Selecting Materials

Selecting the right materials will help get your knitting off to the right start.  In this section we are going to go over a few tips on selecting and storing your materials.  This video contains a lot of information but don’t worry, you won’t have to remember it all to keep going!

Needles

Knitting needles come in three basic varieties, with some extra speciality needles we will not cover in this course.  The three varieties are straight, circular, and double pointed.  Straight needles are exactly what they sound like, straight with a point on only one end and some sort of knob or stopper on the other to keep your stitches from sliding off the end.  This sort of needle is ideal for back and forth knitting like what we will be doing in this course.

Circular needles are two short needles connected in the middle by some sort of cable.  These come in a variety of lengths and can be used for knitting back and forth or for knitting in the round (not covered in this course).  If it is what you already have, it will work for this course but they can be a bit harder to hold for some people because your needles are always connected.

Double pointed needles are shorter (6-8 inches) and usually come in sets of 4-6.  They have a point on each end and are designed for knitting in the round, particularly socks.  They will not work for this project.

Needles can be made of wood, metal, plastic, or other materials.  They come in a variety of lengths and sizes or diameters.  Diameters are indicated by either a millimeter number (mm) or by a US size (US).  The important thing to remember is that bigger needles will make a bigger hole (stitch).

We knit all of the washcloths listed on our site with a wooden straight US size _____ or _____ mm.   For learning stitches, we highly recommend straight needles.  We prefer wooden needles because they tend to be a little less slippery, but if metal or plastic is what you have, don’t invest a ton of money into needles until you know what you like.

You can usually find knitting needles in a big jumble at your favorite thrift store for quite cheap.  Just double check to make sure the two needles are the same size!  A midsize like US6, 8, or 10 is ideal for learning.  Common sizes are available at Walmart and Hobby Lobby carries just about every size.  If you have a local small yarn store, you will know that the needles you are buying are tested for quality by very experienced knitters but be prepared to pay a little more.  You can buy sets on Amazon, but whatever you choose…don’t invest until you know what you like!

Yarn

Like needles, buying yarn can be a bit confusing.  As a former preschool teacher, for many years I thought yarn was just the big rolls of acrylic RedHeart you could buy in any color of the rainbow at Walmart.   Now, I almost never use pure acrylic yarn unless the project really calls for it.  That said, acrylic yarn is by far the cheapest and easiest to find and is great for practicing stitches you may pull out later.

We far prefer natural fiber such as cotton, wool, and even bamboo.  For this course’s washcloth project cotton would be the best choice as it is absorbent and washes up well with no special care.

Like needles, yarn also comes in a variety of diameters- referred to as weights.  You may see that denoted as a number from 0-6 or a word such as Fingering, DK, Aran, Worsted, Bulky, Super Bulky.  For this project we recommend a mid weight 4, known as Worsted.  You won’t need a lot and a single ball will make several washcloths.  

Sourcing yarn comes with many of the same options as needles.  We always check the thrift store for unique natural yarns that someone has cleaned out from Grandma’s craft basket.  These yarns aren’t always labeled, but you can often find colors and patterns that are hard to find.  If it is cotton or wool we usually buy it!

The local yarn store is another preferred option and it might not be the premium for yarn that it usually is on needles.  Our store has a discount section in the basement, a bucket of last skeins at 25% off, and even a give & take basket where people leave old yarn and you are free to take what you like for free!  They also have a reward program so our purchases pay us back eventually.   As another bonus, you will often be supporting small and even local yarn producers.

Our favorite yarn superstore is the online LoveCrafts website.  They sell a variety of popular yarns, but the Paintbox line comes in almost every weight, color, and material. They sell 5 or 10 packs of coordinating or matching colors and often have good sales that make stocking up worth it.  If you sign up for their email list they will give you 20% off your first order. (CHECK ABOUT REFERRAL CODES)

Of course Walmart and Hobby Lobby also both have options for a variety of yarn and if that is what is most convenient for you, then go for it!

Storage & Extras

Now that you have loaded up on yarn and needles how do you store them?  This is definitely a matter debated by the experts and Pinterest has more ideas you might want to check out Kylee and I have very different personalities in this regard.  

Her needle storage keeps everything tidy and easy to find.  Mine is a jumbled tangled mess and I can almost never find the size I’m looking for!  We both have one of these little sizing cards to help with fixing mismatched needles.  A lot of time though, I end up asking to borrow hers because mine is missing.  I wonder why!

A needle sizing card is not a requirement for this course, but if you see one it might be a good idea to grab one.  The only other two materials you will need are a darning or yarn needle (a wooden, metal, or plastic needle with a large eye) and a small pair of scissors.  You may also want to have a pair of needle tips to keep your project from sliding off when you aren’t working on it.  Kylee uses these a lot, especially when she is knitting veils.  I tend to use them only when I’m working on circular needles with a large stitch count such as a blanket.  

For yarn, we usually keep individual projects in individual bags with everything we might need.  We both usually have several going at once and this makes it easier to grab a project when we are heading for a long car ride or coffee/tea with friends.  I keep all of my small notions (scissors, darning needles, etc) in a little plastic bag that can easily move between individual project bags.

We share yarn storage and keep boxes organized by type of yarn- synthetic, cotton, wool, etc.  That way when we find a yarn we really need even though we don’t have a project for it, we have somewhere to stash it.  The same system could be used and organized by color or weight.  Again, Pinterest is your friend for the storage system that will work for you.

Final Thoughts

This was a lot!  It is probably the longest video in the course by quite a bit.  I promise you don’t need to remember it all, but we wanted to cover all of the terms and types you might come across in your planning to help you avoid confusion.  If you have questions, you can always leave a comment on the lesson and someone will probably know the answer.  Be sure to share a picture of any fun thrift store finds or other sources!

In summary, here are the things you need to have before starting the next lesson:

Size US6-10 Straight Needles

Midweight (Worsted, Size 4) Yarn

Before lesson 5, you will also need:

Darning Needle

Small Scissors

Optional:

Project bag to keep everything organized