A lot of people ask me what I consider to be the essential tools that I keep with me
while I’m knitting. And, I get that in person, and in email.
So I thought I’d cover the answer here in a video.
Uh, now, first up, I carry all of my knitting notions in this plastic school box.
And there are so many cute little zippered bags out there, and I think they’re so adorable,
but I don’t like digging for things in a bag. I like everything open and visible to
me just like this, that’s why I use this ugly pink box.
Anyway, let’s go through this box and I’ll show you what’s in here.
First up, I have this little case, where I keep a lot of different things, a lot of different
sizes, but mainly in here I have tapestry needles, and stitch markers.
Both the clippie kind, and little ring markers.
And that’s what’s in here. There are a few other things like buttons and stuff, but
mostly this is a little case for stitch markers, different sizes, and tapestry needles.
Next up is a ruler that’s also a needle gauge checker, to tell me what size needles
I’m using.
The ruler is important because you want to be able to have something stiff like this
for when you’re checking stitch gauge, see if you’re getting the correct tension on
a pattern.
And then, of course, it’s an added bonus to have the needle gauge the needle size thing
here as well.
Now the other side of that is a tape measure, a soft tape measure, for measuring longer
things like sleeves and lengths of sweaters and stuff like that.
Next up, I have a row counter. I usually keep one or two row counters in my bag.
Um, this one’s my favorite because it’s a katcha counter, it’s quick to add numbers
to it, but you can also lock it when you put it in your knitting bag, it won’t add rows.
Uh, next up is, a little bit of scrap yarn.
And I use this for holding stitches, for reserving stitches, when my pattern tells me to while
I’m knitting.
And then the other side of that is I do have various… I’m sure this is noisy in the
microphone.
I do have various stitch holders like this.
And I have them there, but really I don’t use them very often. I always go back to the
scrap yarn.
And put the stitches on hold with the scrap yarn instead of the stitch holder.
Okay.
Next up of course is scissors. Pretty obvious why you need those in a knitting bag.
I also keep pens. Because I always, always photocopy the patterns that I’m using and
make notes about the patterns in pen while I’m working them so I don’t actually have
to mark up a book or anything.
It’s really handy if you’re making things like socks or sleeves where you know you need
to knit another one later.
And next are some cable needles. And you only need these when the pattern calls for them,
but this is where I keep them.
Okay, not too many things left.
The next part is kind of personal hygiene.
A nail file. Cuz if your nails are snaggy, you’re never going to get through that pattern.
Hand lotion, cuz if your hands are dry, you can’t get a grip on the yarn. This is me,
at least.
And lip stuff. Because.
And the last thing that I keep in my bag is this funny little tool that’s half crochet
hook and half knitting needle.
And it saves me from a lot of knitting disasters. I’m able to correct a lot of mistakes with
this thing.
And it’s tiny, and it’s only a couple of bucks, and I recommend that everybody gets
one.
Anyway, that’s a real life trip through my knitting tools. [laughs]
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