Start Small, Learn The Ropes (Or Yarn)

I’ve been a recreational knitter for many years and never really had any interest in offering my items for sell. I usually give them away since the making and the giving are the rewarding part for me. I use it as a hobby, to relax when I come home from work, and that is all I expect from it.

That doesn’t mean that you have to “limit” yourself but to be honest if you are going to do it professionally you will see that it takes time to knit and you have to ask how much is your time worth.

People often ask me for suggestions or help on picking out hooks. They will tell me they are thinking about brand X though it is twice as expensive as band Y. When I hear this I will say something like “why don’t you just pick up a cost-effective set with everything you need?” The thing about cost-effective sets are that you do not need to continue buying each hook separately. That gets expensive quickly!

If you haven’t gotten the hang of it, know what you want/need, or don’t even know if you plan to continue, buying all of the expensive equipment upfront can be a waste.

When I first got started I was using whatever I had around the house for yarn markers. And while it was a nightmare trying to cut yarn with my rickety old scissors that were as dull as they were sticky I learned something important. I like knitting.

At that point I upgraded.

While the hair clips and other “counters” I was using didn’t work out like I wanted (I pulled out a lot of rows because I lost count). I was thrilled by the whole experience. For Christmas my mother bought me a kit which make things so much better. In fact it was more than I could have ever hoped for, more than I ever imagined!

I started a new project after I received my kit.

It has scissors, an assortment of needles, and a measuring tape which was mind blowing at the time.

Since then it has been replaced a number of times, at least piece by piece, but there is one thing that I learned. I loved to knit, had I blown my money on a bunch of equipment I think that I would have been more than disappointed. Especially since I know how hard it can be to learn on aluminum needles.

Stay Organized

If you are going to seriously start knitting then you will want to make sure that you stay organized. While this is a relatively clean and clutter free hobby, if you don’t keep your supplies in order you will quickly end up with balls of yarn, tangled balls of yarn.

Let me say first that I love to knit. I have been knitting and crocheting since high school. And I have learned the hard way that not keeping your items in order is only good for a head ache. That said, as you can imagine I have gone through more than a couple bags but few of them were designed to meet my needs. I like bags that stand up on their own, can be easily taken along, don’t require a lot of yarn organization and yet keep the yarn protected.

It is also a plus if the bag has storage spaces within or on the bag for my large assortment of needles.

My current bag even has a zipper pocket on the front which I like to store my yarn needles in! Another fact that I absolutely love, is when the bags have both a hand strap and shoulder strap, together in the same design.

Also when you choose your first bag make sure you don’t opt for the smallest one. You will quickly learn that the bag is better when it is large enough to fit several skeins of yarn into it. The reason is because after you get a bit better you will usually work on projects that are of several colors.

That is pretty much what I look for when I feel it is time for a new bag. I would name a couple of brands, but my newest bag is about ten years old and I really haven’t looked at new models since then. The reason is because it offers everything I need, looks good, and had held up to various wear and tear. Including a camping trip in the Catskills.

When you find a good bag that meets your needs you’ll know what I mean.