Daley first learned to knit with straight needles, but he isn’t the biggest fan of using them in crowded spaces. “They’re a bit too long, and they get in the way,” he said.Instead, he prefers to use circular needles, specifically the stainless steel ChiaoGoo Twist Red Lace Interchangeable Needles, which are connected to one another by a flexible cable, a design that he finds easier to hold. And because the needles are connected, they allow him to start and stop without worrying as much that his work will slip off his needles in transit.“I feel much more comfortable leaving my work on circular needles than I do on flats,” he said.Guest pickThis set of interchangeable needles includes 13 pairs of tips and six cables in an array of sizes and comes with two cable keys, stitch markers, and a ruler. Best of all, it packs down into a 6-by-8-inch pouch.Daley especially likes to keep his set of ChiaoGoo interchangeable needles handy because of how versatile they are. Interchangeable needles give him the flexibility to swap out his needle tips so that he can switch between projects. The ChiaoGoo set includes 13 pairs of varying needle-tip sizes and six connector cables in a range of cord lengths. Daley prefers to use metal needles. “Wooden [needles] are good for beginners because they’re slightly grippier, so you have a bit more control on what you’re doing, whereas the metal ones, the [yarn] slides really easily off, so it allows you to knit faster.” But no matter your skill level, he suggests avoiding plastic needles because “they break easily and bend and warp in the heat.”Guest pickThese lightweight, aluminum crochet hooks vary in size from 2 mm to 10 mm, and the set comes with bonus stitch markers and large-eye blunt needles.Daley also keeps a set of crochet hooks in his go bag. Knitters often use crochet hooks to fix dropped stitches, assemble knitted pieces, or add decorative borders. Daley carries his crochet hook mainly in case of dropped stitches, which is when a stitch slips off the needle and unravels down a row. The set of Vodiye hooks that he uses includes 14 different sizes, a selection versatile enough to keep up with his various projects.Of course, along with his needles and hooks, Daley always has yarn on him — loads of it. “The worst thing is running out of yarn when you’re out and about,” he said, so he always keeps an extra ball of yarn tucked in his bag.He doesn’t have a favorite type or brand, he explained, because “every project is slightly different when it comes to yarn,” so the type of fiber he uses changes based on what he’s making. And rather than buying yarn online, he said, “I like going into the store and feeling it.”
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