10 Knitting Tools That Actually Make You A Better Knitter.

There are hundreds of knitting tools you could buy. Needle gauges, row counters, blocking mats, stitch holders, yarn bowls, and probably dozens of little gadgets I don't even know exist. But after 10 years of knitting almost daily, I've come to the realization that the tools that I use most often are actually a surprisingly small and a surprisingly simple collection. Some of them were definitely more of an investment, and others have cost me just like a couple of euros or dollars and others aren't even knitting tools at all. So in this video I want to share the 10 tools that have helped me improve my knitting the most by helping me make fewer mistakes, create a better fit, fix things when they go wrong and also help me create better garments or knitted objects overall. And most importantly this is not a list of 10 things that I want to tell you to buy. Quite the opposite actually because there are some tools that I'm going to show you where I'm going to tell you to not buy it and what you can use instead. Let's get started with the first tool which is the one that I definitely need the most. One, the right knitting needles. Not exactly a surprising start but I do find that a set of good knitting needles makes all the difference and I want to be very clear that I don't think you need the most expensive needles and you also don't need the needles that your favorite knitting podcaster uses. You need the needles that are right for you and the way you knit and for me those are the ChiaoGoo metal needles. But I definitely don't think that means they are the best needles for everyone because one of the biggest differences you'll notice between knitting needles is the material they are made from. Wooden or bamboo needles tend to have more grip. That can be really helpful if you're a beginner and worried about your stitches slipping off or if you're working with a particularly slippery yarn. Metal needles are much slicker and that is what I personally particularly like about them. They also have a sharper tip but they are not overly sharp. But for me I am knit fairly tightly I also knit continental which tends to be a bit tighter anyway and having needle tips that are a bit on the sharper side really help me when I do something like decreases lace knitting or cables for example but let's say you are more of a looser knitter then you might absolutely hate these needles and then there are the cables and this is actually something I didn't appreciate enough when I first started knitting in the round. A really flexible cable with a good join makes such a difference particularly if you use magic loop and that is one of the reasons why in the end I decided to invest into an interchangeable set because if I make a gauge swatch for example and I realize that my gauge is off I can simply swap out the tip instead of having to purchase in the worst case a whole different set of circular needles with the cord attached to the needles and that just makes it very easy and of course the more you knit the more regular you knit and the variety of projects maybe grows you tend to need all different kinds of needle sizes so it's just very useful if you have a set with all of the different sizes already in there. But like I said I would not recommend going out and purchasing a set if you are a complete beginner especially if you don't know yet which type of needle you like. I would try all kinds of different needles. I would try metal, wood, bamboo, maybe borrow from a friend and just see what your preferences are and then go from there. Because in the end the tool that will make you a better knitter isn't the needle that I like. It is the type of needle that will give you the most control over your knitting. Two, light bulb stitch markers. The second tool that I want to show you costs considerably less and if you've watched some of my videos before you've probably seen those already. These are my favorite types of stitch markers. I have like a whole box of them that i use now i know there are lots of different types of stitch markers available there are very beautiful ones very fancy ones and i also own a couple of those like these two here but what i have just personally found is that those more elaborate decorative stitch markers tend to get caught on my project very easily and they are also quite heavy and depending on the yarn that you're using and the gauge that you're knitting at you can they can really pull the fabric down and I just don't like that and that's why I really prefer those very simple very light stitch markers because they are not expensive they are easy to use and what I also really like about them is that they open because if you have a round stitch marker like this one that is great if you want to mark the beginning of the round where you don't really need to do anything with the stitch marker instead of you know slipping it whenever you come to the end of the round but with those that you can open you can do so much you can use it to mark a certain stitch you can use it to mark your progress so using them as a progress keeper and I think I found them so versatile especially since they come in such a a large pack whenever I do some lace knitting for example and let's say we have like an eight stitch repeat I do not want to count to eight every time I get to a new lace repeat and then do that over and over again for the I don't know 200 stitches that are on the needle let's say. Instead I just put like my little light bulb stitch markers between all of the repeats and then it makes it very easy for me to keep track and also very easy for me to spot mistakes because then you can clearly see in what section you made the mistake. But the biggest reasons stitch markers can help you become a better knitter is incredibly simple. They remove complexity because they mark things you otherwise have to remember. So these are not very exciting and they are also not very expensive but I use them on pretty much every project that I knit. Three, something to measure with. Number three is this but I am not actually recommending that you get a gauge ruler like this if you don't have one. What I do recommend is that you measure your knitting if you have where is it let's see a measuring tape for example or even a simple ruler that can totally do the job as well i personally like the gauge ruler if i measure a swatch because i can place it like directly over the swatch and then just measure my gauge very easily but like i said this is totally optional you don't need the object itself you need the habit of measuring the gauge. I know that swatching and determining your gauge isn't the most exciting part about knitting but it's one of the most important things if you want to create a garment that actually fits you in the end. And measuring doesn't stop once you finished the swatch. Quite the opposite actually because patterns tell you constantly to knit until the body measures 30 centimeters, let's say, or do the next sleeve decrease once you have knitted three inches maybe. And in order to be able to do those things correctly, you constantly need to measure. And when I modify knitting patterns, which I do more and more frequently, I find it even more important to constantly measure because otherwise you can't really determine if the garment is going to fit you the way you want it to. So although it might sound a bit boring I still think checking gauge, checking fit, measuring often is super important and you don't have to use the gauge ruler you can use anything you like in order to measure but please keep in mind measuring is super important. Four, small scissors. The next two items are going to be very quick but they are although basic two of the most important things I have in my notions pouch and the first is a pair of embroidery scissors I really like those because they have a sharp tip they are rather small so they can go very well with my knitting they fit great within my project bag and my notions bag and I also think they look very beautiful but if you already own a pair of scissors that works well for cutting your yarn, which you eventually have to do anyway with every project, you don't have to go and purchase a pair of embroidery scissors. These just work for me because I do not want to, you know, go looking around the house for a pair of scissors whenever I need to cut my yarn. I really like to keep them with my knitting, like I said, and that just makes it a lot easier for me, but it's certainly not required to own a specific pair of embroidery scissors for your knitting. 5. A darning needle. This is another small tool that does not look overly important but once you have come to the end of your knitting project you soon realize that good finishing makes a big difference and I really like to have a tool in my notions pouch that I know will work. And for that I really like those darning or tapestry needles. They are a bit thicker. They have a very large eye and they are sharp but not overly sharp. I would say even more a bit on the blunt side and I really like those because you can easily thread the yarn through. You can weave in all your ends and they just do the job very well and again together with the embroidery scissors those I think are the two most important tools in my notions pouch six a crochet hook now we get to a tool that i genuinely think makes you a better knitter and funnily enough this isn't even a knitting tool at all it is a crochet hook and the reason why i like it so much while i do crochet i do not crochet nearly as much as i knit and i actually like to keep this with my knitting because it helps me to fix mistakes because when you drop a stitch you could unravel all the way back to where the stitch is dropped or you can use a simple crochet hook and use it to insert it into the the drop stitch and then ladder it right back up and that saves you a ton of time and frustration and that's why I absolutely love to have a crochet hook together with my knitting projects because learning how how to fix your knitting changes your relationship with mistakes because then you become less afraid of them and you are more adventurous and you realize that pretty much all mistakes in knitting can be fixed and I think that is a very freeing feeling and for that I think a crochet hook is truly a necessity. Seven, scrap yarn. Number seven might be my favorite tip in the entire video and that is to use scrap yarn. That is a tool that costs you absolutely nothing and there are two purposes that I like to use scrap yarn for in particular. The first is that if you are knitting a let's say sweater from the top down there comes the point where you separate for the sleeves and the body and you usually knit the body first and put the stitches for the sleeves on hold and for that I absolutely love using a piece of scrap yarn. You can use it with your darning needle, thread it through and then put it through the live stitches, tie a knot in the end and then the stitches are secured. Now I know there are more or fancier tools available, for example those silicon cords. This is a barb cord where you can, let's see if I have a needle, you can use the barb cord that is a bit too big of a needle but I think you get the idea put it on your the tip of your needle and then you can slide the stitches easily from the needle to the cord and then tie it off in the end and it basically has the same purpose as the scrap yarn but I personally have to say this works but I find it a bit fiddly and I much prefer the scrap yarn solution. And the second use is one I particularly recommend if you are doing something difficult. Using scrap yarn as a lifeline. Imagine that you have spent hours knitting a complicated lace motif and then you get to a section that you are not really sure about and instead of just trying to wing it I recommend that you use your scrap yarn to thread through the live stitches and use it as a a lifeline which basically means you have this yarn threaded through the whole round or row then you continue knitting and if you do make a mistake you can easily just pull back and the lifeline holds all the stitches for you in the particular round or row that you put it through without you know any harm being done and if you do not need it because you don't make a mistake perfect. You can simply pull it out later but I think this saves you so much frustration and it also gives you more confidence because you know there's not much that can go wrong. And again I think there is a theme running through this tools list so far because sometimes the best tools aren't really tools at all. They can be as simple as using a piece of scrap yarn. Eight, a swift and ball winder. So after recommending a completely free tool with the scrap yarn I want to show you two items that are definitely more investment pieces at least in my knitting tools set and these are a swift and a ball winder and they get so much use here in my house. But again let me be very clear those are not essential knitting tools. If you mainly knit from yarn that is already caked up or comes in balls you absolutely do not need those. But if you regularly use yarn that comes in those skeins they can be very helpful because they save you a lot of time. But you definitely don't need them. For years when I wanted to knit with a skein of yarn or a hank I just used the back of my chair and you know put the the hank across it open it up and put it down and then just winding a ball by hand and the back of the chair was holding the hank still and getting it from becoming like an entangled mess but when you do that for a while and you have a lot of skeins to wind up into balls this can take quite a significant amount of time and for me there was a point where I just wanted you know my knitting time where I was able to truly knit and not spend half of the time trying to wind up the skein and into a ball and that's why I decided to invest in those two tools and I'm super happy with them. Now I also want to mention while am going to link the exact tools that I use in the description box below for you. There are definitely also less pricey versions available. My Ballwinder and Swift are both wood because that is important to me. But you can also get these same exact tools in plastic versions and that makes them a lot cheaper. 9. A towel. And now we are back to something you almost certainly already own and that is a towel. And why I love a towel so much for knitting is that I think that blocking is one of the most underrated steps in knitting. Because especially if you're knitting something like lace, cables or ribbing maybe, the stitches can look... or color work... the stitches can look very uneven, a bit wonky, the fabric might be a bit cinched in and you're unsure after completing the project if this is actually what you were looking for but once you gently soak it in water and then block it on a towel the stitches open up the tension it gets even even out and everything looks you know just completely different sometimes depending on the yarn especially if you're in a knitting with all natural yarn with non-superwash yarn blocking can make such an important difference But here's the thing, because when people talk about blocking, they often talk about these interlocking blocking mats, blocking wires and also these very specialized T-pins. But I personally don't own these. I don't use them. I simply use my towel. After washing a garment, I gently remove the excess water without wringing it and then lay it flat on a clean towel. Then I shape it to the measurements I want and let it dry. And that's how I block the vast majority of my knitting. Now there are situations where blocking wires and specific blocking pins can be very useful. For example, if you want to aggressively block an elaborate lace shawl to certain dimensions, it can make a lot of sense. But for the cardigans and sweaters that I usually knit, those are just not required. I can simply use my towel. And I think that illustrates something important about knitting tools in general. Don't confuse needing to learn a technique with needing to buy the product associated with that technique. Because learning how to block your knitting I think is a very worthwhile skill and using those specialized tools on the other hand is not necessary. I would encourage you to start with what you have and if you later on realize that you do need those specific tools. You can purchase them of course but I would not try solving a problem that you don't have in the first place. 10. A notebook. And the next tool on my list might look even less like a knitting tool and it is a notebook but again just like the gauge ruler I am not recommending to use the object itself. I recommend the habit and that is to regularly take notes on the patterns that you're knitting because for years I would knit projects and then pretty much as soon as I finished forget half of the things what needle sizes I used what size I made what modifications I made how long I knitted the body maybe I added some length and that was just so frustrating because in the end if for whatever reason I wanted to maybe knit the project again I would have to start from scratch all over again. And now I make a conscious effort to record those things and the way you do it is not important. You can use a notebook, you can use a specialized app on your phone, you can also just put the notes in your phone. I usually just use Ravelry, you can you know put the notes directly on the pattern that you printed out, whatever you do. Just make sure to keep notes because knitting is truly a skill that evolves over time and that increases with knowledge and it's very difficult for you to get better if you don't record what you did and then learn from the things you did in the last project because I think those little observations over time become your toolbox and you whenever you see a pattern you stop asking what is the pattern telling me to do here and you start asking yourself what do I want to do with the pattern how do I want to adapt it to fit my needs and you get away you know from the simple skill of now I know how to knit and you become so much more confident because all you need is a place to write it down. So those are my 10 favorite knitting tools and I hope that you have realized that I do not want to recommend that you go out and buy these specific tools. Quite the opposite actually because my favorite stitch holder is a pair of scrap yarn and my blocking equipment is a towel and I also don't think you need a gauge ruler. You can also simply use a tape measurement. The important thing is find out what works for you and do exactly that. So before you go and buy a knitting gadget or tool I want you to ask yourself what problem is this actually going to solve for me and if the answer is that you don't have a problem then I think you probably should not buy the tool at all. And if you enjoyed this video I think you're also going to like my video about 10 knitting tips that will actually help you become a better knitter. I'm going to link it for you on the screen and I'll see you in the next video. Take care, happy knitting, bye!