Knitting Supplies

    

When your sisters talk you into doing another summit but this time on Knitting that means pulling out all of your supplies and raiding other peoples yarn to get together everything you need for the videos.  After everything is together you end up with the chaotic mess you have to figure out.  Here are some things you will need to know before you start a project

Yarn: 

I buy for projects and not just pretties.  I know other people like to have a massive stash of yarn and no shade to those people but when it comes to limited space I need it for my books.  I gravitate to the bulky yarn as it works up faster and is easier on my hands.  Arthritis sucks and the smaller the yarn the harder on the hands it is.  You can pick up almost any yarn to work with any project.  There are some patterns that will work better with certain weights but you can usually modify the pattern to work with your yarn.  

Yarn Weight	Common Names	Stitches per inch	Recommended Needle Size	Common Uses
0 – Lace	Lace, super fine, baby weight, crochet thread	7-8	000-2	Lace Knitting
1 – Super Fine	Fine, Sock, Baby	6-7	1-3	Light eyelet and socks
2 – Fine	Fine, Sport, Baby	5-6	3-5	Light sweaters, Baby items
3 – Light	Light Worsted	4-5	7-9	Sweaters and other garments
4 – Medium	Worsted, Afghan	4-5	7-9	Sweaters, Blankets, Outdoor Wear
5 – Bulky	Chunky, craft, Rug, Bulky	4	9-11	Rugs, Jackets, Blankets
6 – Super Bulky	Super Bulky or Roving	3-4	11 or larger	Heavy Blankets, Sweaters, rugs

Needles:

Needles come in Medal, Wood, and Plastic.  They come in various lengths and sizes.  The shortest I've seen is a 9 inches and the longest is 12 inches.  You have double-sided needles you will need for some projects like sock because this allows you to work on both sides of your project or circular without stretching your project.  Than you have your circular needles that will change the length of the circle.  The bigger the project the longer the needle will need to use.  You can also get double sided needles.  These are used for small projects as well as circular projects like hats.  The yarn you pick will determine which needle you use.  Along with the standard circle needle you can also have square needles.  I find these help with my hands and I can knit longer.  Other than this difference there isn't much different between the medal, wood and plastic.  Pick which ever one suits you.

Metric	UK	Us
2.0 mm	14	0
2.25 mm	13	1
2.75 mm	12	2
3.0 mm	11	-
3.25 mm	10	3
3.5 mm	-	4
3.75 mm	9	5
4.0 mm	8	6
4.5 mm	7	7
5.0 mm	6	8
5.5 mm	5	9
6.0 mm	4	10
6.5 mm	3	10.5
7.0 mm	2	-
7.5 mm	1	-
8.0 mm	0	11
9.0 mm	00	13
10.0 mm	000	15
12.0 mm	-	17
16.0 mm	-	19
19.0 mm	-	35
25.00 mm	-	50

Cable Needle - are used to help keep the cable stitches from dropping

Tapestry Needle - used to weave in the ends

Stitch Markers-  Come in various sizes, shapes, and colors.  They will help you track your stitches.  If you have a circular project or a very large complex project you can use a marker to track where you're at.

Scissors - You're working with yarn and will eventually need to cut it.

Pattern or an idea of what you want to do. You can opt to create your own or pick up a pattern from my blog or 100s of other sites.  There are options of having a graph, spelled out, or even a picture.  Find what works best for you and have fun.

You don't have to go to a huge expense to get some of these and you can live without others to create your projects.  If you're just starting out go with a basic yarn and needle to experiment and then you can branch out and spend way too much on your supplies.