I'm somewhat new to knitting, but have started a small collection of items and was curious what some of the more seasoned knitters would recommend as essentials. ;)

I have :

set of 9" clover bamboo straights (sz 8-15)
29" Singer circulars (sz 8 and 9) - not so happy with these
odd and end metal needles that I've "inherited"
stitch holders, row counters, place markers, cable needles, knitting gauge with needle sizer


I'm really interested in circulars and double pointed needles. What sizes are the best to have? Metal vs bamboo? Length? I really want to knit hats, mittens, and socks mostly. I've read and understand the whole magic loop trick, but not sure if I like it. Has anyone ever bought bamboo needles from China? (quality?)

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

:hug:

Emily

There are several posts about this already so I'm sure they can answer most of your questions, too.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70339&highlight=knitting+essentials
http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34782&highlight=knitting+essentials
http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53453&highlight=essential
http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29420&highlight=essential

Scissors
yarn needles
ruler
needle gauge
crochet hooks
knitting needles
stitch markers
coilless safety pins
pencil/pen and notebook

What sizes are the 'best' depends on you. What do you like to knit, what yarn weight...? People who make lots of socks or use thin yarn will want the smaller sizes; those who want to knit sweaters, hats, scarves will want more of the larger sizes like your 8s and 9s. Then there's bulky yarn which needs even larger needles. You may want to invest in an interchangeable set which has most needle sizes from about 4 to 11 or 13.

No one can really answer the question "what size needles are best?" because every pattern is different.

When I first began knitting, it was with a little mother-daughter knitting club that a friend started up. She chose a project that we all agreed on...and I bought the appropriate needles for that project.

As I learned to knit, I searched for various patterns online...and every pattern seemed to call for a different size needle. I finally decided that rather than limit my pattern search to "Patterns that use size 8 needles" or something similar, that I would just invest in the KP Options set (there are a number of similar interchangeable setes), and just have what I needed onhand. It was much cheaper than buying individually the needles in the various needle sizes and cable/cord lengths every time I started a new project.