Happy Thursday!
Today we’ll be exploring the ins and outs of knitting needles!
There are three types of needles I will be talking about today: straight, double-pointed (dpn), and circular. But first, I will be talking generally about knitting needles.
Sizes
Knitting needles come in different sizes because different knitting patterns have different gauges. Knitting needles come in every size imaginable! Well, not every size. But quite a few for sure! (The link for the size chart does not include every needle size by any means, and is just to show as an example the range of sizes that needles come in.)
However, nothing in life is ever as simple as that; knitting needle sizes are given different names in different places, though they are the same gauge. In the US, each metric measurement (in mm) is assigned a number, starting from 0, where the smaller numbers indicate smaller needle sizes. However, in the UK, the needles are labeled in the opposite way, where each metric measurement (in mm) is assigned a number where the larger numbers indicate smaller needle sizes. When I am writing out a pattern and I specify a needle size, I usually indicate the metric measurement so that anyone will be able to find the size they need regardless of where they are. I also generally write the US measurement mainly because I’m in the US.
The moral of the story is: pay attention to the needle size your pattern calls for to get the right gauge.
Materials
Knitting needles can be made from many different materials. I have needles that are plastic, needles made of wood, metal needles, and even a circular needle that I don’t know the material origins of! (I like to think they’re made of cement because they seem unreasonably heavy.) Anyway, all I can really say is that you need to find which type of needles make you feel the most comfortable when knitting. As for me, I generally prefer wood, but I am also aware that it can get kinda gross if my hands get super clammy (which happens more than I’d like to admit, unfortunately), so I also like to keep an arsenal of metal needles in the sizes that I use the most so that I don’t soak my gross gross hand sweat into my beautiful symphony wood needles I spent an arm and a leg for! (They were a Christmas present to myself a couple of years ago.)
Straight Needles
The needles that people generally think of when they imagine someone knitting are straight needles. They have a point on one end used for knitting and a stopper on the other end, so that–if you’re knitting something with a large stitch count like a blanket–the stitches don’t fall off of the other end!
Straight needles are the ones I used the most when I first started knitting mostly because they were the only ones I knew about! These needles can be used for any project–including circular objects like hats, though the process is a bit different than if you use circular needles or dpns–but each type of needle has their own specialty, and, in my opinion, the straight needles’ strength is in scarf knitting. You can definitely use dpns or circular needles if you like, or if they are the only needles you have, but scarves are where the straight needle shines.
Double-pointed
Double-pointed needles–or dpns, as most patterns refer to them–are used for circular knitting (hats and such). Dpns generally come in packs of 5, though I’ve seen packs of 4, are pointed on both sides for the purpose of knitting a single, continuous piece. They can, however, be used to knit straight pieces as well! I’d just recommend you use a needle cap–which I will talk about on Saturday–to ensure that the stitches don’t slip off of the butt end of the needle.
Dpns’ specialties in my opinion are for finishing circular pieces such as hats, etc. because you generally have to decrease the number of stitches on a piece to the point where the number of stitches is too few for the circular needles you were using, and you pretty much have to switch to dpns. (There are shorter circulars you can use, but, in my opinion, those are a HUGE pain. Using dpns is much easier.) Of course, you can totally just use dpns for the entire project, but it can be a dangerous game trying to maintain the tension between the needles. Generally the first stitch on the next needle is a lot looser than the other stitches, so your piece can end up with an interesting pattern that you may not have intended it to have due to this discrepancy.
I also mentioned that I like using dpns for socks. There are dpns which are made for sock knitting. They are a lot shorter and thinner than most dpns (though there are also longer dpns that are of a very small gauge in case you’re knitting larger projects that require a thinner needle) and much more efficient for knitting than circular sock needles, which tend to give my hands cramps. Of course, that is just personal preference, so it’s up to you whether or not you wanna put forth the money for the special dpn purchase (I definitely did in a heartbeat). Also, the tension issue is generally irrelevant with the sock needles because they are so small that, I’ve noticed at least, there’s not a big enough tension difference in the project for there to be a noticeable pattern of loose stitches.
Circular
Circular needles are used for (surprise) circular knitting. It is a pair of dpns that basically have a string glued to their butts that connect them. Although they’re mostly used to make circular things like hats, cowls, sweaters, etc. etc., they can also be used for straight projects like blankets or even scarves.
The circular needle shines when it comes to most circular knitting projects and for blankets. I pretty much use circular needles all the time (because I like making hats), but I’ve found they’re also good for blankets because you can cast-on a BUNCH of stitches, and they can generally hold more than a lot of straight needles. Plus, they are easy to just shove in your purse because the needles on the end of the connecting bit are usually shorter than dpns, and the actual connector is really flexible. In conclusion: circular needles are pretty great. But I really don’t care for using them when I’m making socks and smaller, circular things like that (gloves, for example), because, even though circular needles that are short enough for those projects are generally really difficult to work with. Or maybe I just have fat fingers. That is also a very strong possibility.
Well, now you have been introduced to the world of knitting needles! There is a surprising amount of information about needles, as I’ve learned through the years. Even though I really only covered the very basics, I hope that this guide will help a bit next time you make a trip to purchase needles!
Happy knitting!
-pb
Simple Knits 