It doesn’t take a fortune to take up knitting, even if you have never done it before. Technically all you need is a ball of yarn and a pair of knitting needles. Then comes the hard part, deciding which knitting needles and which yarn to use. It really depends on what your budget is, what you are making, and what you prefer. If you are knitting anything flat, regular knitting needles will do. If you want to knit in the round, like when you make a hat or gloves, for example, you could either use double pointed needles or circular knitting needles.
If you want to make something really large such as a rug, you would want to have really thick knitting needles. If you want to use a smaller yarn or having a tighter weave, you would stick with smaller needles. You can use all sorts of materials for knitting needles, from wood to metal to plastic. I have even heard of people using whale bone, chopsticks, and plastic forks as knitting needles. You might be surprised what lengths knitters will go to when they are away from their beloved needles. Knitting can be really addicting.