Stick Them With the Pointy End

I have a profound relationship with my knitting needles. My deepest love is reserved for my Addi Click Turbo set, but I retain a nostalgic love for my first interchangeable set with its colorful aluminum tips and inflexible cables and my wooden tip interchangeable set and my snazzy wooden double points and my…...

Ok…this could go on for a while.

Suffice it to say they are like children and I love them all equally but differently (except the Addis, I really do love those most...don’t tell the others) and each is suited best to a different task. This is why I have as many needles as I do (totally not because they’re pretty and I wants them, my precious); I make a lot of different things and I want the right tool for each.

This is often what non-knitters, and even new knitters, don’t quite understand until a further explanation is provided. As with any hobby or craft, the right tool can dictate how well or easily a project is completed and crafted. In knitting, your most basic tools are the needles and the yarn. Sure there are stitch markers, and stitch counters, and cable needles, and more, but they are icing on the cake. The style, not the substance. The right needle can make the difference between a smooth project and a mess of yarn. (So can the right yarn, but that is a separate conversation.)

So here are my recommendations on needle types and yarn and needle pairings:

1. Circular Needles - I use circulars for everything except socks and some sleeves. I just don’t bother with straight needles any more. Why would you worry about losing a straight needle in the bottom of your project bag (or in your couch cushions…) when your needles can just be attached to each other??
2. Double Point Needles - I use DPNs for socks and sleeves; anything tubular in other words. If it’s too small for your smallest circular needle cable, the DPNs are your answer (though they do make some pretty small circulars these days…)
3. Straight Needles - For learners only. As I said above, I use my circulars for everything, so I may be a little biased, but I just think straights aren’t particularly necessary any more once you have a clue what you’re doing. They do have their uses for new knitters though who usually find two sticks a bit less confusing to work with than one.
4. Metal Needles - The slick, low friction surface of metal tipped needles are best with natural animal fibers (your wools, fleeces, etc.) and bulkier yarns. These types of fibers are (obviously) hair follicles which have a textured structure and the lower the friction your needles cause, the faster you can knit. Bulky yarns present the same principle: the thicker the yarn, the less friction you want to slow up your knitting.
5. Wood and Bamboo Needles - I like these needles for lace-work and smoother yarns like silk and cotton. The friction created by the grain of the wood gets a better grip on the yarn which means dropping stitches in an intricate pattern or with a slippery fiber is at least slightly less likely. (There are also needle sets with sharper points for lace-work, but I find them dangerous to my health.)
6. Plastic Needles - Just don’t. They’re the worst.

What needles are closest to your heart? Do you have a set you’re emotionally attached to or are they just to get the job done?