This will be the last post pertaining to needles, and I think I hear a subtle "thank goodness" from some of my readers. Let's start with the wide variety of materials used to make knitting needles.
The oldest of knitting needles were made from wood stakes sharpened at one or both ends. Two problems with wooden needles are their weight and potential for splinters. Some needle manufacturers continue to use wood but have found lighter weight wood and finishes that greatly reduce potential splintering. (See the rather colourful wooden DPNs by Options Harmony below.) Bamboo has become a recent newcomer to wooden needles because of its abundance and very light weight.
Needles are also made from metal generally aluminium; and it is metal needles that add the click, click, clicking to one's knitting. Metal needles are very strong, meaning they aren't apt to warp over time like wood or plastic needles. Having said that they have one drawback, stitches will easily slide off metal needles because unlike wooden and even certain plastic needles, both of which can have a rough exterior, metal needles have a very smooth, shiny and thus slippery finish. This characteristic generally doesn't bother a more experienced knitter, but it can cause all sorts of problems for a new knitter. (Dropped stitches can wreak havoc for newbies.)
Finally there are plastic needles. These needles offer some improvements over the other two types. They are lighter in weight and don't splinter and yet lack (generally) the overall slipperiness of metal needles. Their biggest flaw is warping over time. I inherited several plastic DPNs from my Grandma Perry, and I have to say they are some of my favorites. Many of her needles are 60-80 years old now and the plastic on a few of them has become brittle meaning during use they can simply snap in two. Here is one of the red pair of Grandma's needles I used recently. (I don't often colour coordinate needles with projects, it just turned out that way.)
And finally there is the entire issue of knitting needle size, which truth be known was the entire reason for my getting into a needle discussion in the first place. As you can tell many of us inherit needles and often inherit "old" knitting patterns with them. The problem with this is there has yet to be developed a standard for sizing needles. The U.S., Canada, Australia and UK (all generally English speaking countries) use different sizing measures. Additionally there are also slight variances in sizes from one manufacturer of knitting needles to another. Here's a chart I found that helps punch this point home and another including an Australian sizing chart.
So what's a knitter to do about this confusion? First always, always swatch. Making a swatch is something most of us hate to do because it takes time away from real knitting. But if the knitter doesn't take time at the start to make sure the gauge of the pattern and the gauge his/her own knitting match, there can be disappointment when the project is complete. (More on my recent problem caused by not bothering to swatch soon.) Second, it helps to own a needle size gauge like this one.
For just a couple of bucks or loonies one can immediately check on the actual size of a needle using a card like the one above. The only suggestion I have to offer when using this card is that the entire circumference of the knitting needle needs to fit through the hole of the card, if only the tip fits the needle is the next size up. (Geez, I hope I don't get shutdown for such talk!)
At any rate there you have it, all I have to say now about knitting needles. I said I would: be discussing each type of needle, when each type of needle can be best used and offer a few tips to keep in mind as you make your needle selection. There will also be a discussion about the materials used to make them and how that impacts your choice. Finally, the dreaded matter of getting the right sized needle for your project will be covered. And to the best of my ability I think I've fulfilled that promise. Now I encourage you to go pick up some needles and start knitting. Practice makes all these details second nature.
The oldest of knitting needles were made from wood stakes sharpened at one or both ends. Two problems with wooden needles are their weight and potential for splinters. Some needle manufacturers continue to use wood but have found lighter weight wood and finishes that greatly reduce potential splintering. (See the rather colourful wooden DPNs by Options Harmony below.) Bamboo has become a recent newcomer to wooden needles because of its abundance and very light weight.
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| Beautiful wooden DPNs |
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| Three shiny metal SPNs |
Finally there are plastic needles. These needles offer some improvements over the other two types. They are lighter in weight and don't splinter and yet lack (generally) the overall slipperiness of metal needles. Their biggest flaw is warping over time. I inherited several plastic DPNs from my Grandma Perry, and I have to say they are some of my favorites. Many of her needles are 60-80 years old now and the plastic on a few of them has become brittle meaning during use they can simply snap in two. Here is one of the red pair of Grandma's needles I used recently. (I don't often colour coordinate needles with projects, it just turned out that way.)
And finally there is the entire issue of knitting needle size, which truth be known was the entire reason for my getting into a needle discussion in the first place. As you can tell many of us inherit needles and often inherit "old" knitting patterns with them. The problem with this is there has yet to be developed a standard for sizing needles. The U.S., Canada, Australia and UK (all generally English speaking countries) use different sizing measures. Additionally there are also slight variances in sizes from one manufacturer of knitting needles to another. Here's a chart I found that helps punch this point home and another including an Australian sizing chart.
So what's a knitter to do about this confusion? First always, always swatch. Making a swatch is something most of us hate to do because it takes time away from real knitting. But if the knitter doesn't take time at the start to make sure the gauge of the pattern and the gauge his/her own knitting match, there can be disappointment when the project is complete. (More on my recent problem caused by not bothering to swatch soon.) Second, it helps to own a needle size gauge like this one.
For just a couple of bucks or loonies one can immediately check on the actual size of a needle using a card like the one above. The only suggestion I have to offer when using this card is that the entire circumference of the knitting needle needs to fit through the hole of the card, if only the tip fits the needle is the next size up. (
At any rate there you have it, all I have to say now about knitting needles. I said I would: be discussing each type of needle, when each type of needle can be best used and offer a few tips to keep in mind as you make your needle selection. There will also be a discussion about the materials used to make them and how that impacts your choice. Finally, the dreaded matter of getting the right sized needle for your project will be covered. And to the best of my ability I think I've fulfilled that promise. Now I encourage you to go pick up some needles and start knitting. Practice makes all these details second nature.
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