The best knitting accessories of 2019

I was nine-years-old when I first attempted to learn to knit at a 4-H club meeting. The instructor told us to bring needles and yarn to the next gathering. My daddy, who knew nothing about knitting, picked up some needles and royal blue yarn for me. When I got to the meeting, I learned that the needles were the wrong gauge, which wouldn’t work well with the bulky yarn. The club leader laughed at my attempts at knitting and, needless to say, I did not learn to knit that year.

Fast-forward 40 years and I found myself with some free time and a box of my mother’s yarn. I was determined to learn to knit. I bought a book and correctly-sized needles, and I got to work. After many, many mistakes and ripped-out rows, I mastered knitting and slowly made a dozen little sweaters for charity.

As I became a bit more proficient, I discovered that in addition to yarn, needles, and a pattern book, there are knitting tools and accessories that could make my knitting time more pleasurable and improve my final results.

Through years of trial and error, I’ve refined my knitting supplies to the ones that are most functional and essential to my daily knitting. I do have other supplies that I pull out occasionally that are equally great, like compression gloves to support sore hand muscles, a yarn swift, and a ball winder to turn skeins into easy-to-knit-from balls of yarn, and a knitting needle gauge for needles that aren’t marked.

Below, I’ve listed the top picks in knitting accessories that you should add to your knitting bag — all ideal for both experienced and novice knitters. The selections are based on years of research and hands-on experience. And, if an instructor ever laughs at your first attempts, never give up.

Here are the best knitting accessories you can buy: