If you are interested in knitting, there is a little more to it than needles and yarn. Every regular knitter ends up with a basic kit. Here is what is worth having, and what can wait.
The essentials
Needles. Start with one pair around 5mm (US 8) rather than a set. Bamboo or wood rather than metal – they grip the yarn slightly, which means fewer dropped stitches while you are learning.
Add sizes as projects require them. Buying a full set before you know what you knit means owning a lot of needles you never touch.
Yarn. Smooth, light-coloured, medium weight. Light and smooth so you can see the stitches, which is the single most useful thing you can do for yourself as a beginner.
Blunt tapestry needles. For weaving in ends and seaming. A blunt tip slides between strands instead of splitting them. Buy several; they disappear.
Sharp small scissors. Kept with the knitting, not borrowed from a drawer.
A tape measure. Retractable, in the bag.
Stitch markers. The cheapest useful thing you will own. The kind that open, so they can be added and removed freely.
Worth adding soon
A row counter, or anything that stops you losing your place.
A stitch holder, or a length of smooth scrap yarn, which works just as well.
A cable needle, once you start cables.
A project bag. Underrated. A project that lives in a bag by the chair gets picked up; one spread across a table does not.
What can wait
A yarn winder and swift, unless you buy hanks regularly.
Interchangeable needle sets. Excellent once you know what you knit, wasteful before.
Blocking mats and pins, until you make something that needs blocking. A towel and rustproof pins do the job at first.
Most gauge tools. A ruler works.
Bought kits
Beginner kits bundle needles, yarn and instructions. They are convenient, they make good gifts, and they usually cost more than the parts separately.
They are worth it if the instruction booklet is genuinely good, or if it is a present. Buying for yourself, a pair of bamboo needles and a ball of yarn from a local shop gets you to the same place for less.
The thing that is not in any kit
Good light. It makes more difference to how much you enjoy knitting than anything you can buy, and most people work in considerably less than they need.
