Summer is still felt well in Belgium, but autumn and its beautiful colors are approaching.

A perfect season to start knitting or pick up your needles again if the heat had made you put them aside.   

Knitting is an ancient and wonderful art that allows us to dress from head to toe, in every season. Depending on the yarns used (their composition and thickness), the pieces will be light or keep us very warm! With a bit of practice, you quickly manage to make beautiful pieces that look great while being accessible to make. But shh! It’s an insider secret 😉 

For about fifteen years, knitting has experienced, like other fiber arts, a real resurgence of interest and a new artistic breath. Whether we talk about Estonian lace knitting, Japanese patterns, jacquard, socks, or highly creative contemporary knits, there’s something for every taste! And what’s more, many projects are very easy to carry around.

But to get started or deepen your knowledge, you need landmarks and good equipment.
I really wanted to share with you a “knitting” overview based on my experience of over 12 years. I hope you’ll like it.   

Marie Hélène, our amazing knitting teacher with our mascot aptly named "Glitter Dale"

Before any project: define your goals 

Before diving into the details, I recommend thinking about your desires and goals.
- Do you want a project that will finish quickly or one that will let you enjoy the practice of knitting?
- Is the project intended for an adult or a baby?
- Will it need to be machine washable or can it be hand washed…
- Do you need to see your textured stitches or, on the contrary, are you looking for a fluffy and airy yarn…?

So many questions that will guide you in choosing the pattern, the yarn, and the needles for a successful project!

Do you know what you want to make? Let’s move on to the equipment needed to bring it to life!

Necessary equipment

Whether sewing or knitting, it’s best to start with good equipment right away to avoid many pitfalls. In knitting, we’re lucky to be able to do a lot with little, but for comfortable practice, good equipment is essential.

1. The yarn 

The yarns have different characteristics that you will need to keep in mind for the final result.

Do you want a warm or lighter knit? For a knit that will withstand the harshness of winter (though it will take some time), I recommend Rowan Felted Tweed, made mostly of sheep’s wool and alpaca. And why not knit it double with its brand cousin, Kidsilk Haze? The latter is a mohair and silk yarn with incredible softness. It will add extra warmth and nuance to the knit’s finish. If you want a delicate, spiderweb-like knit that’s still warm, go for the Kidsilk alone; the result will be stunning!

DMC's Andes wool will also give a beautiful classic look in sweater or cardigan form, with the lovely softness of alpaca. If you plan to knit baby clothes, DMC's Woolly 5 is a very soft merino yarn. DMC thought of parents because it’s very easy to wash. And from experience, I can confirm it doesn’t lose its shape! With its strong twist, it’s very plush, which is perfect for wrapping a baby snugly. My little niece never lets go of her Woolly knit comforter! And I plan to knit myself a collar in Woolly too, but I’ll add a touch of sparkle by using the Chic version, which is threaded with a lurex yarn. For those in a hurry, thicker yarns will let you see your project progress faster! As its name suggests, DMC's Big Knit will allow you to complete a project in a single evening, thanks to its size 12 needles! Handy when, like me, you’re often late for end-of-year gifts! 😉

As we have seen, knitwear designers have undergone a deep renewal in recent years, but yarn creators have too! DMC now offers the Merino Essentiel Ombré and Révélation yarns, a large 520-meter skein allowing you to knit a collar or a small shawl with just one skein, but also and especially with a gradient of colors that is truly beautiful. And to top it off, the Révélation also comes in a sparkling version! 

In yarn creation, you wouldn’t think there are so many possibilities. The yarn can be made of a single strand or multiple strands, and the twist of the whole can vary greatly. What can also be done is composing a yarn with strands of different colors and playing with color changes, like Pirouette yarn. Designer Andrea Mowry really likes this kind of yarn for very interesting transition effects. And last but not least, how could we not present the yarn that adorns our new mascot, GlitterDale!? It’s the Knitty glitter, which offers yarn in beautiful solid colors with a stunning glittery highlight thanks to a lurex thread! At the shop, we are smitten!

2. Stitch markers 

Among the essentials in the knitting kit, stitch markers hold an important place. They allow you to place markers, highlight different parts of a work in progress. When knitting a seamless sweater, you eventually knit the front, back, left sleeve, and right sleeve all in one piece. Needless to say, knowing which is which – thanks to ring markers – is essential! They also help highlight repeats in lace or jacquard patterns. My advice: have some with open eyes, so you can reposition them, and some closed for ease of use.

3. The darning needle

You know, at the shop, we always pay close attention to having beautiful finishes. In knitting, this involves – among other things – the action of "weaving in the ends": when a project is finished, with the darning needle you pass the loose threads through the stitches of a row to hide them without cutting (the stitches might come undone!)

4. A crochet hook

You wouldn’t think you need a crochet hook for knitting, but it will save you from the worst situation: dropped stitches! In this case, it’s the crochet hook, not really the needles, that will help you recover the lost stitch(es) and work back up to the current row of knitting.

An essential, even if you try to avoid using it!

5. The needle gauge

Not essential when you have three or four pairs of needles, but when you start to have a well-stocked assortment, it’s not always obvious what the number (or size) of each pair is. The gauge will let you quickly find the size of a pair.

6. The special wool soap 

When making hand-knitted items, we need to keep their care in mind. Some yarns have a composition or treatment that allows machine washing (wool program and wool detergent, of course!), while others, more delicate, require hand washing. In that case, Eucalan is very useful. Just a drop is enough, and rinsing is not necessary as it eventually dissolves in the water. Personally, I use the jasmine-scented one because I love that fragrance. Eucalan also makes it very easy to "block" your knitting swatch and finished project: blocking is a soapy bath followed by flat drying, taking the time to properly shape your work so it has a beautiful form once dry.

7. and 8. The embroidery scissors and the measuring tape

These tools are not specific to knitting; you can easily find them in a drawer at home, but they are also very useful in your knitting toolkit. This includes a pair of embroidery-style scissors for precisely cutting wool strands and a measuring tape to assess the dimensions that emerge as our knitting evenings progress.   

And last, but certainly not least…  

9. The needles 

Depending on your preferences, you can choose the well-known straight needles or circular needles. The latter will especially allow you to make seamless sweaters and cardigans or easily knit small diameters. You can also choose them in wood or metal. Again, it depends on your preferences and how you knit. Straight or circular needles, their size will be determined by the pattern instructions you want to follow and the look you want to achieve. At the shop, we chose DMC straight needles and Chiaogoo circular needles. Two brands that have proven their quality. The world of needles is a world unto itself, and since we want to take the time for details, we’re saving this topic for another article. Stay tuned for the next episode!    

10. A good course to start safely! 

In knitting, as in embroidery or sewing, learning the right techniques from the start is essential! The first lessons will help you hold your needles and yarn properly. Learning to knit "comfortably" without unnecessary or counterproductive movements will ensure a comfortable, pain-free knitting experience. 

Moreover, the expert will share their secrets for casting on and tightening stitches correctly depending on the desired effect... in short, having support for your first rows is really important! 

So if you don’t have a grandmother or mom who knits ready to share her knitting secrets, we organize beginner and advanced courses at the shop.

I would be delighted to introduce you or help the more advanced progress and above all to share my passion with kindness. 

Here’s a nice overview of the essential knitting tools. I hope it helped you get a clearer picture of this field or to dive in with pleasure for the more experienced; 

So without further ado... Get your needles ready!