Flat lay of a mini steamer, a skein of vivid teal yarn, and a digital scale with a row counter, ruler, and needle gauge on top of it.

We all know how amazing a circular knitting needle kit is and how indispensable tapestry needles are, but here are five tools I use all the time that maybe don’t seem quite as obvious.

Mini Steamer

This little steamer heats up really fast and puts out a lot of steam. The tank is small, so I often have to re-fill it if I have a bigger job, but I don’t mind because I definitely don’t have space to store a full-sized one. I use my mini steamer for a bunch of tasks like:

Steaming out swatches to have a look at what the fabric will actually be like after blocking. This is especially helpful for lace and colourwork since those can change so much with a little water or steam.
Getting wrinkles out of knits that have been stored folded. (I used to use this all the time when I was traveling. Haven’t done that in awhile though.)
Checking to see how a garment is coming along. It can be super helpful to steam out the fabric of an in-progress knit before trying on or before determining how I feel about it. I always wet block (washing gently in the sink) to finish a project, but steam can give you a good idea if you’re getting close to the right gauge and if your project is looking good.
Freshening up fabric before photography. Since a camera catches flaws, I like to steam out my swatches or projects before taking a photo so it looks its best.

2. Digital Scale

A digital scale is a must-have tool if you want to know how much yarn you’ve got in your leftovers (here’s a video on that) and it’s one I use in my design life to figure out how much yarn a project requires. My scale is incredibly old, but I have some sentimental feelings toward it. I bought it from a going-out-of-business sale at the yarn shop I taught at in Seattle so many years ago, I think around 2011. Anyone remember Hilltop? I think this scale got a lot of use there and it’s worked great for me since then. Yes, the buttons are wearing off and that may be a bit of flour dust since I use the same one for baking.

Oh, and that gorgeous yarn is from Third Vault Yarns. It was part of their Boardgame Knits, Volume 2 project.

3. Row Counter

Advanced knitters may think they’ve progressed beyond row counters because they can count rows by just looking at their knitting fairly easily. I went through a phase of never using one because I couldn’t be bothered. But I use this one all the time now. While I can follow a chart and count rows by looking, it’s so much faster to just keep track by clicking. It helps keep me from making mistakes, especially when a couple rows within a stitch pattern look similar to one another. I also use it for “at the same time” instructions and sometimes I even have two counters going to keep track of two elements like a chart and shaping instructions.

The counter shown above is my favourite. It’s from Cocoknits and here’s why I love it:

It’s clever. The windows that the numbers show through are magnifying, which is useful and so charming!
The click is very satisfying. It makes a noise and has a nice sensation, but it isn’t loud or jarring.
I like the round shape in my hand.
I love the aesthetics, the transparent casing is very cool.
It’s magnetic on the back, which works with their magnetic bracelet system. I’ve never used it that way myself, but I appreciate that it was designed so thoughtfully.

Cocoknits tools are really pleasing and functional. Have a look at their website! (Not an affiliate, I was just over there admiring how beautiful it all is!)

The yellow yarn in the photo above is Julie Asselin Journey.

4. Clear Ruler

I know there are a million tools for measuring gauge, but my go-to is a classic clear plastic ruler. I love it because it makes my fabric flat during measurement and I can see all the stitches underneath. It’s also easy to measure in 2- and 4-inch increments for the most accurate numbers.

This yellow yarn (cause it’s a different yellow yarn… I do love yellow!) is O-Wool O-Wash Fingering.

5. Needle Gauge

Some of my needles do have sizes written on them, but the print is so tiny that it’s always faster for me to just grab my needle gauge to figure out what size I’m grabbing. I love the wooden ones because they each have their own character and they’re so pretty. This one is from Churchmouse, but I’m not sure if they’re currently available.

And just as an aside, that tool roll/needle case is from Bookhou. I love all their stuff.