What you Need
- 1. Knitting Needles
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Look for a US 8 or US 9 wooden knitting needle. The larger sizes will make it easier to see your stitches as you learn to read your work. There are many types of Knitting Needles but for getting started you mainly just need the pair of neeedles. Whether they’re straight or circular needles doesn’t really matter but the way the weight is distributed will vary.
- 2. Yarn
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With a US 8 or 9 needle you’ll want either a medium (“Worsted Weight”) or bulky acrylic yarn in a relatively light color to help see stitch definition. As an example, Lion Brand Heartland or Caron Simply Soft would be a good option.
Should you happen to end up with a different size pair of needles you can referr to a Yarn Chart such as this one provided by the Craft Yarn Council: https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/yarn-weight-system
- 3. Other things
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These are things that you could want but aren’t necessary until later, so you could save some pennies not buying these things until you’ve decided to commit to the craft!
- Yarn Needle – You may need this one to weave in your ends. But if you get that far and find you don’t like knitting it won’t be the end of the world to not weave your ends in. ;)
- Scissors- you likely have a pair already in the house
- Stitch Markers – these are useful for marking your work. You can get closed loops, but locking markers offer the ability to put them just about anywhere.
- Crochet hooks – for picking up dropped stitches.
Tips for Acquiring Resources
I’m not going to lie to you, I have gotten rid of the majority of all my old needles except my very first pair. How? I gave them to people that wanted to learn how to knit. The same goes for scrap yarn. Something I’ve noticed about people commited to the craft is that we all have a ton of resources, a few hundred thousand stitch markers not counting those lost in the couch cushions.. extra measuring tape, the this, the that. Now, if you show up at a knitting group unannounced, don’t expect us to just have spare materials for teaching! I’m merely saying, you could ask your friends, co-workers, etc. They may no someone that knows someone looking to get rid of some materials.
If you’re not comfortable asking, or just don’t have any crafters in your community, you might also try a local thrift store. I have seen yarn available for purchase at my local thrift stores and have heard the same from other crafters and thrifters. Some of us who have been knitting will also find sweaters that can be taken apart and essentially scrapped in order to repurpose the yarn. This however, sounds like too much work period. But something to keep in mind! :)
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