Choose Your Knitting Needles Based on Your Preferences

Needles are your main tool and are a very personal choice. The type of needles you choose has a substantial effect on the finished project and as a beginning knitter on your knitting experience as a whole.  As a beginner, don't let displeasing needles spoil your knitting experience!  Each needle type feels different in your hands so it’s important to try several different types to see what your preferences are and what works best for the project you are working on.

The different Types

Knitting needles are grouped into three general types: straight, circular and double-pointed. You can read a general discussion about the uses for each of these types of needles here.

They also come in various thicknesses from 0.75mm to 25mm and you will need a variety of thickness to be able to get gauge. Gauge is important and I talk more about it here.

Manufacturers are not standardized as far as identifying thicknesses go.  A US size 8 needle in one brand will not be the same thickness as a US size 8 in another brand.  Not only do different brands vary in size, but also the material the needles are made from will affect the thickness. You will definitely need to buy a gauge card to help you sort things out. These are usually made of plastic or metal with holes punched in them that correspond to the standard metric sizes.  Generally, they will have the U.S. equivalent for each size printed on the card and often the U.K. equivalent as well.

The different Materials

Needles are made of several types of materials including aluminum, nickel-plated aluminum, bamboo, birch, walnut, ebony, casein (a milk protein), and various plastics.

Here is the good and the bad on several different materials:

Wood
The Good: They are lightweight, quiet, feel warm in your hands; have slightly rough surface which grips the yarn when knitting so you work more slowly and have more control over the stitches.  This is good for beginners or advanced knitters working on complex patterns.
The Bad: Availability can be limited and they can be expensive. They may break or splinter; some people don't like the slow knitting.

Bamboo
The Good: These are also lightweight and quiet; they feel warm in your hands and they are easily available in most shops and they are reasonably inexpensive; surface grip can also slow your knitting speed, but this can depend on the brand.
The Bad: Like other wood needles, these can break or splinter at the tips, and some people don't like the added surface grip that can slow down your knitting.

Aluminum
The Good: Easily available in most craft shops; can be very inexpensive; smooth, they have a slick surface that allows you to knit very quickly with minimum resistance.
The Bad: They may make a clicking sound while you knit which can be annoying for some people; surface can scratch and the color can fade over time; the metal can feel cold and they are rather inflexible, some knitters (particularly those with arthritis or carpal-tunnel syndrome) might find them uncomfortable.

Nickel and nickel-plated aluminum
The Good: The nickel plating makes the surface even smoother than aluminum, which equals speedy or slippery knitting; they are very lightweight.
The Bad: Depending on the brand, they can be expensive; like other metal needles, they can make noise while knitting; and, the rigidness of the metal can be annoying for people with arthritis or sensitive hands.

Swallow Casein
The Good: These are made of a natural milk protein; they are available in a wide range of colors; they feel warm in your hands; their surface is smoother than wood but not as slippery as aluminum; they bend and flex and are generally very quiet while knitting.
The Bad: Although these needles are made from organic materials, Swallow casein needles can look and feel artificial; also, because they are only manufactured by one company, availability can be limited.

Balene

The Good: These very flexible knitting needles are made of milk protein and are ideal for knitters with arthritis; they are warm and smooth to the touch.  They have concave points and many knitters really love them.

The Bad: Some people find the plastic texture too flimsy; their availability is very limited, so you may have to order online.

Bryspun
The Good: Bryspun flexible knitting needles are made of a special plastic and are very popular for knitters with arthritis; they are warm and smooth to the touch.
The Bad: Many people find the plastic texture too flimsy; their availability is very limited, so you may have to order online.

Pony Pearls
The Good: These are made of cellulose acetate and come in a wide variety colors.  They have a fairly smooth surface for quick knitting.
The Bad: Sizes 0-8 are reinforced with steel wire, which can rattle around inside the needle while you're knitting and this can be distracting plus the wire adds extra weight to the needles.  Also, although these are cellulose, they aren't as flexible as Bryspun or Balene needles. 


You may think that you'll only need one pair of needles in each size. But, truthfully, you can never have too many duplicate sets of needles. Needles do get lost, and if you like to work on more than one project at a time you'll need plenty of needles standing by.

Six Steps To Designing Your Own Handknits

Just because you're a beginning knitter doesn't mean you can't design your own hand knits.  Here are six steps to help you get started:

1. Make a swatch

The swatch is a sample of the fabric you'll be creating.  Swatching is your friend!  You'll swatch for gauge, of course, but also:

• To test out stitch and color ideas.
• To check how different stitch patterns work together.
• To try out different cast-ons and bind-offs.
• To see how different needles affect the fabric you are knitting.

2. Try out different yarns

You may have some ideas about which yarns will work with the stitch patterns you have in mind, but nothing is more revealing than actually knitting a sample of your stitch patterns with different yarns.  You'll discover that different stitch patterns result in different widths over the same number of stitches and that this will also vary with different fibers - even if the yarns are the same weight category.  Its best to have an idea of what to expect in advance.

3. Measure an existing garment that you really like

Base your dimensions for your design on a similar knitted garment that fits the way you like.  

4. Give in to your knitting preferences

There is no sense in torturing yourself by working with techniques you don't like.  If knitting on size 3 needles and fingering weight yarn makes you cringe, then use bigger needles and thicker yarn!  If you hate seams, knit in the round.  But, if you crave intricate details, love beading, go gaga over cables and really complex lace ... then, knock yourself out, its your knitting after all.

5. Do the math

Ok, so I'm not a fan of math and numbers make my brain feel all melty, but unless you love ripping and re-knitting, you'll want to check your math before you start.  Ideally, you'll want to do the actual knitting as few times as possible, you know, just the one time.

So figure your gauge. Take your measurements. Grab your calculator and do the math. Work out how many stitches to cast-on and where to increase and decrease. Have a bit of faith and start knitting.

6. Write it all down

Even if you're not planning on drafting out a full pattern of your design, give yourself a break and write stuff down!  That way you won't have to agonize over which row you started your shaping or any other tweaks you made as you've been working your design. 

Learn to See Your Stitches, or Read Your Knitting

A couple of weeks ago we considered the difference between a knit and a purl (to read that post, click here)

Learning to see your stitches within the fabric you are knitting is just as important as being able to see them on the needle.  Recognizing the stitches on the needle is like knowing the alphabet, recognizing the stitches in the fabric you're making is like reading ... reading your knitting.  Training your eyes to see, recognize and read your knitting is really important because being able to do this will allow you to see mistakes, see how a pattern should work out while your are knitting it and will enable you to make adjustments and corrections or improvisations as you see fit.  Can you see the stitches in each of the stitch patterns below?

Garter Stitch

Stockinette Stitch

Knit 1, Purl 1 Ribbing

Knit 2, Purl 2 Ribbing

Reverse Stockinette Stitch

The Gauge Swatch

They say its boring, tedious and time consuming.  I say its its a matter of perspective.  Really if you think about it, knitting up a gauge swatch is not an annoying first step that only delays your diving into your next knitting project.  Its an important step that will reveal if that knitting project is really worth your effort!  That little bit of initial knitting is going to give you a whole lot of information.  

1. Your swatch will reveal if you finished project is going to be the right size.
Making a gauge swatch, or a small sample worked in the pattern, is the way to see if your finished work will turn out the same size the pattern specifies. Your swatch will tell you if you are knitting the number of stitches and rows to the inch with the recommended needles called for in the pattern so you can make any necessary adjustments before you begin the actual project.

2. The swatch is a sneak peak of the fabric you will be making
The swatch is a great place to see if the stitch pattern will turn out well and let you know if you even like it!  It's better to find out that you don't like the results of a stitch pattern after making a small sample than after you've spent 5 hours working on it.  

3. You can decide what adjustments, if any are necessary.
Changes in gauge or tools can insure that your project ends up being the correct size, or gives you the look you were expecting.  A swatch will allow you to make changes to asses how you like the drape, texture and suitability of the fabric for your project. Nobody wants a garment that looks "slightly off", even if it was a gift. It's better to find out ahead of time if the fabric will work for your interned project by making a sample swatch.

4. You can determine if the care instructions for your yarn are accurate
There is no disappointment like pulling a shrunken project from the dryer. Before risking the fruits of your labor based on the recommended care instructions, try them out on your swatch.  Better to sacrifice a small sample than the whole thing.

5. The men in your life don't really want pink boxers ... trust me on this one!

A lot of care labels state the item can be washed with like colors. That may, or may not be true.  Here it is prudent not to trust the label without proof to back up its claims.  Soaking your swatch is a good way to see if your garment will be colorfast. Check to see if any dye bleeds into the water. Using your swatch to test how to properly clean and care for the finished object will let you provide the applicable care instructions when giving the item as a gift.

6. Will give you a sneak peak into a new relationship ... with the yarn, that is
Yarns have different characteristics and usually will not reveal how those features will act in an actual project while the yarn is innocently wrapped in its hank, ball or skein. Making a sample will  let you know if your new yarn find is suitable for a given project. 

As you can see, not all of the reasons for making a gauge swatch have to do with number of stitches or rows to the inch.  Although that information is critical, if you want your project to come out the right size, most of the reasons for making a swatch have more to do with evaluating whether or not the yarn and project will satisfy your overall expectations.  

What's all That Knitting Speak Mean?!

When you're just starting out learning to knit some of the language can be confusing!  Here is a list of common terms to help you out:

• Bind Off In Pattern
  Generally this instruction is given when you have been knitting using a stitch pattern. Work the bind off row in the same stitch pattern that you were knitting, binding off the knit stitches knitwise and purl stitches purlwise.  Even if the directions don't specifically tell you to bind off in pattern, you should do so, this is a small detail but adds a professional touch. 

• Decrease Or Increase Evenly
  Sometimes a pattern will tell you where to decrease or increase across a row; other times it will only tell you the number of stitches to decrease or increase and to do so evenly.  This just means to space your increases or decreases across your row instead of placing them close together.  If they're spaced too close together, it can cause your knitting to pucker and flare. 

• Keeping To Pattern (Or Work as Established, Or Maintain Pattern)
  If you knitting a stitch pattern, you'll just follow the instruction for each row as long as you keep working over the same number of stitches. If there is shaping involved, like on a sleeve or neckline, you will need to pay attention to how the increases or decreases affect the stitch pattern.

• Multiple Of Stitches
  A stitch multiple is the number of stitches you need to have for one complete repeat of a stitch pattern. A multiple of 5 stitches means you should cast on any number of stitches that is divisible by 5. A multiple of 6 + 1 means you should cast on any number of stitches that is divisible by 6 plus 1 extra stitch.  The extra stitches are sometimes border stitches, or necessary to balance the stitch pattern within the overall design.  Knowing the multiple of the stitch pattern you are working with is very helpful, especially if you are modifying the size of the project you are working on.

• Reverse Shaping
  Almost all cardigan patterns will give you complete instructions for knitting one front and then tell you to work the other front to correspond reversing all shaping. It's cruel, I know, but we can persevere.  Basically, what you are doing is mirror imaging the shaping instructions.  Graph paper is very helpful when you're working this out. 

• Selvedge
  You will also see this word spelled selvage. All flat knitting has a selvedge on each side. It only means the first and last stitches. If it's something that will be seamed, these are the stitches that will be used to seam the piece together.  Your selvedge stitches can be decorative if they are not going to be incorporated into a seam.  

• With Right Side Facing
  This means to have the outside, or public side of the fabric facing YOU.  Often this direction is given when you are about to pick up stitches along an edge but you may see it at other times too. 

• Work Even
  You'll often see this term following a sequence where you just completed increasing or decreasing.  It just means that you will continue working over the next section without any more increasing or decreasing.  

And we also have these terms that were originally used by knitters on the internet, but now have become common knitting language:

CAL	Crochet-A-Long. See KAL
FO	Finished Object.
Frog, Frogging	To undo knitting to go back to correct a mistake by removing the needles and ripping the stitches out. From the sound a frog makes - ribbit ribbit sounds like rip it, rip it. See tink.
Frog pond	To remove the needles and undo knitting all the way. To recycle the wool from a half knitted project to use in a different project. eg: I've sent the sock that didn't fit to the frog pond and I'm going to make a scarf from the wool.
Halfpint	Have A Lovely Fantasy Project. I've No Time.
KAL	Knit-A-Long. See CAL
LYS	Local Yarn Store.
OTN	On The Needles. A current knitting project.
SSS	Second Sock Syndrome. After having finished one sock it becomes dificult to go on and finish the second one to make a pair.
Tink, Tinking	To undo knitting to go back to correct a mistake stitch by stitch. Tink is knit spelt backwards. See frog.
UFO	UnFinished Object
WIP	Work In Progress

Mixing It Up Some More ... Easy Knit, Purl Combinations

So when you've gotten to the point that you can easily recognize a knit stitch or purl stitch, then its time to try some more knit purl combinations.  There are thousands of stitch patterns to try out and going through pattern stitch collections will provide plenty of inspiration.

Barbara Walkers collection of stitch dictionaries are a great resource when you want to start practicing different stitch patterns.



If you are very visual, you might want to take a look at:

Here you will find lots of colorful pictures of the different stitch patterns in this dictionary and a pretty good explanation of chart reading.



If you are eager to try a simple knit, purl stitch combination, here is an easy basket weave baby blanket pattern for you to start with:

Finished Measurements:

Approximately 24 ½ x 27 ½

Materials:

•  600 yards worsted weight yarn

•  One 29 “ long size 8 circular needle 

•  Stitch Markers

•  Row counter

Note:  You will be working flat, the circular needle is used to accommodate the larger number of stitches

Gauge:

In basket weave pattern, using size 8 needles:

19 stitches and 32 rows = 4”

Pattern Stitches:

Seed Stitch (multiple of 2)

Row 1:  (RS) *k1, p1; rep from * to end.

Row 2:  knit the purl sts and purl the knit sts.

Repeat row 2 for seed stitch pattern.

Basket Weave (multiple of 8 + 2)

Row 1:  (WS) Purl.

Row 2:  k2, *p6, k2; rep from * to end.

Row 3:  p2, *k6, p2; rep from * to end.

Row 4:  Repeat row 2.

Row 5:  (WS) Purl.

Row 6:  p4, *k2, p6; rep from * to end.

Row 7:  k4, *p2, k6; rep from * to end.

Row 8:  Repeat row 6.

Repeat rows 1-8 for basket weave pattern.

Abbreviations:

k = knit     p = purl     rep = repeat     sts = stitches     WS = wrong side     RS = right side    

  

Directions:

Bottom Border:

Cast on 116 sts.  Do NOT join, work back and forth on circular needle in seed stitch for 2”.

Blanket Body:

(WS) Work in seed stitch across 9 sts, place marker, work row 1 of basket weave pattern over next 98 sts, place marker, work in seed stitch across last 9 sts.  Keeping first 9 sts and last 9 sts in seed stitch pattern, repeat rows 1 – 8 of basket weave pattern over center 98 sts until piece measures 25 ½” from the beginning, finishing with row 5 of basket weave pattern.  Do NOT bind off.

Top Border:

(RS) Work in seed stitch across all sts, removing markers.  Continue in seed stitch until top border measures 2”.  Bind off in pattern.

One Stitch - Two Stitch, Or, I can't tell what's what!

After you've learned to knit and purl the next step is to combine these stitches within the same row.  One of the most common stitch patterns combing knit and purl stitches is ribbing.  I my classes, the point of making fabric in a ribbing pattern is to learn to see the stitches.  When you are first starting out, seeing which are the knits and which are the purls can be confusing.  Also, when you are making ribbing, you're often told to knit the knits and purl the purls.  This is so you don't have to think about what comes next in the stitch pattern, just see what is on your needles - if its a knit, knit it, if its a purl, purl it.

This image of knit 1, purl 1 ribbing shows how the knit stitches resemble a letter V and are sitting vertically at the base of the needle, while the purl stitches look like a bar, or dash lying horizontally across the base of  the needle.

Notice the loose stitch at the beginning of the row ... it is a purl stitch.  Watch out for that guy, he often tries to roll over the top of the needle and pretends to be two stitches.  If you don't see the stitches you could easily fall for this and unknowingly add extra stitches you don't want.

Being able to see the stitches is critical when it comes to recognizing when things aren't going right and also to finishing your knits.  Seeing which are the knits and purls is really helpful when you are weaving in your ends and when you are seaming.