To knit, you’ll need needles and yarn. That’s it! But where to buy them? And what kind of needles and yarn? Thick or thin? Wood or plastic? The options are endless!

YARN: I always recommend chunky yarn and correspondingly thick needles for beginners because they’re much easier to grip. I recommend I’m using 9mm needles.

You don’t need to use the same yarn as me, but try to get yarn that’s at least a medium weight (aka. worsted weight) or thicker. Thinner yarns are harder to control.

TIP: If you’re buying yarn and needles, choose cheap acrylic yarn so that mistakes won’t feel like such a big deal. As a beginner, you’ll make mistakes – and that’s totally normal!

Mistakes are part of the journey, and they’ll hurt less if you’re using inexpensive yarn as opposed to pricey artisan yarn.

NEEDLES: I recommend wood or bamboo needles for beginners. Wood and bamboo have a natural surface drag that “grips” the yarn and make it less slippery than steel or aluminium needles. Plastic needles are okay too.

If you have the choice, go for bamboo or wood. Otherwise, use whatever’s available!

SIZE MATTERS: What needle size do you need? It depends on the yarn you use! When you buy a ball of yarn, the yarn label will usually include a “recommended needle size” listed in millimetres.

Follow the yarn label when you’re first starting out. Going up or down a millimetre won’t be a big deal, but any more and your knitting might be too tight or too loose.

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