Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook (7 page)

Besides yarn, needles are the only other absolute must for any knitter. Knitting needles of yore were made of steel, but today’s needles come in a whole assortment of materials, each with its own special qualities. Aluminum needles are the cheapest and most common, and they’re nice and smooth for sliding yarn across. Bamboo needles are less slippery, but they’re also prettier to look at, become warm with handling, and are flexible and easy on the hands; they’re my fave by far. Wooden needles are chic but expensive, and casein needles, which are made of milk protein, are cool-looking and flexible, but they taste weird, so try not to lick them.

Like yarn, knitting needles come in varying thicknesses, and, as I’ll explain below, the thickness (or diameter) of your needle can make a big difference in your knitting. They also come in different styles—straight and circular—and different lengths. In this next section, I’ll try to help you answer the pointed question: Which needle should I use?

The diameter of your needles (along with the thickness of your yarn) will determine the look and feel of the fabric you knit. Large, thick needles will create more open, lacy fabric, while smaller needles are used to make a tighter, closer cloth. In general, however, you’ll use thinner needles when you’re knitting with thinner yarn, and thicker needles when knitting with thicker yarn.

Here in the United States, knitting needles go from size 0000 all the way up to 19, 35, and 50, with the majority of needles falling between 0 (very delicate) to 15 (for bulkier pieces). The basic, middle-of-the-road-size needle is a size 8, and it’s a good choice for a beginner. So what do these numbers represent? Absolutely nothing. In Europe they use a different numbering scheme—one that actually corresponds to the diameter, in millimeters, of the needle itself. Thus, a size 6 needle in Europe is 6mm in diameter. Over here, that same needle is a size 10. But ours is not to wonder why; ours is but to knit or die.

What you see is what you get. Needles shown actual size (top to bottom): size 5, wood; size 10½, bamboo; size 15, wood; size 17, plastic
.

The thickness of your knitting needles makes a big difference in the gauge (see
page 51
) of your knitting—meaning the number of stitches you have to knit in order to create an inch of fabric. If you’re a tight knitter, you’ll squeeze more stitches into that inch than would a loose knitter, and using thicker or thinner needles is one way to adjust for that personal difference. Although knitting patterns always suggest a particular size needle, the size you’ll end up using will depend on your personal gauge.

Once you get into knitting, you’ll probably want to build up a needle collection. That way, you won’t have to buy new needles every time you start a project. To keep track of what needles you already have in your collection, make a copy of the needle tracker below, fill it out, and keep it in your wallet. And if you ever come across a large collection of knitting needles at a yard sale or a thrift store—and this happens quite often—snatch them all up. Chances are they’ll be super-cheap (new knitting needles can cost anywhere from three to fifteen dollars a pair), and you’ll get a good start on your collection.

Needles also come in different styles and lengths, each of which has its own use:

Single-pointed straight needles
are the ones that usually come to mind when you think of a knitting needle: a stick with a point on one side and a knob on the other. Straight needles generally come in two lengths: 10-inch and 14-inch. I recommend getting the 14-inch length—with knitting needles, as with other things, longer is better. Not only can you knit wider fabric on longer needles, but the 14-inch length fits nicely under your arm when you knit, and, as I’ll explain in the next chapter, this can be very helpful.

Double-pointed needles
look a bit like the sticks in the game of Pick Up Sticks and usually come in sets of four or five. These straight needles have points at both ends, which means you can knit stitches off of either end, and
that
means you can knit “in the round” as it’s called. Double-pointed needles are shorter than single-pointed needles and usually come in lengths of 6 or 8 inches. Four or five of them are used at the same time to knit tubular-shaped objects such as socks and hats. Although some people say that knitting with double-pointed needles is like wrestling with an octopus, once you get in the groove, it can be quite fun, and fast.

Circular needles
are two short, straight needles connected with a flexible plastic cord. Circular needles are all the rage these days. They are used to knit in the round, but also to knit flat pieces. The annoying thing about circular needles, however, is that the lengths vary widely—from 12 inches, used for cuffs or collars, to 16, 24, and 36 inches, for other pieces. Oftentimes, you will need many different needles for a single project.

Nevertheless, lots of Stitch ’n Bitch knitters love them to death. It also seems that circular needles, with their short, stubby needle ends, are particularly good for those knitters who prefer the Continental style of knitting, in which the needles tend to fly around a lot. I, however, who prefer to knit English style and even like to hold the needle end in my right armpit—impossible to do with circular needles—much prefer the old-school straight needles. In any case, you should try both types and go with whichever feels best to you. And remember that you can knit straight pieces of fabric on circular needles by just knitting back and forth (you can’t knit tubular fabric on straight needles, however).

Double-pointed and circular needles

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Straight needles can be kept in decorative buckets or pencil cups on bookshelves. Needles, like socks, have a habit of getting separated, so put a rubber band around matching pairs. You can also make a nice fabric needle holder (see the pattern on
page 234
) that you can fold up and store in a drawer.

CIRCULAR NEEDLES
can quickly become a nasty tangle, so make your own circular needle holder (see the pattern on
page 236
), or keep circular needles in Ziploc bags, writing their sizes in permanent marker on the outside of the bags.

BALLS OF YARN
are best kept in large plastic containers. You don’t want moths—or worse yet, mice—getting in there. Keeping them in the basement is a one-way ticket to musty-smelling balls, which you most definitely want to avoid. Keep them in a hallway closet instead, and toss a bar of nicely scented soap in with the yarn to keep it fresh-smelling.

KNITTING PROJECTS
are well stored in canvas or cotton tote bags (see the pattern on
page 231
). Be sure to include a copy of the pattern slipped into a plastic sheet protector. If you have more than one project going at a time, store each one in a separate tote bag.