Knitting essentials

What do you need for a knitting project?

• Yarn: Choose the recommended yarn or a suitable yarn alternative.
• Knitting needles: Needles in the correct size. If the pattern specifies circular needles, make sure you have the correct cable length. For small-circumference projects (e.g. hats or sleeves) worked in the round, you can use double-pointed needles or the magic loop technique. For magic loop, you will need a long circular needle (80 cm, 100 cm or 120 cm). If you are unfamiliar with the magic loop technique, I recommend finding a video tutorial on YouTube — there are many different ones to choose from!
• Scissors: For cutting the yarn. Some yarns can easily be snapped by hand, in which case scissors are not strictly necessary.
• Tapestry needle: For weaving in ends. It can also be used for embroidery and decorative weaving.
• Crochet hook: Useful for picking up dropped stitches.
• Stitch markers: For marking the beginning of a round or other important points in the pattern. Alternatively, you can use a small piece of yarn tied into a loop as a stitch marker.
• Stitch holder: If you need to put stitches on hold, a stitch holder or can be useful. Alternatively, you can transfer the stitches onto a piece of scrap yarn.
• A kitchen scale: For weighing your remaining yarn. Some patterns specify how much yarn should remain at certain points in the pattern to ensure that you have enough to complete the project.