It’s no secret that there’s gear involved when you take up a craft. Luckily with knitting, you can get a long way with just a ball of yarn, scissors and a pair or two of needles. Once you level up to more advanced projects that involve buying your yarn by the hank (they’re the twisty skeins) or try a garment that needs blocking, you might want to consider investing in some go-to accessories (a.k.a. notions) you’ll use again and again.
In an effort to guide those looking to add to their knitting supplies, I thought I’d share my my top 10 most-used notions & why I can’t live without ’em.
- ball winder
- tapestry needle
- scissors (particularly travel scissors)
- cable needle
- stitch holder
- small crochet hook
- pom pom maker
- needle tip protectors
- stitch markers
- coil knitting needle holders
- A ball winder is great because it saves you time. Once you start buying yarn that doesn’t come in end-pull skeins, a ball winder is an investment you won’t regret.
- I find that weaving in my ends with a tapestry needle to be the easiest and most efficient way of getting that sometimes-arduous finish task done. When my yarn is too fickle or fine, though, I turn to a good old crochet hook (see notion #6).
- Scissors… obviously. ;)
- If you hate cable knitting, you might think this tool isn’t necessary for your stash. However, don’t come crying to me when a cable needle would have been the perfect tool for rescuing an accidentally-dropped stitch. The shepherd’s hook style cable needles are a total hero for slip-ups like those!
- I tend to travel with multiple knitting projects, so stitch holders are great to have on hand for transporting your projects. They’re also great for sock and sweater and mitten knitting anytime!
- A small crochet hook? I thought we were talking knitting notions?! See #2 above. :)
- If you are at ALL a fan of finishing projects with poms, a pom pom maker (or a few in different sizes) will save you time. If you’re only an occasional pom pom user, you can always go the DIY route with this tutorial.
- Just like stitch holders, needle tip protectors are great for taking your knitting on the go. For the intermittent knitter, they’re great for storing your projects too.
- Stitch markers are used to keep track of where you are in your pattern: when to start and end a motif section in a given row, where to work increases & decreases, etc. The thing with stitch markers is that even a safety pin or paper clip can to the job!
- Coil knitting needle holders might not be on every knitter’s must-have list, but I love them. They’re great for storing double-pointed needles together, and they work for holding good old straight needles together too, particularly when you’re on the go.
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