Which knitting wool is best for beginners?

There are a few factors that are really important in choosing your yarn

Ply/weight/thickness

‘Ply’ usually means a yarn’s thickness (the ‘weight’ of the yarn). Some knitters will encourage you to start with the most widely-used weight, called DK, or ‘double knitting’. (There is a technique called double knitting, but ‘double-knit’ usually refers to the yarn weight).

We suggest beginners use the thickest yarn weights commonly available, which are bulky and super bulky yarns, but the weight you choose depends on you. There are two advantages to learning with a thicker yarn. One is that individual stitches are easier to see, and the second is that the thicker your yarn, the faster your beautiful knitting project will grow! You will have to use thicker knitting needles than with a thinner yarn weight. Generally, 7 mm for bulky up to 12 mm for super-bulky.

Stretchiness

A yarn with a little ‘give’ in it will be much easier to knit with. You can stretch it out to make all those tricksy movements you’re still getting the hang of, and the yarn will spring beautifully into place when the stitch is knitted. Generally, wool and other animal fibers will have more stretch than synthetic or plant-based materials (like cotton).

Ball shapes

Knitting yarn can be wound into an oblong skein (above left), a donut-shaped ball (above right), or twisted into a hank (below left). Hanks look beautiful, and many of the loveliest yarns available are wound into hanks. Unfortunately, they are really rather tricky to knit from. Most knitters will unwind the whole thing and wind it into a ball by hand, often using an empty toilet paper roll as the core – probably not what you want to spend your time on! Another technique is to untwist the hank, lay it out in a circle, and just unwind each loop as you knit it – but this will be fiddly if you have to put your knitting away. Skeins are the easiest of the three to knit from, as balls can collapse a bit towards the end.

Splittiness

You don’t want to spend half your time sticking your knitting needles through the middle of your yarn by mistake. It’s better to go with a simple spun yarn, rather than the more complicated chain-construction, roving, or fancy yarns.

Price

A lot of people will recommend the cheapest yarns for beginner knitters on the basis that you don’t want to spend too much money on a hobby you might not keep up. However, we think you’re much more likely to keep it up if you can fall in love with what you’re knitting! If you really don’t like synthetic fibers, or find sheep's wool too scratchy, you can treat yourself a little bit without spending too much. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and Willow and Lark Woodland are both lovely yarns that won't break the bank, yet the gorgeous hand-dyed Noro Shiro, while one of our favorites, is definitely not practical for a beginner!

Our top 5 knitting yarns for beginners