Starting to knit is one of those quietly transformative decisions. Once you begin, you find yourself looking at yarn differently — feeling textures in shops, noticing the weight of a skein in your hands. Before all that comes a simple question: what should I buy first? Here is what we have learned after a decade of dyeing yarn and watching knitters of every level pick up their first pair of needles.

START WITH SOMETHING YOU CAN SEE

Very thin yarn — fingering or lace weight — is beautiful, but hard to see when you are learning. We recommend Aran weight or DK weight. Both are thick enough to see stitches clearly, and most beginner patterns are written in these weights. If you want a sweater quickly, Aran is your friend.

CHOOSE WOOL WITH “TOOTH”

Knitters talk about yarn that has tooth — a gentle grip that keeps stitches from sliding off the needle. SW merino and soft native wools all have this. What to avoid at first: silk or anything heavily blended with bamboo. These fibres are gorgeous but slippery, and your stitches will slide off before you are ready.

NEEDLE ADVICE

Bamboo or wooden needles are ideal for beginners — they grip your stitches. Metal needles are fast and beautiful, but slippery, which works against you when you are just learning.

WHAT TO AVOID

• Very fine yarn (lace, fingering) — too hard to see your stitches
• Silk blends — too slippery on the needle
• Very fluffy novelty yarns — hard to fix mistakes
• Scratchy wool — if it irritates your hands, you will not enjoy it

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE LITLG RANGE

The most important thing? Buy something you love. Yarn that excites you will keep you coming back to the needles.

SHOP THE LITLG RANGE →

Before you start: winding your yarn

Most yarn — including ours — comes in a hank (a loose loop) rather than a ball ready to knit straight from. Before you cast on you’ll need to wind it into a cake or ball, otherwise it’ll tangle the moment you start pulling from it.

You have a few options:

• Pop into your local yarn shop. Most are happy to wind a hank for you on the spot — especially if you’ve bought from them. It takes them two minutes and saves you the hassle.
• Buy a swift and ball winder. A basic umbrella swift (holds the hank open) and a cheap ball winder (winds it into a neat flat cake) costs around €30–€40 combined and makes the whole process satisfying and quick.
• Use the back of a chair. Loop the hank over a chair back to keep it open, then wind by hand into a ball. It takes a little longer but works perfectly well for the odd skein.

Whichever you choose, wind loosely — winding too tightly stretches the yarn and can affect your tension.