elbow room is tight) or for the wonder of the magic loop (see The Way of the Knit).
DPNs
They wander in sets or four or five and are used for circular knitting. Also seem to scare or fascinate fellow commuters if you break them out while travelling.
Gubbins case
A case in which you stash all the fiddly bits you need when knitting. Pencil cases work well, as do glasses cases, tins, make-up bags or boa constrictors (it can be hard to get the stuff back out of a snake, though).
Darning/tapestry needle
A big fat needle for weaving in ends and sewing up. Get a few, as you will lose some to the hungry Tapestry Needle-Eating Monster that stalks us all.
Sewing needle
The fiddly cousins of tapestry needles. These bad boys are ultra-pointy. Be careful where you leave them when not using them.
Scissors
Get good, small portable ones that fit in your gubbins case. There will be chopping galore.
Tape measure
In the case of most knits, size does matter. A retractable tape measure is the way to go. If it’s shaped like a sheep or a cake, even better.
Thread
Always useful for a million things; you can have various colours to hand, but black and white are essential.
Stitch markers
These little rings mark places in your knitting so you don’t get lost. So kind. You can buy them or just make them from spare yarn. I use tiny elastic bands for braids.
Crochet hook
This little hook is your 999 emergency aid if you drop a stitch. Use it to pick the stitch back up and fix it. It’s also the queen of making long lines of lovely chain stitch.
Small notebook and pen
Scribble down rows, pattern changes, or hilarious doodles of your boss being eaten by a dragon.
Project bag
Your WIP (Work in Progress) is going to need a home when it’s not in your hands. If you shove it in your bag and get lip balm all over it or find it’s taken a shine to your sunglasses and refuses to be parted from them, well, you’ll be sorry. Get a simple drawstring bag, bung it in a plastic bag, or stuff it in a disused sock you stole from a giant.
Stuffing
Forget fancy craft-shop stuffing. Butcher an old pillow or a bargain-shop cushion. Their outsides may be grotty, but their precious innards can be reused.
Beads, buttons and shiny stuff
We’re all magpies at heart. Start stashing embellishments where you find them. Snip buttons off holey garments bound for the bin, hoard beads from broken bling, and keep your eyes out for bargains.
Eyes
If you only have eyes for the ones you love, you’re going to have lots of unfinished WIPs. Bag yourself some safety eyes and seed beads to bring your knits to starey life.
Felt
You can make anything from felt. Anything at all. Honest. If you can’t be faffed to knit extra bits, felt works almost as well. Not that I’m suggesting you use felt for everything. But, when in doubt, felt.
Wire and/or pipe cleaners
Pipe cleaners and wires give knits their very own skeletons. A bendy knit is a happy knit; just make sure no eyes are poked out by unruly ends. Tuck them in well.
NON-ESSENTIAL GUBBINS
Stitch holder
This doohickey is to put stitches on that you’re not working for a little while, so you can get on with knitting the others. You can also thread them on a spare bit of yarn if you’re a bit skint.
Claw clips
Those little crocodile claw clips you use for holding up long hair are perfect for holding together a seam while you sew it. Get some.
Tweezers
Fiddly crafting, such as stuffing tiny knits or threading beads, is made a thousand times easier with tweezers. Plus you can pluck that unsightly nose hair, too.
Pliers
A pointy pair of craft pliers is good for poking, bending and pulling. Also good for doing crocodile impressions.
Row counter
You click it or roll it each time you complete a row. It remembers it all for you, allowing you to wander off and dream about much more important things such as how much yarn you can fit in the cupboard under the stairs without your family noticing.
Pins
For stretching out and blocking knits. For voodoo. For cleaning under your nails.
KNITTING TRANSLATIONS
English on this side of the pond in Blighty and on the other side of the pond in the US isn’t quite the same. Autumn is fall, pavements are sidewalks, and jam is jelly. We Brits like our words for things to have no connection with their meaning whatsoever. Americans say what they mean.
In knitting there are some differences too. Here’s a bit of help if you are lost in translation.
| UK term | US term |
| 4ply yarn | sport-weight yarn |
| cast off | bind off |
| DK (double knitting) yarn | worsted-weight yarn |
| double moss stitch | moss stitch |
| moss stitch | seed stitch |
| stocking stitch | stockinette stitch |
| tension | gauge |
UK AND US NEEDLE AND HOOK SIZES
Needles, the sticks of your stitching, come in different sizes for different-sized stitches. Just to make things doubly confusing, the UK and Europe label their sizes differently from the US. Brits and Europeans keep things neatly metric; Americans prefer to throw a nice round number in there. Not all sizes have a direct equivalent in the US, either. You can name them yourself if you like. I’ll call that one Horace.
Knitting
