Knitting Kit

What items do you need for your first knitting kit?

If you are keen to start knitting but don’t want to spend the earth, knitting kits can be a good place to start. However, you don’t have to buy one ready-made because I am going to explain how to make your own.

Remember that when you are first starting out, you will not be following a pattern straight away. I had great fun knitting up swatches of different stitch patterns. This allowed me to become more comfortable with all the knitting paraphernalia and techniques.

Now the items I suggest here reflect my personal preferences so I have included my reasons for including them in my shopping list.

* Size US 6 or 8 (4mm or 5mm) metal needles – Metal needles are affordable and yarn slips off them easily. In the patterns I started out with, these needle sizes are the ones most commonly used, so you won’t need to dash out and buy more!

* Double Knitting weight yarn in a cotton/wool/mixed fibre – this is a very versatile yarn that is easy to handle.

* Scissors – any old type will do, but a small pair is the handiest

* A small crochet hook – for picking up those dropped stitches!

* Darning Needle – so you can sew your pieces of knitted fabric together

* Tape Measure – optional, but useful if you want to measure a tension square

* A bag – to keep all your bits and pieces together, away from little fingers and pets!

You may well find that you have some of these items around your house already, or you might find a friend or relative who is willing to lend you some knitting tools. It is surprising how little you need really.

It won’t take long before you have everything you need. So let’s start knitting!