| Tool |
Uses |
| ToolUses
3x5 cards, spiral bound (office supply) |
Row-by-row
instructions for lace or cable patterns Notes on patterns Portable pattern
book - transfer the pattern either by Xeroxing and pasting to card, or writing
out patterns for small articles |
| Accordion
files, accordion photo file boxes (office supply) |
Used for
storing circular needles |
| Brochure
holder (office supply) |
Used to
hold pattern upright (8˝”x 11” size) |
| Calipers,
metal, scientific |
For measuring
very small diameter dpns |
| Camper’s
headlight |
Used when
knitting in low light, while spelunking, or working with dark colors |
| Canvas wine
bag |
Project
holder/carrier |
| Cosmetic
bags (clear zippered ones are best) (drugstores, dollar stores, discount
stores) |
Small knitting
tools, can be transferred from project to project |
| Dental floss/Dental
floss container (drugstore, discount store) |
Dental
floss can be used to sew on buttons Dental floss containers can be used
to cut yarns |
| Embroidery
floss (craft store) |
Comes in
a wide variety of colors and can be used to embellish knitting, or to sew
up seams instead of yarn that is either too novelty or nubby to use |
| Eyeglass
holder, hard-shell |
Makes a
cute, quick tool box |
| Foam insulation
board (building supply) |
Used as
a blocking board When covered with 1” gingham, makes a more accurate blocking
board |
| Garden bag
(Lands End, Target, etc) |
Tote bag
with exterior pockets for tools, etc. Gift bagsProject holders |
| Hair clips
(triangular snap) |
Hold yarn
tails out of the way |
| Hair-sticks,
wooden |
The ones
that are smooth and NOT tapered, and that have an ornament on one end can
be used as knitting needles Temporary stitch holders Cable needles |
| Highlighters/
highlighter tape |
Used to
mark your pattern as you work |
| Knit Picker
by Dritz (a sewing tool) (fabric store) |
Used to
pick up dropped stitches in very fine work |
| Label maker |
Useful
for labeling |
| M&M tubes
or the clear plastic needle tubes with the sizes of the needles stored inside |
M&M tubesCan
be used to store various tools - pins, markers, wool needles, safety pins
Can be used to store glove needles |
| Magnetic
cross-stitch pattern board |
Can be
adapted for knitting patterns |
| Markers,
felt-tip or colored (office supply) |
For coloring
in charts, or marking completed rows |
| Music stand |
For holding
patterns for stay-at-home projects |
| Page-UP |
Weighted
pattern page holder that acts as a “thumb” |
| Pantyhose
(general) |
Can be
used as a “yarn bra” to contain slippery yarns |
| Paper clips
Colored, plastic coated |
Stitch
markers Cable stitch holders When chained, can be used to keep track of
repeats, increases and decreases |
| Pencil cases
(very popular with knitters) (general) |
Holding
various knitting tools, including dpns |
| Personal
Data Assistant (PDA) |
Copy your
pattern into it (some PDAs can accept a download from your PC, and then
you don’t have to carry the paper pattern with you! |
| Photo brag
book |
Can be
used to carry around patterns that have been copied onto 3x5 or 4x6 cards
|
| Photo holder,
flip-style |
Row-by-row
patterns for lace or cables Make sure you buy one that can have pages added
to it! |
| Plastic
hair roller pins (drugstore) |
Used to
hold pieces of sweaters together while sewing up |
| Post-It
Notes - all sizes (office supply) |
Post-It
Notes flagsMark your place on a chart Make notes about a pattern without
marking the pattern Mark your pattern location in a book |
| PVC Pipe |
Has a lot
of uses: Blocking frame Blocking wire holder Needle tubes |
| Rolodex |
Used for
keeping small samples of yarns, inventory information Staple labels to larger
cards for quick historical reference |
| Rubber bands
(general) |
Small ones
used for hair braids make excellent - and cheap - stitch markers and, when
used around the end of a needle, keeps the stitches from flying off the
end! |
| Safety pins
(general) |
Used to
hold pieces of sweaters together while sewing Used as stitch holders, and
stitch markers |
| Sheet protectors
(office supply) Slash pocket Project holders |
Patterns
are protected from spills and tears when stored in page protectors |
| Sock organizer |
Used to
separate and store balls of yarn for fair isle, intarsia or other multicolor
knitting |
| Storage
boxes, fishing equipment sewing notion, etc DeWalt high-impact locking storage
box |
Can be
used to store small knitting doodads |
| DeWalt high-impact
locking storage box |
for use
in extreme conditions |
| Straws,
plastic drinking (free from most fast food restaurants - get a variety for
different looks) |
Sliced
very narrowly, these make excellent stitch markers in lace. They can even
be knitted into the work, then cut and removed later. |
| Sweater
bag, blanket bag |
Can store
entire project including pattern; see-through plastic allows you to check
the contents without opening it |
| Tags, paper
price or round metal-edged |
Used to
mark significant points in your work Can be used to label swatches |
| Tool bag,
carpenters |
For SERIOUS
knitters in extreme conditions |
| Toothbrush
holders |
Used to
store dpns |
| Toothpick,
round wooden (general) |
Cable needles
|
| Vases |
Make lovely
holders/displays for collections of straight needles
|
| Washers,
rubber (hardware store) |
Ring markers
(extremely inexpensive!) |
Worm binder
cases (Bass Pro) (sporting goods stores)
|
Circular
and double pointed needles |
| ZIPLOC bags,
all sizes (grocery, discount, drug stores) |
Largest
ones (two-gallon size from Kroger) can hold an entire sweater project, including
book. Smaller ones are good for knitting tools, hat, sock or doll clothes
projects Slippery yarns can be corralled in a zip-loc. Cut a hole in a corner,
feed the yarn through for working. |