Knitting Needles

Straight, circular or double pointed?

Straights have a point at one end and a stopper at the other, and knit flat pieces in rows: scarves, blanket strips, jumper panels. The Prym children's needles are 17 cm, because a child cannot control a 40 cm needle.

Circulars are two tips joined by a flexible cable. They knit hats, sleeves and seamless jumpers in the round, and plenty of knitters use them for flat work too. On a blanket the weight of the fabric rests on the cable in your lap, not on your wrists.

Double pointed needles knit tubes too small for a circular: socks, gloves, mitten thumbs and the crown of a hat. Prym sells them in sets of five (2 to 4 mm at 15 cm, 5 mm at 20 cm), Aero in sets of four at 1.5 mm and 3.75 mm.

Bamboo, metal or plastic?

Aluminium is the fast option. Stitches glide, which suits cotton and acrylic. The catch is slippery yarn: silk, bamboo viscose and shiny acrylic can slide straight off. If stitches keep dropping, a bamboo pair in the same size will grip better.

Bamboo has a faint grip, so stitches stay where you put them. It is warmer to hold and flexes slightly, which sore hands notice over a long session.

Plastic and synthetic earn their place at big sizes, where metal gets heavy. The Prym plastic circulars run from 8 to 15 mm and stay light. Prym Ergonomics needles are synthetic with a triangular body, so your fingers have something to hold.

Which cord length?

For knitting in the round, choose a cord a little shorter than the circumference of the piece, so the stitches reach round without stretching. Roughly: 41 cm for hats and sleeves, 61 to 80 cm for most jumper bodies, cowls and large hats, and 91 to 120 cm for shawls, blankets and magic loop. 80 cm is the length most knitters buy first.

Fixed or interchangeable?

A fixed circular is made in one piece, so there is no join to work a stitch over. An interchangeable system lets one pair of tips cover every length: screw the tips onto a cord and swap when the project changes. Each system takes its own cords. Clover Takumi tips fit Clover cords from 41 to 120 cm, and Prym Natural points fit Prym connecting cords from 40 to 150 cm. The Prym Natural set holds 8 pairs of wooden points from 4 to 10 mm with cords at 60, 80, 100 and 120 cm.

Check each tip is tight on its cord before you start. A loose join catches the yarn.