Knitting is not just an ordinary hobby to fulfil your free time. Not only it’s very relaxing and stress relieving, but it’s also great for your physical health since keeping your fingers dexterous and your joints in motion are shown to prevent a lot of diseases such as arthritis is. Aside from that, isn't a handcrafted warm sweater one of the best birthday gift ideas for your most loved ones? If this sounds tempting enough, let’s get introduced to the basic knitting accessories you’re going to need:
Needles
If there’s one thing you’re going to be using all the time, those are needles without a doubt. So, don’t hesitate to choose high-quality knitting needle accessories that will serve you for many of your upcoming projects. For this purpose, it's essential to make a distinction between the different types of knitting needles:
- Circular needles are mostly used for knitting in the round like hats or socks and flat surfaces like blankets. For this purpose, know that they come in different width sizes- from 2 to 25mm, depending on the crochet you’re about to make.
- Double pointed needles are used to knit in the round for crochets that are too small to be knitted with circular needles.
- Sewing needles are the most basic knitting needle accessories used for weaving in and sewing together the pieces of your project, such as the fingers on mittens or the arms on a sweater.
Aside from this, needles come in different materials, such as aluminium, plastic and wooden- from rosewood to bamboo ones. For beginner knitters, the plastic and aluminium needles are always a great point to start from. Once you get more experienced and start knitting advanced crochets, feel free to start experimenting with different needles as well.
Yarn
When choosing yarn, consider that its weight should always match the needles’ size. For beginner knitters, it’s always recommended to start with heavier weighted yarns, since they’re easier to handle.
Aside from that, yarns come in different colours and are made of different fibres that can be natural, synthetic or mixed. The natural ones are made of animal or plant fibres such as wool, alpaca, cashmere, silk, cotton, bamboo etc, while synthetic ones are usually made of polyester, acrylic or nylon. Even though natural fibres are softer and more pleasant to touch, have in mind that synthetic ones are better to start with since they’re way less expensive and sturdier which makes them easier to manipulate.
Crochet Hooks
A crochet hook is the most valuable knitting accessory in your kit since you’re going to use it for many purposes. First of all, its main role is to pull the thread of the yarn through loops to create crochet stitches, but it’s often used to create hairpin lace, thread beads onto string and pick up dropped knitting stitches too.
The crochet hooks come in different sizes- from 0.6 to 3 mm, and the same as the needles they depend on the yarn’s size. Also, you can choose between a variety of materials, such as plastic hooks which are very lightweight and convenient to use, aluminium hooks as the most recommended option for beginners since they’re very smooth and easy to use, steel for advanced knitting and many more.
Scissors
Scissors are one of the must-have crochet accessories since you’ll be using them to cut the yarn when you want to switch colours or when you’re finished with the crochet. For this purpose, you can always start with the basic school scissors, and upgrade your knitting kit with a special pair of crafting scissors once you get to “advance” your knitting skills.
Stitch Markers
Even though they’re very tiny, stitch markers come in very handy when you need to mark some specific places of the crochet such as the areas where the pattern or the colour changes so you can easily identify them later. These tiny markers can be found as ring stitch markers which you enclose and locking stitch markers which can be similar to safety pins or with lobster clasps to attach onto your crochet.
Stitch markers also come in different geometrical shapes and colours in order to make knitting an amusing experience for you. Also, they can be found in their larger form as stitch holders, to slip the stitches you’re currently working on when you need to set other ones aside.
Yarn Guide
This is a very valuable crochet accessory to spare you from frustration while learning some advanced knitting tricks. Its purpose is to control the yarn path- holding two colours at the same time without them getting tangled and keeping an even tension between the stitches as you’re knitting. So, don’t hesitate to get yourself one for your knitting kit even if you’re not skilled enough since it’ll come in handy the same moment you feel ready to start experimenting with more than one colour.
Needle Caps
The knitting needle caps are covers that are placed on the tip of the needle and serve as protectors once you decide to take a break or when you’re done with knitting for the day. If you’re wondering why you need them, know that when you move the crochet, the chances for the needle to slip off and ruin your entire project are great. By placing one of these, you can rest assured that your needles won’t go anywhere further while they’re waiting for you.
The list of valuable knitting tools and accessories doesn’t stop here. For example, every knitter needs a nice cotton project bag to keep the ongoing projects away from potential moisture and dust, as well as a proper case to keep those tiny accessories tidy and in one place. Also, it’s recommended to keep records on your projects, the needles, yarns and everything you used, the problems you faced and their solutions in a journal as a great way to follow your improving process and appreciate all the hard work you put into your hobby. Once you get everything you need, you can start crafting beautiful crochets and embrace the benefits of your favourite hobby.
