How hard is it to learn to sew and knit etc?

I am so jelous of those of you who make your own nappies and would love to do it. But I don't even know how to turn up trousers or sew on a button

How hard is it to learn? Now that I have my own children I would love to know how to do general bits anyway regardless of whether I actually manage to make a successful nappy or not!

I don't have much money to invest in a sewing machine, but could borrow the (very old) one from my Mum and Dad to start with and possibly get one from freecycle/car boot. Will a very old machine cope with making nappies?

yes go for it
sewing is easy

there are often night school classes for amateurs which are good

if your unsure just cut up an old garment first and try sewing that - then any mistakes can be learnt and corrected
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have fun

Sewing is as easy as you make it, it can be more complex if you let it, but generally it's easy! Often old machines are better for heavy duty work, new machines are soo light weight! An old towel is a good place to start if you want to make a nappy!

Sewing is not too hard, there are quite a few bits that you can teach yourself with the help of the internet and tutorials.
If you can find a course then you will progress much faster.
I'm a novice and I've managed to make a few nappies without the help of a teacher although since I've been taking classes, I have noticed that the stuff I make is getting better.
As for buying a sewing machine, I got mine bought for me as a christmas present but there's also freecycle and ebay to consider.
Knitting again the best thing to do is to buy some needles and some wool and follow an online tutorial. There are loads of videos on the net, youtube for example is a good one. I never really got the hang of knitting myself but I'm trying crochet at the moment and it's working for me.

I think if you've got a little skill and a LOT of patience then sewing is simple enough - I'm not very good at it but have managed to make a dress for my LO that I'm not ashamed to let her wear out of the house

Knitting I found easier but that's probably because I learnt a long time ago so it was more of an issue of refreshing my memory I'm not great at anything except longies and hats at the moment and sloooooooow but it's very rewarding when you get the end product!
But I think knitting on circular needles is way easier than straight ones which I could never figure out how to hold properly and feel odd now!

I find it is easier to try and pick things up from someone showing you - if you ask around at parent and toddler groups there might be someone, or some children's centres do sewing and knitting sessions.

My MIL gave me her old sewing machine; I'm currently teaching myself how to sew. I'm finding that the most difficult part is following some bits of patterns (they obviously assume a certain level of knowledge, which I just don't have at the moment!). But threading the machine and running material through it is easy enough. I've found a local college runs an 8-week course, which I'm planning to sign up for. But lots of local dressmakers also offer introductions to sewing and they're quite cheap.

As for knitting, I've taught myself the basics and they're are some really good websites to help you along (I used this one a fair bit: http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knit-stitch). But I am so, so slow - I don't have the patience to actually finish a project.

Thank you everybody! I thought about doing a course, but my baby is due in a new weeks and then won't want to be leaving my breastfed newborn (I did that last time round and it was very hard!!). I think I might try and make some washable wipes - 2 sided ones with fleece and flannel. I don't need any more really but just for something to make, that will still be useable if it goes wrong, but very simple! I think if I start off too complecated I might end up getting disheartened when it goes wrong!

Now, off to finish the first 1000 things to do on my list and then I can start thinking about sewing!