You can start learning to knit with relatively small investment (cheap yarn and appropriately sized needles), but once you start getting into it, you realize there are a lot of places to spend your money on. 

And I'm not just talking about fancy needles or super expensive yarn, but even with accessories like yarn bowls, needle holders, bags, row counters... the possibilities are endless!

A couple of weeks ago during the Black Friday sales, I ordered this Knitter's Pride Magma Pattern Holder, after wanting one of these for ages. There are several other options, like Knit Picks, or more handmade ones from Etsy, but I wasn't sure how much I would actually get to use a chart holder, so I wanted to get a relatively low-end cost one first. After all, I lasted all these years with just post-it notes and pens. 

When opened, the pattern holder is pretty simple. It has 3 small magnets and 1 long magnet strip, along with a pen. The three metal magnets are super strong, and they can hold through pages and pages of patterns pretty well.

If I decide to order another one, I'm going to look for a bigger chart holder. Considering most charts are printed in the portrait format, I found the most comfortable way to use it was to lay it down on the table instead of propping it up in the upright position. I first thought that the pattern holder will stay up by itself, but as time went by it slowly flattened. I figured out a quick fix by propping it up with a big eraser behind the holder. 

I started on this Aidez cardigan project a couple of days ago, and this pattern holder has been a lifesaver! Aidez has a repeating cable pattern, and although it is pretty intuitive after a while, it definitely helps to mark where I am in the chart. Stopping in the middle of the pattern repeat and coming back to it after a break has been NO PROBLEM because the magnet strip does not budge. I have used post-it notes before but they lose their stickiness after a while and tend to fall away if I wasn't careful. But this way I know I can let the project hibernate for few days without forgetting where I was in the pattern repeat.

Oh and the pen! You might think it's weird for me to do a review on a complimentary pen, but I was really surprised when I first used it. I was in a coffee shop when I realized I forgot to bring a pen to make notes on my pattern. Then I spotted this pen in the pattern holder and thought, what the heck, better than nothing. But this pen has very thin tip, which I LOVE, and it's a gel ink type that writes really really smoothly. The outside appearance looks a little cheap but don't be fooled by its cover!

I paid about $16 ($19.99 on Handsome Fibers, with Black Friday special coupon) which was very reasonable. I hope you give it a try if you've been thinking about getting one like me, or need something to give to your favorite knitter friend. :)

Disclaimer: I personally purchased this product myself. I was not paid, compensated, contracted, or otherwise obligated to write this review.