There are some super cool items which will help you improve your knitting skill and speed. Here is part II of our little series on your everyday knitting helpers.
1. Needle Point Protectors
If you want to take a quick break from knitting, you should put needle point protectors on to make sure stitches won't get lost. They are especially useful when you are often on the go and will speed up your WIP. Most sets come with pieces in different sizes and are made from a flexible material, such as rubber or soft plastic. Just make sure you use the ones fitting really tightly on the tip of your knitting needle. I have had loose needle point protectors on one occasion and they came off in my bag, too. In the end, I spent my whole trip trying to sort out the mess in my lace pattern. Most needle point stoppers come in sets and have a color coded indication of the needle size they can be used on. Trust me, the brighter the colors the easier they are to spot in your crafts´ bag.
2. A Stitch Holder Set
Have you ever switched from a long-term project to a smaller, faster one, a gift perhaps? But it required the same set of needles you already had in use? For these cases stitch holders will keep your stitches in place while you use your knitting needles to craft something else. They are shaped like oversized safety pins and usually come in sets in different sizes to prevent losing stitches in smaller and bigger knitting projects alike. When changing the stitches from your knitting needles to the stitch holder make sure you really put the needle through all the loops! You don't want to lose any stitches while saving your work for later.
Yarn holders are also useful for setting stitches aside during a certain project, like e.g. cable knit patterns.
3. A soft Tape Measure and large eye needles
Many knitting projects require a tape measure to keep your stitches consistent as you go. Dual-sided measures are especially handy, as they give you the inch and metric sizes.
To finish your projects professionally, large eye, blunt needles or tapestry needles help you sew together edges and seams in your knitting projects. While you also can use sewing needles there are special yarn needles for your knitwork which have a blunt and even bended point. They are so much easier to use and won´t split your yarn. There are metal and plastic options, too.
You will find them in a variety of sizes, each with a large opening that's easy to thread, and it is our advice to really invest in a number of them, so you always have the right needle at hand. If you like to knit or crochet with bulky yarn, make sure you have a needle with a sufficiently large opening too, in order to weave in loose ends and finish off your WIP like a pro.
