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EXPERT ADVICE
Finda tooltosuityouandyourpatternwiththishandy
mini guide to all the various needles availableneedle know-how
A
mongtoday’sknitters,themost
commonlyusedneedleisthe
classicstraightneedle,whichwas
probablyinventedinthemid-19thcentury.
They’reeasytouseandidealformaking
flatfabric,especiallysincetheneedlehead
preventsthestitchesfromslippingo .
However,theoldest-knownneedlesare
actuallydouble-pointedones– theycan
beseeninseveral14th-centurypaintings.
Theseareusuallyusedtomakeseamless
tubular fabrics, such as socks, which is
easierthanit sounds!Double-pointed
needlesareusedinsetsoffourorfive.
Bothflatandtubular(‘intheround’)
knittingcanbemadeoncircularneedles,
whichconsistoftwoneedlesjoinedwith
a flexiblecord.Somemanufacturerssell
needlesandcordsseparately,andyoucan
alsobuyinterchangeablesets– thesecome
withcordsandneedletipsinvarioussizes
andlengths,whichconnecttogetherin
near-endlesspossibilities,andwhichsave
you from having to buy too many pairs.Crochethooksareofcoursenecessary
forcrochet,butalsousefulforknittersto
rescuedroppedstitches,weaveinyarnends
andotherlittlejobs,andalso,ofcourse, to
addcrochetedgingstoyourknits.
Thestandardlengthsforstraight
needlesare25cm,30cmand35cm,and
from40cmupto80cmforcircularneedles.
Thebestlengthforyoutousewilldepend
onyourprojectand,inthecaseofstraight
needles,whetheryouliketotuck a needle
under your arm as you work.STRAIGHT
Perfectforbeginners,straightneedles
comeinpairsandallowyoutocreate
large,flatpiecesoffabric.Theycan
beunwieldythough,andyou’re
oftenliftingtheentireweightofyour
knittingasyouwork,whichcanbe
uncomfortable.Choosefrommetal,
wood,plasticandbamboo.DOUBLE-POINTEDNEEDLES
Soldinsetsoffourorfive,theyenable
youtoknitintheround.It mightseem
scaryusingsomanyneedles,butyou
onlyever‘knit’withtwo – the rest
just hold stitches.CABLENEEDLES
Usedforcreatingcables,thesekinked
needlescomeinvarioussizesandare
handyforholdinga smallnumberof
stitchesthatyoudon’twanttoknityet,
asthekinkstopsthestitchesfalling
o . If youdon’thavea cableneedle
thenyoucanusea stitchholder or a
spareneedleinstead.CIRCULARNEEDLES
Madeoftwoneedle‘tips’connected
bya cable,circularneedlescanbe
usedtoknitintheroundorinrows,
backandforthbetweenthetips.Used
inthisway,likeordinaryneedles,the
cabletakestheweightofthefabric.You
canfinda greattutorialonhowtouse
circularneedlesonTheYarnLoopat
http://www.theyarnloop.com/2010/09/
knitting-circular-needles.INTERCHANGEABLE
Circularneedlescomeinvarioussizes
andlengths.Interchangeableneedles
allowyoutomixandmatchneedletips
withcablessoyoudon’thavetobuy
oneofeverythicknessandlength.You
can buy sets as well as individual parts.1
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