| Tool |
Uses |
| 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 Ziploc. Cut a hole in a corner, feed the yarn through
for working. |
