Knitting Needles

Straight versus Circular Needles

Let me admit it now, I love circular knitting needles. Good quality circular needles (and I stress good quality) are a joy to work with. The bulk of the weight of your knitting rests on your lap, the shorter needle tips are very comfortable to hold, you can use them for straight or circular knitting and you don't end up losing one of your needles down the side of the sofa! There are even bamboo tipped circular needles available for lace knitting.

I use Addi turbo circular needles and would recommend any knitter to try them in place of straight needles. A set of circular needles will prove more versatile than a set of straight needles, so there is a money saving aspect too. If you've been unimpressed with circular needles in the past then you will be pleasantly surprised, Addi turbo needles are beautifully made and the stitches slide effortlessly from the cord to the needle tip.

I find the 60cm / 24 inch and the 80cm / 32 inch length circular needles the most versatile. If you are knitting in the round it is amazing how many stitches you can comfortably fit on the needle. The problem is if your needle is too long requiring the knitting to be stretched, this distorts the knitting and makes it hard to move the stitches around the needle. If you have 2 circular needles you can do circular knitting of any size which means you don't need to resort to double pointed needles even for knitting socks. I even knit i-cord on circular needles, it's a little slower than on shorter double pointed needles but I can't see the point of buying double pointed needles just for the rare occasions when I want to make an i-cord.

Admittedly they're not as pretty to look at as some of the beautiful straight needles that are available, and I do have real affection for the look and feel of wooden needles. Knitting with 4 or 5 double pointed needles also looks far more impressive than the simpler option of using 2 circular needles. But, if your vanity can bear it then circular knitting needles are the way to go.

If you plan to use double pointed needles you may find bamboo needles easier to use. They are less slippery than metal needles so they don't tend to slip out of your work at inopportune moments.

Point Styles

If you tend to help the stitches off your needle by pushing on the point of the left needle then look for blunt ended needles.

If your stitches tend to be very tight on the needle then the point style of your needles could be to blame. Needles with a long taper make it more likely that you will be forming your stitches on the thinner part of the needle rather than on the shaft of the knitting needle. The result is that when the stitches are moved onto the main shaft of the knitting needle they are too tight. A blunt ended needle style might help solve the problem.

If you just naturally knit very tightly, and you really can't learn to loosen up then go for more pointed ends. The sharper pointed ends can also come in handy for lace work.

Knitting Needle Sizes

The table below shows the equivalent knitting needle sizes in UK, Canadian, US and metric.