Top 5 Christmas Gifts for Your Knitter

Suzanne Carter-Jackson    Gadgets and Stuff, Life     digital camera, Gifts, knitter, knitting, knowledge, lighting, massage, Movies, seating, storage, top 5, tv shows, vacuum

Have a knitter in your life? Want to get a fabulous gift for your knitter but don’t know the first thing about knitting? No problem.

Knitting isn’t only about yarn and needles and knitting supplies; there are many excellent gift ideas for your knitter that don’t require any special knitting knowledge on your part.

If you have a knitter in your life, you’ll understand why this Top 5 list has 11 items. There is nothing worse than running out of yarn mid-project. Or ideas, apparently!

1. Lighting

It’s far easier to knit if you can actually see what you’re doing, especially if you’re knitting with dark yarn, or anything more complex like lace or colourwork. Ott Lights make full spectrum lighting that is easy on the eyes! There are many different types to choose from, including magnification lamps to help with dropped stitches and colour matching.

2. Seating

Knitting can be done sitting, standing or walking, but many knitters sit for at least some of the work. Having a good chair to sit in is vital, and your knitter likely already has a favourite.

However, you can make it better with a good back support to make prolonged sitting more comfortable, and a foot stool to taking the stress off the lower back and legs. Make sure the footstool is lower than the seat, to prevent knee damage.

3. Massage

If your knitter has been knitting feverishly for the gift giving season, those upper arm and upper back muscles will be getting some vigorous workouts. What better for that than a lovely massage to work the kinks out? Find a local Registered Massage Therapist to help out, and book a couple of appointments to show your love!

4. Something to Watch While Knitting

Many knitters enjoy watching movies and TV shows while knitting. Wrap up a DVD boxset, favourite movies, or prepaid NetFlix, Zip.ca, or iTunes accounts for the knitter to download their choice of shows.

This doubles as a gift for you, too, if you enjoy the same shows and hand knits.

5. Knowledge About the Fibre

If your knitter loves to learn more about the fibre, books on yarn types can be invaluable.

The best book out there for in-depth knowledge of yarn is The Knitters’ Book of Yarn by Clara Bowles. For those interested in wool especially, including what different breeds of sheep bring to the craft, Clara also wrote The Knitter’s Book of Wool.

6. Knowledge About the Stitches

There is nothing as empowering as having a comprehensive stitch directory at your fingertips as a knitter and you won’t find a more comprehensive collection of collected and original knitting stitch patterns than Barbara Walker’s Stitch Treasuries, a valuable collection for any knitter.

For the adventurous or experienced knitter, Japanese Stitch Directories are charted and fascinating. You can order them directly from YesAsia.com at a reasonable rate, such as Couture Knitting Patterns Book 250, Knitting Patterns Book 300, and Aran Patterns 100. Not the most inventive names, but really fabulous books.

Pro tip: if your knitter is on Ravelry (and if your knitter isn’t, you should recommend it!), any already-owned books may be listed in the library section, so get your knitter’s knitting friends to take a quick look to ensure the books aren’t already in the library!

(Ravelry has its own shop, if your knitter is a Rav fan.)

If your knitter is on Library Thing, no consulting is required. Just go look and see.

7. Documentation

What knitter doesn’t like to have great photos of their finished work? A good digital camera can put that power into your knitter’s hands.

If your knitter is also a photographer, consider an EZ Cube for getting great photos of small fo*s, and a Pro Flickr account to display them!

* Finished Objects

8. Storage

If your knitter is like many of us, there are a variety of storage requirements… Storage for tools, for yarn and fibre, for finished items. Like in most things, the ideal storage will depend on the knitter, and what’s being stored.

Needles and Projects

Storing needles and projects on the go can be done in style with a Namaste product: (the Circular Case is high on my list!)

Project bags are very popular and you can’t quite ever have enough. Popular vendors are Split Yarn, Lantern Moon, and ZigZag Stitches.

Keeping it Clean

Storing finished work needs first a bath in something like Euculan or Soak.

The Stash and Wardrobe

We could write a book about storage alone. Some say airtight, others say aired regularly. The only thing everyone agrees on is that moths and carpet beetles like things that are dark, dusty/dirty, and undisturbed, so choosing a storage method that means the yarns and items get moved and exposed to light and air is probably the best defense. The second best is something airtight, but out of sight could mean out of mind.

As there are as many choices for yarn and garment storage as there are knitters, this is one gift where you should check with your knitter ahead of time!

9. A very good Vacuum

The best way to prevent moths and carpet beetles from getting into the yarn supplies and finished products is to ensure they have no dirt to attract them. Knitting is a hairy activity, with plenty of opportunity for little fibres to find their way into cracks and crevasses, where carpet beetles and clothes moths hide, waiting to undo all that work.

Choose a great vacuum with a crevasse tool for optimal results, and a book of coupons for your labour… Maybe you can trade vacuuming weekly for a custom knit!

10. Gift Certificates

Of course, you can’t go wrong with a gift certificate to your local yarn shop (the one your knitter frequents most), or online retailer like WEBS, KnitPicks or Elann, some of whom have wishlists available.

11. ?

Leave a comment about other ideas you have for your knitter, or you if you are a knitter! An iPod for listening to audio books and podcasts? An Audible account? An iPad for reading patterns? eReaders? What other accoutrements would you or your knitter appreciate that don’t require knowing the difference between Red Heart and Noro?

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