When learning to make your first knitting stitches you really do not need much equipment. A ball of medium weight yarn and 1 pair of knitting needles will be all you will need. Most yarn spinners include information about how many stitches and rows a given yarn can be expected to knit using a particular size of needle, and if this information is not provided on the ball or skein band you should ask your retailer. The number of stitches is usually given over an area of 10 cm square (approximately 4 inches) - this is because measuring a tiny sample of knitting to see how many stitches appear within 1 inch can lead to partial stitches not being counted and an inaccurate tension being achieved. Look for a yarn which knits to around 20-22 stitches over 10 cm/4 inches and 28-30 rows over 4 inches in stocking stitch. It can be variegated or plain, but it’s better to go for something not too expensive for your first samples, such as a cheap 100% acrylic. If you prefer one of the natural yarns by all means go for it! You can buy better yarn when you’re ready to knit your first project but when you are learning your first stitches there is no need to spend money on an expensive ball of pure wool yarn and working with some of the fancier yarns can be a challenge. Choose a plain yarn rather than one of the fancy furs or mohairs which are widely available at present, it will be far easier to knit with.

As for knitting needles you will need a pair of straight knitting needles. Personally I prefer the aluminium and nickel plated brass knitting needles which are fairly widely available at present, but you can also buy bamboo and plastic needles as well as rosewood and other materials. My favourite knitting needle manufacturers are Addi and Inox because they produce lovely smooth needles which wear well and don’t bend too easily. Clover, Pony and Aero also make good knitting needles and many people like the plastic needles - check out what is available in your yarn store. Whatever you decide to buy, aim for a length of about 14 inches for your first pair of knitting needles - later you can try different lengths, makes and materials to try them out and see what you like working with best. Just buy one pair for now.

You will also need a pair of scissors - a pair of 4 inch embroidery scissors will do fine - and a wool needle. If the wool needle is not available I find blunt pointed tapestry needles (of the sort used for cross stitch embroidery) size 16-18 work well for most yarns.

This excellent reference book has masses of information about knitting techniques. It illustrates all the basic techniques and has a huge range of different ways to cast on and off and increase and decrease. A must for any knitter's bookcase!

This is another very good book which contains reference information on all the basics of how to knit and finish off a garment or item.