fifteenshop.net Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
keepandshare.co.uk
These went down a storm this summer when Keep and Share’s knitting tent travelled around the festivals showing the young, the old and the drunk how to work a set of needles. How do I know? Because I was there teaching.
The yarn is the best part about these kits - it’s unique to Keep and Share and is made from offcuts of industrial knitting yarn. This kit isn’t just for beginners either - there are three patterns and each has been designed for different abilities: the Iris is just garter stitch, the Illya is moss stitch, and it’ll take someone with a bit more experience to complete the detail on the end of the Ivy.
Included is two balls of yarn, two belt buckles, a pair of Brittany wooden needles, three patterns and an illustrated 'how to knit' guide Photograph: PR
woolandthegang.com and net-a-porter.com
Wool and the Gang are the dons when it comes to knitting kits. They have three ranges - 100% Peruvian baby alpaca, 100% Peruvian pima cotton and 100% Andean Highlands wool - and these kits have been recommended in many of the major fashion mags.
They’re pricey, mind you. This Etenia bag, my favourite of the lot, comes in at about £60, and you won’t get much change out of £50 even if you go for the cheapest kits. It’s not just the yarn, wooden needles and sewing needles that you’re paying for, though - it’s the fashion-led patterns that make them special.
The bag is great: it’s simple (mainly stocking stitch - knit one row, purl the next - with a bit of decreasing) and there are easy-to-follow illustrations showing you how to assemble your bag and make the fringing Photograph: PR
kitglobal.co.uk
For anyone who is still puzzled by cabling, this could be the kit for you. It won’t teach you how to do it, but the pattern’s mix of knit and purl gives the illusion that you’ve mastered it, at least to the untrained eye. (To you non-knitters, cabling is the detail on the front of traditional Aran jumpers). The two skeins of baby alpaca you get is beautifully soft and it comes in a decent range of colours - I like this blueberry, but the sage and raspberry looks like it would work well too. Bamboo needles and a handy kit bag are included as well. Photograph: PR
