Holiday Gift Guide for Knitters

What we knitters would really love as gifts for the Holidays

Knitters are a tough bunch to buy for. We become obsessed with a craft that most people don’t know anything about. Which makes it hard for people who wish to gift us something thoughtful and useful. In this Holiday Gift Guide for Knitters, I’ll break down both knitting themed gifts and knitting tools. These are sure to be gifts that the knitters in your life will love and use.

Who knows, they might even kit you a thank you gift!

Knitting Themed Gifts

When you fall in love with something, you tend to be drawn to items that reflect or project that passion. The items in this section of the Holiday Gift Guide are knitting related items that will spark joy for any knitter.

Yarn Candles

These adorable yarn skein shaped candles are currently available on the Grommet. They start at $15 which make them a great stocking stuffer or Secret Santa gift.

Yarn Molds

If you’re a do it yourself-er, Amazon sells yarn shaped candle molds that can be used to shape small wax candles, or bath bombs. Help your favorite knitter relax and unwind with a homemade gift of their own this year!

Sip and Stitch

Coffee, tea, and maybe something a little extra…Knitters love to have a hot beverage to sip while they stitch away. Knitting themed mugs are always a thoughtful and useful gift. Cafe Press has some great options or you can design your own.

Custom Tags

Knitters are proud of their accomplishments, and as well they should be! We’ve made something beautiful with our own two hands, and often this will be gifted out of love. Custom tags will give the knitter in your life a way to display their work. Wunderlabel has loads of options or you can check out Etsy!

Shawl Pins

A staple for a knitter, shawls are super fun to make and wear. There are a number of different ways which you can style a shawl. Some of these require shawl pins. While we might splurge on yarn, sometimes we don’t splurge on the nice accoutrements like shawl pins.

Beautiful Buttons

One of the favorite hobbies a knitter has is shopping for yarn. Many of us buy yarn faster than we can knit through it, building up quite a stash. When inspiration strikes, or we find a cute pattern, we’ll dig through that stash for something that fits. These sweaters, cowls, headbands or hats often require buttons…something many knitters don’t stock. Etsy has a wide array of buttons from natural to customizable.

Knitting Pattern Books

While we live in a very digital age and we can find patterns online, there is something about holding a book in your hand and leafing through the beautiful imagery.

Gift Cards

If you’re still hung up on what to get the knitter in your life, even after scrolling through this Holiday Gift Guide, a gift card is always welcomed. We love an excuse to go into our favorite shops, especially if its a locally owned yarn shop!

Needle Storage:

Knitting needle bags, rolls and storage makes a helpful gift for knitters. This helps finding the right needle for different projects easier, and they look great! These bags and rolls from Della Q are a great option.

Knitting Tools

If you’re going for utilitarian gifts, this section of the Holiday Gift Guide for Knitters if perfect for you. Most of the items on this list are things that knitters either use up, lose, or would love to have another of. This means that you don’t have to know exactly what they already have or need to give them something that they’ll love.

Some of the smaller tools in this section of the Holiday Gift Guide would be perfect for a basket or build your own gift set. I’ve tried to compile affordable yet effective (and of course fun) options that most knitters will love.

Yarn Bowls

We have a lot of gifts to make before the holidays arrive. We don’t have time to waste chasing after rogue balls of yarn. A yarn bowl is a beautiful and thoughtful gift that knitters will use again and again. Darn Good Yarn offers beautiful wooden bowls.

Yan Totes and Project Bags

Whenever an avid knitter leaves the house, there is a good chance they have a project (or two) with them. Yarn totes and/or project bags help keep these WIPs safe, organized and often tangle free. We can never have enough of them. LookHuman has a wide array from which you can choose.

Swifts

Save precious time for the knitter in your life by gifting them a swift. This great tool takes the hanks of yarn that we buy in yarn stores, and helps turn them into workable balls or cakes of yarn with the help of a ball winder. Swifts are also great tools for people who spin their own yarn as they can be used to create hanks of yarn for sale or storage. Stanwood Imports have come highly recommended but there are other options as well.

Ball Winders

These can be used on their own or with a yarn swift to transform yarn into “cakes”. Cakes of yarn are believed by many to be the easiest form of yarn with which to knit or crochet. There are a variety of options available. Most clamp to a table for ease of use and to make storage more feasible. One of the most popular winders is available on KnitPicks website.

Yarn Spindles

Once a hank or skein of yarn is converted into a cake or ball, a yarn spindle is a beautiful alternative to a yarn bowl. These sturdy little spikes help keep yarn secure and in place while we work with it. KnitPicks has a beautiful option that’s on sale right now.

Rulers

It doesn’t matter if we’re following instructions or creating our own patterns, measurements are important! Flexible rulers like these wearable solutions are a thoughtful and useful gift for the knitter in your life. I’ve had my eye on this ruler bracelet from Twisted Yarn Shop.

Fancy Scissors

The bane of a knitters existence is sewing or weaving in yarn tails at the end of a project. But, a fun and fancy pair of scissors can transform this from a chore to just another stage of the project. These Yarn Snips from CocoKnits are a delight!

Pompom and Tassel Makers

Perfect for topping hats and adorning scarves or other projects, knitters often have a love hate relationship with these accessories. They look great, but they can be tricky to make well. This loom tool from Purl Soho can help make these and more! That, and it looks really neat.

Gauge Tools

While we might not count each and every stitch, it’s important for a knitter to know their gauge. This means how many stitches are in a certain number of inches, and how many rows are in a certain number of inches. Gauge helps us get the fit of hats, gloves, etc. just right. There are many different tools available to help determine gauge. I use this tool from Susan Bates, which you can order online or grab at most of your local craft stores.

Wraps Per Inch Gauges

Labels can be fickle things, and often fall off a particular skein or hank. This helpful gauge helps knitters ascertain what weight a certain yarn is which is essential for following a pattern or designing a project of your own. By wrapping the yarn around this tool, and using the helpful guide, a knitter no longer has to guess. Katrinkles offers a fun option here.

Needle Gauge

Knitting needles come in different shapes, sizes, and generally end up all over your house and in different bags. It can be tough to keep track of which one is which size. Luckily there are a number of different tools that can help a knitter quickly identify needle size. I use mine almost daily. This one, along with others, is available through Webs.

Stitch and Row Counters

We’d love to be able to knit for hours on end, undisturbed, but that is often a dream. Luckily there are tools that help us track the number of stitches we’ve worked or the number of rows we’ve knit in a certain section of a pattern. There are all different kinds of tools available. This one from CocoKnits is simple yet effective, and you have the option to buy a magnetic bracelet that keeps this and other tools handy.

Fuz Shavers

As you wear and love your knits, there is a good chance some of the fibers will start to come away from the strands of yarn. This is known as lint or fuzz. There are some handy tools available that help to cut this fuzz from your knitted item without pulling or further damaging the item. This is one I have from KnitPicks.

Stitch Markers

Stitch Markers are helpful little circles or clips that mark different sections of a project. While they’re extremely useful, they also have a tendency to disappear. Almost no knitter I know will refuse a new set of stitch markers! There are a variety of these available. You can find them in craft stores, etsy, and almost every site I have linked in this Holiday Gift Guide offers some.

Tapestry Needles

Also sometimes called Darning Needles, these are used quite frequently by knitters and crocheters. Their most popular use is to weave in the tails of yarn left over when you finish a project. They can also be used to add buttons, pompoms, and other accessories. These clover needles are some of my favorites and you can pick them up in a local craft store.

Blocking Pins

The wash and care of knitted items is often different from your typical clothing and accessories. Instructions often tell you to lay an item flat to dry. This is called blocking. When you’re blocking an item, it can be helpful to pin the item to a mat to help it retain a certain size or shape, or to stop the edges from curling. These pins, like the stitch markers, can tend to creep away from you over time. Also, this is a nice chance to upgrade the knitter in your life. These rainbow blocking pins are fabulous and easy to use.

Knitting Gloves

Like doing anything over and over, knitting can often cause sore fingers and hands. Compression gloves are a great gift as they take care of the knitter while preserving their ability to continue working on their craft. These gloves from Lion Brand are a great option.

Beyond Knitting

Drop Spindles

We love knitting, but it’s fun to explore other areas of fiber arts. Many knitters have a curiosity or desire to learn weaving. A drop spindle can be a great introduction to this art form which makes it a great gift idea. This fabulous kit from the Woolery is a great place for a knitter to get started.