Knitting Question

[wannaduacentury]

I prefer the non bamboo circulars( I love bamboo straight needles though). I have a pair and they drove me crazy. Had the same problem, too crinkly-twisty wire, hard to shift yarn, said the heck w/ it and bought metal/aluminum Boye /Susan Bates etc ones, much better. You can use 14" needles, your work will be crowded that's all. I did a shawl last yr on circulars, ended up w/ 143 stitches across( a triangle shawl w/ fringe) turned out great.

http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/...ngleShawl.html

Jennifer

[KnottedYet]

I use all bamboo needles. (Clover brand) I've never had one catch on my yarn. Can you use an emery board to smooth out your needle?

Oh, but I had a pair of lovely turned black walnut needles, those were my non-bamboo needles.

I've never use circulars, I always use straight needles. And I use the arms of my rocking chair to help when I knit, but I knit left-handed Norweigan style, so I'm weird anyway.

(actually, I lost custody of my knitting bag and knitting chest with all my needles and snips and cable needles and stitching needles and yarns and other goodies in an ugly "divorce". I am somewhat despondent over the loss, but I have a good yarn shop near me, and I've bought one new pair of Clovers already.)

Yes, you can jam all your stitches up on a straight needle, no fear.

[salsabike]

When I get a new pair of circular needles (metal) I get out the big baking pan, put the needles in, and pour very hot to boiling water in there, let them soak for 5-10 minutes. Uncoils them pretty quickly. Your knitting will not stick on metal circulars, either. I use metal if I want it to move quickly. If the yarn itself is very slippery, I'll use wood or bamboo. And I'm pretty converted to circular vs. straight now.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I knit pretty snugly too, and when I use bamboo needles it is too annoying to always have to push the knitting along on them. I like plastic or metal needles for that reason- the stiches just slide along nicely by themselves.
I do shawls on circular needles. Make sure the connecting length is long enough. I like Addi Turbo metal circulars- my knitting zooms along on them and they can hold a huge shawl if necessary. They ARE slippery at first in the hands, but after an hour or two you get used to them and then no more problems keeping them held properly.

I used to feel self concious about my "snug" knitting, even though I didn't feel it was tight or too tense. But then a girlfriend who has worked in several museums dealing with ethnic antiques and old textiles told me that my knitted socks reminded her of the nice firm knitting she's seen in traditional european old knitting examples, and how she wish her knitting wasn't so "American and loose". After that I liked my own knitting more!

[Kano]

I've never use circulars, I always use straight needles. And I use the arms of my rocking chair to help when I knit, but I knit left-handed Norweigan style, so I'm weird anyway.

Norwegian style?

Nothing weird in the left-handed part, but what's "Norwegian Style" knitting???

Karen in Boise

[Duck on Wheels]

In Norwegian style knitting you hold the yarn (sometimes several strands of different colors) stretched over an outstretched index finger on the "from"-needle hand (left for me, but I guess if you're knitting left-handed it might be the right). With the "to"-needle you kind of crochet each stitch by hooking the needle around the the yarn from the front or back (depending on whether you're doing a k or p stitch) and pulling through. I've never really mastered this and knit the way I learned in the States just 2 sweaters before my first visit to Norway -- i.e. holding the yarn in my "to"-needle hand, steadying the needles together with the "from"-needle hand mid-stitch, then wrapping the yarn around the needle with the "to"-needle hand before pulling it through the stitch. People who have mastered the Norwegian style are much faster than even masters of the US style. There's also a French style, I've observed, where the "from" needle is kind of planted under your arm. French knitters are super fast at that.

But back to the original question -- go ahead and scrunch the stitches together. And it doesn't matter whether you tend to knit tight or loose. Just be sure to knit up a test patch and check how many stitches and rows you're getter per 4x4-inch block, or however they state the gauge in the pattern (stitches per 10 cm, stitches per inch, inches per x number of stitches, or whatever). If your stitches are smaller than the pattern is based on, then try a larger needle until you get the right gauge. If they're bigger, then try a smaller needle. That way your knitted product comes out in the size and tightness of weave the pattern illustration has led you to expect.

[Offthegrid]

I triple the vote for the Addi Turbos. Once you knit with these, you will never want to use another needle again.

[kaybee]

Ladies, thanks so much for all the great advice. I went to another craft store last night and bought metal, circular needles. Didn't even have time to take them out of the package last night, but will experiment over the long weekend. I will be sure to try the baking-pan-and-hot-water method suggested by SK to uncoil the nylon. I feel much more confident now! Thanks again.

KB

[Kano]

Kaybee, I think you'll love the circulars, especially as your project gets heavier and heavier! I've gotten very fond of them over the years -- got rid of most of my straight needles long ago, when I stopped knitting for a while, and haven't bought any of that kind now that I'm getting back into it all again.

My newest circular needle experiment -- socks done with what's called the "magic loop" method, where you use a very long circular needle. I like it LOTS, especially for the socks I've been making for my two month old grandson!

Karen in Boise

[margo49]

Yeah, Lisa that tight British and colonial knitting is particularly obvious in the fishing jerseys and guernseys. The wool had to have a wind-breaking effect as well as being warm in the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Roaring Forties . None of this arty farty loose knitting on big needles that gets you finished quicker. Even the yarn was thin (4 ply at most). I can remember my grandmother thinking my mother was being lazy using Double-knitting (8 Ply) on our jerseys (sweaters) as children.
Oh, Duck-ie ; I have seen that round-your-finger thing. It is soooo inelegant.

Arrgh... this is making my fingers itchy