Our first question comes from one of Green Options‘ own, Noelle d’Estries. Q: I’d like to get my sister into knitting — what are the basic tools I should set her up with, along with these beginner books? – Noelle A: First off, I have to say congrats for getting your sister into knitting! Once she learns the basics, a whole world of creativity will open up to her and she will be forever grateful to you for bringing her into that world. Other than the knitting needles and yarn appropriate for her first project; which most people recommend to be a scarf (there is a specific pattern for a beginner scarf in the Stitch ‘n Bitch book mentioned on our Top 5 Must-Have DIY Knitting Tomes); the following tools are vital for every level of knitting connoisseur:
Small scissors Row counter Point protectors (for the ends of knitting needles) Tape measure Crochet hook (key tool for project “surgery”) A yarn needle (also called a “tapestry” or “darning” needle)
You can easily buy all of these separately for under $30 and put them into a nice little tote or cosmetics bag (something with a zipper on top) for her to keep with all of her projects. The following tools are used frequently during more intermediate and advanced projects, so she will want to add these to her collection later on:
Safety pins Stitch holders Stitch markers Needle gauge Cable needles
A nice addition to her new knitting kit would be a small/travel bottle of hand lotion or balm. You might be surprised just how dry you hands can get after stitching and purling for an hour or so – she will be relieved to have this on-hand after her sessions (no pun intended). [[ From basic to brain boggling, we welcome your sustainable stitching queries either via comment on one of our other Q&A posts or directly via e-mail. Knitting, crochet, sewing, quilting, pottery, paper arts … if you make it, we can answer your questions on how to make it better. ]]
