Tools?
I had planned to post photos of my newly carpeted shop today. Alas, I have got everything back just perfectly, so the big reveal will have to wait. It does look fabulous though. In putting stuff away, I came across my little plastic container that I put stitch markers, cable needles, tapestry and darning needles in, and thought about where I bought it (Princess Auto!) and how much less it cost than one sold by a knitting notion supplier.
Sometimes, when you need a tool or notion for knitting, the knitting specific ones often cost so much more than a substitute.One that comes to mind are the "knitclips" The suggested retail for these is 6 clips for $6.95. A perfectly acceptable, easily acquired substitute are the butterfly hair clips you can get for a dollar. For 20 of them! I used these all the time to clip my knitted pieces together for seaming. You can also assemble your whole sweater and try it on using these clips. The difference - knitclips have one "tooth" and the hair clips have 3 to 5. The hair clips are also available in larger size for use with bulky knits, too.
Blocking wires, specifically packaged for knitting are outrageously priced. I feel so guilty for selling the 6 sets I brought in the first year I was open. I was shopping one day at Princess Auto and found stainless steel welding rods for $16.95 for 30 or so 36" long rods. In a pack of blocking wires (for $25.95) you get 8 36" rods, 4 18" rods, 2 flexible wires for sleeve cap/armhole shaping, some t-pins and a yard stick. So, do yourself and you budget a favour and get the rods from Princess Auto. If you need a yardstick - which you do need to block things properly - we have them here for $2.95. Split the rods between a knitter friend or two, and save yourself lots of money. You can make three or 4 blocking wire sets for less than the cost of one commercially prepared set.
As we had discovered last year, you can even get knitting notions at an outdoor store - worm wallets are great for storing you circular and double pointed needles. So are coupon wallets - they are smaller and often more attractive than the manly worm wallets.
My favourite free knitting tool is a bread or milk tag. These little tags have the best before date printed on them, and they can be used for winding up the tail of your cast on yarn (so you don't knit it by mistake) or you can use them for bobbins when knitting intarsia. It's amazing how much yarn this little babies can hold.
What's your favourite not-made-for-knitting knitting accessory?
Sometimes, when you need a tool or notion for knitting, the knitting specific ones often cost so much more than a substitute.One that comes to mind are the "knitclips" The suggested retail for these is 6 clips for $6.95. A perfectly acceptable, easily acquired substitute are the butterfly hair clips you can get for a dollar. For 20 of them! I used these all the time to clip my knitted pieces together for seaming. You can also assemble your whole sweater and try it on using these clips. The difference - knitclips have one "tooth" and the hair clips have 3 to 5. The hair clips are also available in larger size for use with bulky knits, too.
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| a knit clip |
As we had discovered last year, you can even get knitting notions at an outdoor store - worm wallets are great for storing you circular and double pointed needles. So are coupon wallets - they are smaller and often more attractive than the manly worm wallets.
My favourite free knitting tool is a bread or milk tag. These little tags have the best before date printed on them, and they can be used for winding up the tail of your cast on yarn (so you don't knit it by mistake) or you can use them for bobbins when knitting intarsia. It's amazing how much yarn this little babies can hold.
What's your favourite not-made-for-knitting knitting accessory?
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