The Beginner Knitting Starter Kit: What You Actually Need (and What You Don’t)
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If you’re new to knitting you may wonder, what yarn and needles does a beginner knitter actually need?
There’s no shortage of yarns around, and their various weights and materials may make your head spin when you take a stroll around your local craft store.
Wool vs. Acrylic
Thick vs. Thin
What about furry or chenille yarns?
As someone who’s taught hundreds of people how to knit, let me share my advice on what you actually need as a beginner knitter.
Table of Contents
Best Beginner Yarn
Let’s start with yarns since this will determine the needle size you’ll use.
There are two considerations for choosing yarn:
- Yarn weight
- Yarn material
Yarn Weight
Yarn weight refers to the thickness of the yarn.
In terms of yarn weight, if you’re brand new to knitting, I suggest a chunky weight yarn (also called an “bulky weight”) or heavier (like a super bulky weight yarn).
For reference, super bulky weight yarns are around the thickness of an udon noodle or a pencil.
I recommend thicker yarns for beginners because I find they’re easier to grip.
It’s also easier to see the stitches when the yarn is thicker.
Lastly, thick yarn knits up much quicker than thin yarns, so you’ll knit up a swatch in no time!
I find that quick wins are key for keeping up motivation when you’re just starting out.
For this reason, stick to chunky yarns or heavier.
If you can’t find a thick yarn, go for a medium weight (also called a “worsted weight”).
Don’t go any lighter than medium weight yarn.
While lighter yarns are wonderful, they’re more slippery to knit with and they require a certain dexterity to handle.
So as a new knitter, do yourself a favour and stick with thicker yarns!
Yarn Material
Wool, acrylic or a wool-acrylic blend is my recommendation for beginner yarn material.
Save the alpaca, mohair, fuzzy, chenille and blown yarns for future projects.
For your first swatch, choose a smooth, affordable wool or acrylic yarn in a solid light to medium colour.
Avoid dark coloured yarns since it’s harder to see stitches in a dark hue. You’ll definitely want to see what your stitches look like as you knit!
Choose an affordable yarn since this will be your practice swatch. Expect mistakes and the need to unravel.
By the end of your knitting, the yarn may be pretty beat up, so don’t be too precious with it. Choose something affordable!
Recommended Yarns:
- Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick (80% acrylic / 20% wool) (Amazon)
- Lion Brand Hometown (100% acrylic) (Amazon)
- Lion Brand Hue + Me (80% acrylic / 20% wool) (Amazon)
- Bernat Softee Chunky (100% acrylic) (Amazon)
- Wool and the Gang Crazy Sexy Wool (100% wool) (Lovecrafts)
Beginner Yarn Recap:
The ideal beginner yarn is:
- chunky/bulky weight or heavier
- wool, acrylic or a wool-acrylic blend
- smooth (not fuzzy or furry)
- solid coloured
- light to medium shade
- affordable
Best Beginner Knitting Needles
Just as there are many different types of yarns, so there are various types of knitting needles: circular, straights, double pointed, flexis, the list goes on.
As a beginner, you need a pair of straight needles. These look like two sticks with a tapered end on one side and a stopper on the other.
Similar to yarn choice, the two considerations for needles are:
- Needle size
- Needle material
Knitting Needle Sizes:
Needles come in a variety of sizes, from a tiny 2.0 mm to a whopping 15mm and larger!
The measurement corresponds to the diameter of the needle in millimetres.
The size of the knitting needle determines the size of the stitches, which in turn affects the size of your finished project.
So, a small needle creates small stitches while a large needle creates larger stitches.
That’s all you really need to know as a beginner. Once you’re an experienced knitter, we’ll get into knitting gauge [LINK], but for now, we’ll set that aside.
Just remember:
Small needles = thin yarn = small stitches
Big needles = thick yarn = big stitches
Knitting Needle Size Systems
How we categorise needle sizes can be a bit confusing.
In the same way that shoe sizes are categorised differently between US, EU, and the UK, there are different ways for sizing knitting needles.
The most straightforward way for sizing is to use the metric system. This refers to the diameter of the needle.
So, a 4mm needle has a diameter of 4mm; a 5mm needle has a diameter of 5mm and so on.
In the US sizing system, a number is attached to the metric size of the needle.
So, a 4mm needle is called a US 6 and a 5mm needle is a US 8 and so on.
Needle Size Conversion Chart
In cases where you need to convert from one size system to another, use my needle conversion chart.
If you’re in the US, I would recommend using either the metric system or US needle sizes.
If you’re in Europe, the metric system is more commonly used.
In Japan, there’s a Japanese sizing system that has different metric sizes than the US and Europe (think 4.2mm instead of 4mm and 5.7mm instead of 5.5mm).
For me, I’m most comfortable with the metric system.
Choosing a Needle Size
The yarn you choose will determine your needle size.
Take a look at the yarn label on your yarn. This is the paper label that comes wrapped around the yarn.
The yarn label will usually have a needle size recommendation for the yarn.
In this case, the needle recommendation is size US 13 or 9mm.
Use this recommendation as a guide. If I can only find 8mm or 10mm needles for example, that’s not a huge deal.
Choose a needle size based on the recommendation on the yarn label. A needle size one mm larger or smaller won’t make a huge difference.
If you’re knitting with chunky/bulky yarn or heavier, you’ll be looking at a needle size range of 6mm to 12mm.
Knitting Needle Material
No longer confined to wood, these days knitting needles come in a variety of materials.
From plastic, stainless steel, carbon, bamboo and various types of wood (like ebony wood or laminated birch), there’s a needle material for every purpose and preference.
For a beginner, wood or bamboo needles is my recommendation.
Wood or bamboo have a natural surface tension that makes it more “sticky” than metal needles.
The result is that stitches are less slippery, so they’re easier to handle and less likely to fall off the needle.
The “stickiness” of the needles also leads to more consistent tension in the knitting.
Beginner Needle Recap
The ideal beginner knitting needle is:
- a pair of straight needles
- wood or bamboo
- needle size is based on the yarn label recommendation
Recommended Beginner Knitting Needles
Beginner Supplies You Actually Need
Different products may be pushed on you as a beginner, but the only supplies you really need are:
- Scissors
- Tapestry needle (these are my favourites)
- Ruler or tape measure (optional)
A pair of scissors are for cutting off the yarn when you’re ready to cast off. A nail clipper would also work.
A tapestry needle looks like a giant sewing needle.
It’s for weaving in tail ends to secure the yarn and camouflage it within the knitting.
Grab a tapestry needle or two since they’ll always come in handy no matter what project you’re knitting.
A ruler or tape measure is for measuring the knitting.
This will come in handy when you’re knitting patterns and projects that come with instructions for knitting.
As a total beginner working on a practice swatch, a tape measure isn’t 100% necessary.
An All-in-One Beginner Knitting Kit
If you’re short on time, these kits have everything you need with one-click: thick yarn, corresponding needles, and a tapestry needle.
1. Pocket Scarf DIY Kit
This beginner kit includes all the materials for a total beginner, including chunky yarn, thick needles and a tapestry needle.
2. Chunky & Thick Beginner Kit
This cute kit includes three patterns with video tutorials. While the patterns look a bit advanced for total beginners, you can use the included materials to learn to knit first.
This kit includes chunky yarn, thick needles, a tapestry needle and pom pom makers and stitch markers to boot!
Beginner Yarn, Needles and Supplies Recap
To recap, the ideal beginner yarn is:
- chunky/bulky weight or heavier
- wool, acrylic or a wool-acrylic blend
- smooth (not fuzzy or furry)
- solid coloured
- light to medium shade
- affordable
The ideal beginner knitting needle is:
- a pair of straight needles
- wood or bamboo
- needle size is based on the yarn label recommendation
The only supplies you need as a beginner are:
- Scissors
- Tapestry needle
- Ruler or tape measure (optional)
Now, go forth and learn to knit!