So you want to be a knitter - part 1

Building your equipment

Unlike sewing and dressmaking it is impossible to have a box of cure alls, it would make life much easier. There is a reason for this and it's very simple. Knitting is a form of weaving, unlike sewing you are making the fabric, and you are doing this by manipulating looped knots via the needles, therefore the yarn and the needles will affect the size of the fabric, ie just changing the needles down a size will drastically reduce the size of your knitting.

So, again unlike sewing, you don't just have a pair of scissors, though you'll need those, a pin cushion, a box of spare pins, some sewing needles and a thimble, and all the rest is detailing. With knitting everything changes.

There are some things that you will need but you don't necessarily have to go out and spend a fortune on them, in fact until you are truly addicted to the craft I don't recommend it. When you are learning to knit it might not take, you might not like it, these are the simple facts of life, and if you've just spent $50 on a set of birch needles with silver thread through them that are the wrong size for what you're doing you're more likely to hate it.

So where to begin.

All you need is a pair of needles and a ball of yarn. For your first projects until you get the hang of the basics the size of these doesn't matter at all. To prove this point the first project in this book is a very simple scarf that can be used for any purpose you want to put a scarf to. As heartbreaking as it might be to want to start with that super complicated striped lace wonderwork of a cardigan you have to start with simple things and they don't get simpler than scarves, or as wonderfully complex either.

There are things I would recommend as essential but they are not necessarily expensive.

1. A tote bag.

The reason for this is simple, it gives you some place to keep your knitting projects away from small hands, cat paws, dust, spilt tea... any of the usual things. With miniature knitting because it's small you don't necessarily need a big one either, an old handbag will do fine, just somewhere to stash your wool and your works in progress. You might want to buy yourself an elaborate and beautiful silk knitting bag, they are available, but you don't need to, any old cloth or leather bag will do. The only reason I don't recommend a good old fashioned paper or plastic bag is that the needles poke through them and they don't last very long.

2. Scissors

These live in your tote bag, and unlike sewing or embroidery where you pretty much have to mortgage your house for a good pair- with knitting it doesn't really matter, because all you're doing is trimming ends, so anything that cuts will do, whether they are cheap paper scissors from the local supermarket or the expensive thread cutters from the haberdashers. I use thread cutters, but mostly because they have a ribbon around them so I can hang them from my neck and not lose them.

3. Tape measure

A ruler will do, but a tape measure is much more flexible and allows you to measure both your work and your doll.

4. Paper and pencil

Prepare to make notes, lots and lots of notes, whether it's scribbling down measurements or doodling a stitch. Attach the pencil to the pad, otherwise you will lose it. A length of yarn taped to the pencil will allow you to hang the pencil around your neck, or stick it to the pad.

5. A needle gauge

This is an inexpensive item available from any yarn stockist, it is a small square of plastic with holes in it for measuring the size of needles. Not all needles come with a handy sizing bead, like double pointeds or circulars for example, this piece of plastic means you just stick the needle in the hole until you get the right size.

6. A packet of darning needles

This should probably read several packets because darning needles are used to sew the fabric pieces together and will get lost. No matter how careful you are with them they will get lost. Reassuringly they come in packs of two usually and aren't very expensive. As your work scales down you will switch to cross stitch needles as they have a smaller width and a large eye, these come in packs of six. The gold plating is a carry over from cross stitching where the same needle is worn thin with use, the gold stops the metal tarnishing and staining the fabric. It is not necessarily as indulgent as it looks.

7. A small crochet hook

Ideally this will be the smallest crochet hook in the shop, but we're not using it for crochet. The purpose of this is to pick up dropped stitches, it's much easier, and for beading.

8. A bottle of moisturiser.

This is because dry skin catches on the knitting and isn't very nice, it's scratchy, and easily fixed. It doesn't have to be expensive, but quickly absorbed and non greasy work best because you don't want it staining your work.

There are other things I would highly recommend but aren't essential.

1. A pencil tin.

This is fantastic for keeping notions and fiddly things like stitch markers, end protectors, safety pins, and other miscellaneous small things in. I also keep my stitch holders and cable needles in mine because they fit. It stops them getting lost at the bottom of your bag.

2. A knitting roll

This is a fabric needle holder that rolls up nice and small, and allows you to carry lots of needles around comfortably. There is no reason not to make this yourself.

3. A big jar

You won't always carry your needles around and they will accumulate, in fact before you know it you will have many pairs, and they need somewhere to live. An old large jar is ideal for this, it supports the needles and allows you to choose them from the ends.

4. A bag of elastic bands

This just allows you to keep your needles in pairs, you will need lots more than you have pairs because you'll lose them, they'll degrade and the dog will try to eat them when you drop them.

With needles and yarn I'll deal later simply because it is pretty much a specialist subject.

There are knitting objects that you will need at some point. I highly recommend buying these as they are necessary otherwise they can be very expensive and you'll hardly ever use them.

1. Stitch holders

These are like giant nappy pins to hold your work in situ when you need to separate a piece off to work on a different bit. I.e., if you're knitting an all in one sweater and are isolating off the sleeves. These can prove godsends but alternately if you can't find one in scale, a piece of scrap wool fed through with a darning needle and tied into a bow will work just as well. Alternatively a nappy or kilt pin will do the same job much more cheaply, and in fact work better for pockets because they're not in the way as much, especially with scale knitting.

2. Stitch markers

These are small notions, usually a few beads strung on a metal loop, that allow you to mark your place, ie if you have a four panel repeat on 80 stitch you would place markers every twenty stitches which allows you to just work with 20 and restart the pattern with each new panel. It's just a reminder. These can be very expensive and will fall out of your work no matter how careful you are. However you can use a piece of scrap wool or a safety pin to mark your place simply by tying a loop around the end.

3. End protectors

These come in two groups, for circular and straight, and for double pointed needles. The first type are like pencil toppers for the needle, they go on the point of the needle and stops your knitting falling off when you store it. They can easily be replaced by a pair of elastic bands, one for straights simply because you leave your knitting on one needle for straights, and two for circulars. The other ones are more complicated, they are two plastic caps held together by a length of elastic, this is often decorated. These close over both ends of all the double pointed needles (dpns) and hold the knitting in place as one thick wand of needles instead of the triangle or square you were working with. Again if you want to use them and don't want to pay for them elastic bands work just as well.

4. Cable needles

As a rule you can never have too many cable needles, patterns will suggest that you use a cable needle the same size that you're knitting with, this isn't necessary because you're not really knitting with it. A cable needle allows you to change the order of stitches to create a twist. Like darning needles they will get lost no matter how careful you are because they're little and you'll put them down and then the next thing you know it's gone. I use 2mm ones but there is nothing to stop you getting other sizes. I have a miniature cable needle and it's simply too small. Some cable needles are straight and look like a short dpn, and some have a kink in the middle. Both do the same job, it is just personal preference.

One technique I have learned is that if I am shopping and see a knitting magazine with a free gift that will be useful I will purchase the magazine, this allows you to acquire these items cheaply and often the magazine can be as interesting with different techniques and tips and even suggestions of what to make. This can be a great source for needles, knitting rolls and other things like that. Also don't be afraid to make it known to other knitters that you'll take their oddments off their hands, just because they can't make something with half a ball of yarn doesn't mean that you can't.