If you've read J. K. Rowling's excellent chronicle of the life of Harry Potter and his victory over Lord Voldemort, you'll undoubtedly remember that there's a fair amount of knitted items throughout the series. I'm sure these things have inspired a greater than zero number of us to learn to knit. And, if you'll forgive the presumption, I suspect that's why you're here now.

Even though magical knitting tends to be faster, I find it best to knit the Muggle way. Why's that? Well, for one, it helps in with my magical knitting — knowing how the yarn and needles move together to form the fabric has greatly improved my magical knits. The other reason to learn Muggle-style knitting is this: if you find yourself out and about with Muggles and you want to work on your knitting (which you will; trust me, you will), Muggle knitting is the only way to do it without breaking the International Statute of Secrecy. Also, there's something rather satisfying about creating this knitted object without the use of a wand.

So, let's get on with it, shall we?