So You’re Ready To Start Knitting
You’ve made a swatch or two and watched enough YouTube videos to get the gist. You are now ready, young grasshopper. But before you cast on that first stitch, it’s important to note that a man (or fiber artist) is only as good as his tools. Ultimately, you’ll have to use whatever you have on hand but these are the items I would suggest for your first project.
Yarn
A 100% ball of wool yarn in worsted weight in an “easy to see” color. Wool grips so, if/when you drop your first stitch, you’re less likely to have a catastrophe on your hands. Wool also has some natural stretch to it so it will be more forgiving on your hands while you’re learning to hold everything in place. “Worsted weight” refers to the thickness of the yarn. This is a very popular size yarn for a variety of projects. Not only will it make your first project easier, it will also help train your hands for the proper tension for a wide variety of projects. Just about everything can be made in a worsted weight yarn so it’s a great workhorse to have in your cabinet.
Knitting Needles
For first time knitters, I really prefer wooden straight needles in size 8. Unlike metal, wood is “grippy” and will help hold your yarn in place better. Down the road, once you’re a knitting fool, you’ll likely not want to mix wood and wool together for simple projects because of the high amount of grip but, for just starting out, they’re a perfect duo.
Personally, I only use straight needles when teaching someone how to knit. There are many experienced knitters that love straights but I find that they slow me down and are hard to travel with. For learning though, they help your work stay as evenly spaced as possible and help you to truly understand the hand motions involved with knitting. We’ll discuss needle options again later on but for now, stick to the wooden straights if you can. And finally, size 8 is a great place to start when using worsted weight yarn. It’s a very versatile size that gives you the most bang for your buck.
Crochet Hook
Even if you never plan to crochet, these bad boys are so useful to knitters. They make fixing mistakes MUCH easier and, down the road, allow you to do all kinds of cool things like knitting with beads, adding a trim, finishing cast offs easily, and more. For this, you’ll want a metal hook in the equivalent size as your needles. Crochet hooks are organized by letter. If you’re using a size 8 needle, you’ll want a size F hook.
Rubber Band
When using straight needles, it’s very easy for your project to be pulled off the needles in between sessions. Circling a rubber band or a hair tie onto the pointed end of the needle helps prevent many, many tears. If you wanna get extra fancy, needle protectors also help!
Stitch Markers
These little guys are by no means necessary but they sure are helpful! Stitch markers are little circles, normally with decorative charms on them, that you place on your needle in order to remind yourself that something is supposed to happen. They’re commonly used with more complicated patterns to show you where to put increases or to start a cable. While you’re learning, these can help you to see the start and end of a pattern repeat. If you want a reminder but don’t have a stitch marker, a scrap of contrasting yarn tied into a loop helps in a pinch.
What Do You Think?
Did I miss anything? Let us know in the comment section down below!
