Essentials

Every knitter knows that a well-prepared knitting bag leads to even more enjoyable knitting. When you know you don't have to stop, mid-project, to grab some supply you are more likely to kick back and enjoy each stitch.

Besides your yarn and needles, there are a few more important supplies needed. These supplies might not be needed for every project, but it is useful to have them handy just in case.

While the Interweave Press Work In Progress Journal would not be considered an essential, I highly recommend including it or something similar in your bag. This softcover journal, made in the USA, consists of 112 pages. Half of these pages are blank and the rest are knitter's graph paper. The blank pages are great for making notes about patterns you are working on, yarn choice, or even sketching out your own ideas. Knitter's graph paper is slightly different from traditional graph paper and is especially useful in preparing color motifs and mapping out designs. You can find this book, and others like it, on amazon.com.  If you would rather not buy this journal I suggest including some type of notebook or journal in your knitting bag as they are highly useful.

Other essential supplies are yarn needles, buttons, crochet hook, cable needle, straight pins with colored tops, a small pair of scissors, stitch holders, and needle toppers. Yarn needles resemble sewing needles, but they are much larger in size, in order to accommodate the large size of most yarns. These needles come in several different sizes, but you only need one or two of these needles. I like to have a few of these needles on hand in case I have misplaced the one I was using. If you are more organized than you might only need one. I like to include a crochet hook in my bag because I find the hook handy for picking up dropped stitches and for weaving in the loose ends after you have finished knitting your project.

A cable needle is only useful if you actually incorporate the cable stitch. If you don't use the cable method than you don't really need to include this tool in your knitting bag. Straight pins are useful for when blocking your knitting. You should use the colored top pins instead of the traditional silver straight pins because the silver pins can and will get lost in your knitting. Stitch holders, they look like giant safety pins, are great for holding your stitches while knitting your project. Some patterns ask you to transfer stitches onto these holders while you continue working on another piece of the project. Traditional safety pins can be used for smaller amounts of stitches.

Needle toppers are a knitter's best friend. Toppers come in many shapes and sizes and fit snug on the tops of your needles. I find these especially useful when I am knitting with a large number of stitches or using double pointed needles. I even made some of my own using jewelry clay. I made the jewelry clay using equal parts of cornstarch, flour, salt, and some warm water. First you mix the dry ingredients together and slowly add warm water until the clay forms. Then you just sculpt the clay into your desired design. Once formed I inserted a knitting needle into the form to make a whole for the needle. You can then let the clay forms air dry for a few days or bake in the oven for a few minutes. If you decide to bake in the oven, make sure you keep a close eye on your clay forms. The finished clay forms were slightly fragile, not a good choice for daily use, but stabilized when I added coats of paint. Making my own needle toppers was a fun weekend project, but I don't recommend this to everyone. It was a lot of work and I don't really know how long they will hold up for.

Put these tools in their own case and include in your knitting bag. Next time you start knitting you will find yourself smiling, knowing that you have everything you need.

Be prepared and be happy.