LEARN TO KNIT & CROCHET

Knitting needles, crochet hooks and accessories

Knitting Needles
There are three main types of knitting needles, single-pointed needles with knobs at one end which are used in pairs to knit flat pieces; double-pointed needles, used in sets of 4 or 5 to knit small seamless items (such as socks etc.), or more frequently for neckbands or armbands, and circular knitting needles, which are used for knitting seamless sweaters and also where a large number of stitches is involved such as a rug or shawl. Single and double-pointed needles can be made of plastic, wood, bamboo, steel or alloy and range in size from 2 mm to 17 mm in diameter and 17.5cm to 35 cm in length.
Most knitting patterns nowadays recommend a metric size needle. If you are using old needles, which have only got the old numerical size on them, it would be best to check the size of the needles with a needle gauge (see below). Circular needles, consisting of two needlepoints joined by a flexible length of plastic, are usually made of nylon or alloy. The flexible plastic cord varies in length. Use the shorter lengths for knitting sleeves in the round, neckbands, etc. and the longer lengths for larger pieces such as sweaters and skirts.
Always use a needle of a length sufficient to hold the stitches comfortably. A crowded needle is difficult to use but too long a needle is hard to manage unless you like to knit with one end tucked under your arm.
It is useful to keep a range of needle sizes so that tension samples can be knitted and compared (see knitting tension). Discard any needles that become bent. Points should be fairly sharp, as blunt needles reduce the speed and ease of working.

Accessories

Needle gauge This is a flat piece of metal or nylon punched with holes corresponding to needle sizes. It is marked with the old numerical sizing and the metric sizing, so you can check the size of any needle.
Cable needle A short double pointed needle used as a holder while crossing sets of stitches to form a cable or twist.
Stitch holder Resembling a large safety pin, a stitch holder is used to hold stitches while they are not being worked; on a pocket lining, for example, or round a neckline when the neckband stitches will be picked up and worked later. If you have no stitch holder, thread a blunt pointed sewing needle with a generous length of contrast-coloured yarn, thread it through the stitches to be held while they are still on the needle, then slip the stitches off the needle and knot both ends of the contrast yarn.
Sewing needles Tapestry needles are used to sew completed pieces of knitting or crochet together. These are large, with a broad eye for easy threading and a blunt point that will slip between the stitches without splitting and fraying the yarn. Don’t use sharp pointed sewing needles to sew up knitting or crochet.
Row counter This handy accessory is a cylinder with a numbered dial that is used to count the number of rows that have been knitted. Push it on to the end of the knitting needle and turn the dial to register a new number at the completion of each row.
Tape measure an essential aid for checking tension samples and for measuring the length and width of completed pieces. For an accurate result, smooth the work out without stretching it, on a firm flat surface, before measuring.
Crochet hook useful for picking up dropped stitches and a different way of casting off, (see basic stitches and cables).
Bobbins Make these out of pieces of notched cardboard to hold yarn while working multicoloured patterns. There are plastic bobbins available, made by the needle manufacturers, which you may find easier to use.
Scissors You need a small pair for snipping off yarn.

Crochet Hooks
Crochet hooks come in a large range of sizes according to the diameter of the hook shank, from the very fine 0.60mm steel hook for fine crochet cotton to larger hooks of anodised aluminium alloy or plastic. The only other accessories you will need for crochet are: a tapestry needle for sewing up the completed pieces and weaving in ends, a tape measure, some bobbins and a small pair of scissors (see above).