Tool Time!

 

There are about 7 billion knitting needles on the market right now. That's one knitting needle for every person in the world. You can't do a whole lot with one knitting needle, which is why it's good to knit in pairs or groups so you can share or borrow another knitting needle, enabling at least one of you to do more than cast-on.

I realize these are heady thought provoking statistics and I'll back them up with a bibliographic reference or two. Okay, no I won't. I made it up. But it could be true, there could be 7 billion knitting needles in the world.

Consider that a pair of socks were found in an Egyptian tomb dating back to 400-500 AD. Further study showed these socks were knit with one needle, but a needle nonetheless. (if you're interested ask Mr. Google to search "Coptic Socks for you). My point is that knitting or a version there of has been around for a long time...that's a lot of knitting needles so let's talk about them.

First a safety tip. Knitting needles are sharp and pokey, never run with them.

Size Does Matter


Commercially manufactured knitting needles are available in metric sizes from 0.5mm to 25mm (the US equivalent would be size 00000000 to size 50). I have no idea what that looks like except to say it's really, really small to really really big. Digging through my needle collection I found a set of 1.25 mm (0000 US) needles on the small end and a pair of 20 mm needles on the large end. I knew I had the small needles, I used them to knit crochet cotton into beaded bags when it was all the rage a decade or so ago. I have no idea about the 20 mm needles and suspect they may belong to one of my daughters. I can tell you that with confidence because I'm not fond of bulky knitting. Large needles are most often used with very bulky yarn or for when you combine 2 or 3 strands of yarn at a time. With large needles and bulky yarn you can whip up a scarf in about 27 seconds. Or you can use them with smaller yarn (like a worsted weight) and create a very lacy looking fabric. I've seen them used for anything from clothing, rugs, market bags to lace. Extreme needle sizes (either big or small) have their uses, but fortunately the majority of projects rest comfortably within the 2.00mm to 10mm range. Below is a photo of 20mm needles and my 1.25 mm needles and the beaded bags I knit with them.

I've read articles about people who knit miniatures using sewing thread and fine gage wire. I've also watched a woman knit really thick rope with broom stick handles -- it wasn't pretty. Basically if you can make a pair of straight sticks with enough of a point on one end you can knit with anything. If you would like to see a photo of a woman with really big needles try the BagSmith web site at http://www.bagsmith.com/pages/About.html

Format

Knitting needles come in three basic formats: straight, double points, and circular.

Straight needles are the traditional work horse of the flat knitted piece. If you are using needles with only one pointy end that are approximately 25 cm (10 in.) long, you are probably using straight needles. Typically straight knitting needles tend to be in the 20 cm to 35 cm (8 in. to 14 in.) range. If you are knitting a sweater one piece at a time you are probably using straight needles. Straight needles worked for me for years. In hindsight everything I knit during those years had a seam and was built in pieces as I had the classic beginner fear of knitting in the round.

Double points (dpns) are most frequently associated with knitting in the round. They are sold in packages of 4, 5 or 6 needles depending upon the brand, the size and the material used to make them. As an example short wooden double points under 3.0 mm in size are sometimes sold in sets of 6 needles (it's about loss and breakage). Double points tend to come in lengths about 7 cm to 20 cm. You likely have seen double pointed needles in use for socks, hats and mittens. Once upon a time double points were available in 25 cm. (12-14 in.) lengths and I can only surmise that must have been before the miracle of the circular knitting needle was invented (around 1930 for inquiring minds). I'm not a big user of dpns, but having said that I do have a complete set and I do use them sometimes. Generally I haven't found a circular pattern calling for dpns that couldn't be knit with 2 circular needles. My prime use for dpns is glove fingers, and short (10 st) flat pieces (like the everlasting gobstopper I'm currently knitting - also known as the Irish Chain Afghan).

Circular needles (circs) though feared by novices and flat knitters alike, are actually very easy to use and as mentioned previously I haven't come across one thing knit with straight needles or dpns that couldn't also be knit as easily with circular needles. Circular knitting needles can be used for knitting flat pieces as well as circular pieces. Basically circular needles are 2 short straight needles joined by a cable at each end. They come in a wide variety of lengths and sizes and materials and are my favourite needles for projects on the go. I find that I seldom lose stitches when I'm packing around a project using circular needles. While I don't necessarily recommend the practice, I have often quite literally tossed or stuffed a project on circs into my bag without worrying about the needles falling out or dropping stitches.

Straight needles and dpns are more prone to SSWIT (stitch slippage while in transit) which is why companies have created cute little rubber nobs and boot shapes etc., to put on the ends of your needles. I don't own any needle stoppers, I find a solid piece of fruit does the job. :-) (or a cork or an eraser).

Materials

Over the centuries knitting needles have been made of everything from bone and ivory, wood, steel and copper. Today knitting needles are most commonly made of wood, plastic and steel (which includes nickel-plated, aluminum, and steel). All the materials have their prescribed or preferred purpose, which I will explain as briefly as possible, however I'd like to point out that if your knitting isn't slipping, sticking, catching or breaking and feels good in your hands don't rush out and change your needles.

Generally, I have found that steel needles are slightly heavier than wood or plastic and that the surface is smooth and slippery. A slippery surface is good for skilled knitters who like to knit really fast and/or knitters using nubby or thick yarns that need to be coaxed along the needles. Steel needles tend to keep their shape, although a bad night with a difficult pattern and a temper fit can cause a bend or two.

Plastic needles are warm in the hands and answer fairly well for both slippery yarns and nubby yarns. They are light weight and often colourful. I'm still using plastic knitting needles I inherited from my Grandmother. Granted while plastic is not great for land fills it's terrific for the knitting needle collector. A downside of plastic needles is that they can bend with use - depending upon how tightly you hold them while you knit.

Wooden needles are made from bamboo, birch, alder, rosewood etc. and are extremely popular because they are light weight, comfortable to hold and pretty to look at. Wooden needles are great for yarns that need slowing down like silks, rayons and some acrylic blends. I like using wooden needles for most things and often turn to them first when beginning a project. I've used them for lace shawls, Fair Isle pillows and chunky hats and mittens. Some wooden needles bend with use and all wooden needles are beloved as chew toys by my dogs (sigh). Wooden needles also tend to break when you sit on them unlike their counter parts in metal and plastic.

There's a company out there called Blackthorn Needles that claim their dpns are "crafted from the material used for the outer skin of the Blackbird Stealth Jet". In other words, very expensive stuff. Blackthorn claims their needles are made of a premium carbon composite for fab results. Well the results better be fab at $35 a set. Fortunately for my bank account these needles appear to only be available as dpns, so I'm not tempted. Besides, the last thing I need are stealth knitting needles.

The Kollage yarn company is flogging square knitting needles. I have tried their circular needles and have to admit they were kind of fun to use. I did find that their bronze colour paint tended to chip as I knit, which is a downside, but the cables joining their circs were nice to work with. I used these needles a few years back so maybe they've solved the chipping problem. They were reasonably priced and you might find them fun to try.

What I like

You can spend (and I have) stupid amounts of money on knitting needles. Some are worth the expense and others just look pretty (and according to my dog Monty they taste yummy too). I like circular needles that have a smooth join between the cable and the needle. Until recently I found that cheaper circular needles have frustratingly stiff cables that want to stayed permanently curled. This can be solved by running them through hot water for a bit until they soften. My favourites have been Addi Turbo circular needles. They come in nickel-plated, wooden, and lace tips and their cable joins are usually flawless. For a while they seemed like the only game around, so the roughly $18 per circular pair was worth the expense. Recently I've come across companies like Knit Picks and Chia Goo that are producing excellent circular needles at half the cost (or less) than the Addi company, so I'm straying a bit from Addi, but I doubt I let them go entirely.

I have a set of Knit Picks interchangeable needles that I like for travel. Typically when I go on holidays I haunt at least one yarn shop. In my pre-interchangeable days, I would travel with a small suitcase of knitting needles in case I came across some nifty yarn begging to be knit. Traveling without knitting needles led to 8 pairs of 4mm's and numerous duplicates of other sizes. So now when I leave town I bring my interchangeables, a few sock weight needles just in case and a list of every size and type of needle that I own to help prevent wasting money on duplicates. Most of the time my system works, unless I see something new or nifty. The classic complaint about interchangeables is that the needles come unscrewed from the cable. This is a valid complaint. I like my Knit Picks but I do keep an eye on the joins and tighten them occaisionally as I knit. Interchangeables work as straight needles and the cables can be used on their own as stitch holders. All in all a pretty good investment.

I'm not using steel needles as often as I used too for 2 somewhat nebulous reasons. First, I don't like the sound of the needles as they click (rub) together - for me it's kind of like a fingernail on the blackboard. Having said that, when I try to demonstrate the sound, others can't hear it, so I suspect it's the feel and the sound combined. This isn't a problem with nickel-plated needles but aluminum and straight steel set my teeth on edge. Secondly the really shiny needles reflect light and remind me of someone trying to signal me with a mirror. My purpose in sharing those personal oddities is mostly to demonstrate that knitting needles are more than tools to the serious knitter. They are extensions of your hands and fingers and they need to be a good fit. If the tools don't feel (or sound) right in your hands you won't want to use them.

The next time you are looking for knitting needles don't be afraid to try something new. For many of us knitting is not a chore, it's a wonderful pass time. Loving the feel of the yarn and needles in my hands is for me, a significant part of what knitting is all about. Remember love your knitting needles but never run with them, you'll poke your eye out.

The Prince Rupert Library Knitters meet Thursday evenings at 7pm in the library multi-purpose room. Upcoming knitting nights include April 19 and April 26th. There will be knitting in May and beyond, the schedule isn't quite set yet. Keep an eye on this blog or the library's website www.princerupertlibrary.ca for knitting times and dates. Teen library knitters meet every Wednesday at 3:30pm. Join us!

A Quilting Note

The Prince Rupert Library will once again, be running a quilt show from mid-May to the end of September. If you have a quilt you would like to share with the community for a few months we would love to hang your creation in our library. Give the Prince Rupert Library a call and we'll give you the details. 250-627-1345.

See ya at the library!