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PICK YOUR POISON


Okay everyone gather round for a little lesson about needles.

The first thing to know is that there are many different kinds of needles. My personal favorite are bamboo needles but there are also needles made from aluminum, steel, wood, plastic, glass and casein.

Bamboo needles are nice and porous so they hold the yarn in place when your knitting. This can be a good or bad thing it just depends on your taste. The bamboo is flexible so the needles work with you as you knit and don't feel so cold in your hands like metals do. This is especially nice if your knitting somewhere cold...like outside waiting for a bus...or in Alaska.

Aluminum needles cost very little and and the most common needles that you'll see in craft stores. The stitches will slide very easily across metal needles...sometimes too easily. Trying to knit a sock on aluminum double needles may make you want to do bodily harm to yourself and those around you.

Steel is very much the same as aluminum except that they cost a bit more.

Wood needles can look very pretty but can cost you quite a bit. There is nothing special about them besides looks. If your thinking about getting wood needles save your money and buy bamboo instead.

Plastic needles...what can I say. They aren't cold like metal, but the yarn doesn't slide across as smoothly (almost as smooth but not quite). They can be fairly inexpensive, but sometimes they feel cheep when knitting.

Glass needles can be some of the most pretty needles and most funky needles that you will ever see...and can also be some of the most expensive.

Last but not least are needles made from Casein. What is casein you might ask? Casein is made from a milk protein, because of this some knitters have lost their needles to pets looking for a snack. I do not advise trying to eat them yourself because I've read that they have a weird taste. Aside from that they have a nice smooth feel to them and are flexible to work with.

THE END IS IN SIGHT!

Finally, you can knit with single-pointed straight needles, double-pointed needles and circular needles.

Single point have (no surprise here) a single point at one end and a bulb at the other end to keep the stitches from falling off. They generally come in two sizes 10in and 14in.

Double point are generally used for knitting in the round (things like socks) and have no bulb to hold the stitches on the needles, instead you can knit with either end of the needle.

Circular are two needles connected with a flexible plastic cord on which stitches can be safely held. You can knit in the round on these needles or you can knit flat objects.

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