whole so that you can notice your improvements and growth as well as spot any mistakes before it’s too late to fix them.

Habit 3: Choose the Right Fiber and Yarn Weight for Your Project

To figure out what weight a yarn is, download my Yarn Weight Comparison Chart.

It will help you understand if you have the correct weight yarn for your project.

The Craft Yarn Council standardized yarns by creating weight system from zero to seven.

It categorizes the thickness of the yarn so that when you are knitting and looking for a yarn substitution, you will be able to select the correct weight.

For example, a sport weight yarn is a #2 according to the Craft Yarn Council. So, if you have a pattern that calls for a sport weight, you're going check that the yarn you want to use is also a #2 sport weight.

The second thing you're going to do is make sure that it's the right fiber content. You want to get it as close to the original yarn as possible so that your project comes out as intended.

For example, you may have a pattern that calls for a wool. That is an animal fiber. So you’ll want to select an animal fiber such as wool or wool blend, alpaca, yak, or cashmere.

If your pattern calls for a cotton yarn, stick with a plant based fiber such as cotton or cotton blend, linen, silk, or bamboo.

Habit 4: Use a Yarn Tote or Organizer

Many beginner knitters just throw their knitting projects in a purse or plastic bag.

Unfortunately, the knitting can get snagged by your keys or other items in your bag.

Stitches can easily slip off the needles leading to dropped stitches.

And, the yarn can get tangled up with the other items in your handbag.

In addition, if you leave your project laying around the house, it’s susceptible to tiny children’s hands, pet hair, and pets and, FYI, pets LOVE yarn (ask me how I know this!).

However, using a knitting tote or organizer keeps your project clean, tidy, and tangle-free. It will also keep it away from children and pets.

It is also a place to store your notions and extra knitting needles (pets love those, too!).

A knitting tote provides portability so you can move the project to any room of the house as well as take it with you when you are on the go.

As you get comfortable knitting, you’ll find taking knitting to sporting events, doctor’s appointments, airline travel, daily bus or train commute, or even the DMV…is a great way to pass the time!

Habit 5: Write Down Where You Are in a Knitting Project

A big problem, especially with beginner knitters, is figuring out exactly where they are in the project.

For some reason, we think we have to keep it in our heads.

When you walk away from your project you will immediately forget where you are!

Don’t try to keep that information in your head. Just take a moment and jot it down on a piece of notepaper or on a Post It.

That way, if you put it down for a week, a month, or even a year…when you come back to it, if you've written down where you stopped, you won't have any guessing.

You won't wonder what row you're on or if your project going to come out right because you've taken a moment to write it down.

Do you have any favorite knitting habits you’ve adopted? Let me know in the comments below!