Knitting Needles

Knitting Needles sizes

When you choose a project to knit, the pattern will tell you what size needles were used to make the piece. In the United States, needles commonly range in size from 0 to 35, with 0 being the smallest and 35 the largest. In other countries the metric system is used (for a handy conversion chart, check out this page).

In a perfect world you could read a pattern, pick up knitting needles of the size mentioned and just start knitting and everything would turn out fine. But every knitter knits a little bit differently. Some people knit very tight, while others have stitches that are loose.

To help ensure that your work turns out looking (and fitting) the way it is supposed to, your pattern will also include a gauge measurement. Gauge has to do with how many stitches fit in an inch and how many rows knit in pattern make an inch or four inches. The pattern may say something like 12 stitches equals four inches in pattern on size 10 needles. That means if you knit 12 stitches and 12 rows in whatever pattern is used in the pattern on size 10 needles, your swatch should measure four inches.

If you don’t get four inches, you’ll need to change the size of your needles and knit another swatch. If your piece is too small (you need fewer stitches per inch) use larger needles. If your piece is too big (need more stitches per inch) use smaller needles.

Depending on how tightly or loosely you knit, you may need to adjust a couple sizes up or down to match the gauge of the pattern. Don’t skip this step. If you’re knitting a sweater, using the wrong sized needles will ensure that your finished garment won’t fit right. Gauge is less important on projects like scarves, but if you are way off from the pattern you might end up with a really skinny or incredibly wide scarf. Not the end of the world, but not what you were planning for, either.

Knitting needle composition

Knitting needles are made out of all sorts of materials. The most common and widely available are aluminum and plastic. Aluminum and plastic are used to make inexpensive needles in a wide variety of sizes.

Wooden needles are also popular. They are often made of birch or bamboo, but can also be found made of rosewood, cherry or other hardwoods. Some people prefer wooden needles because of the feel of the needles and the fact that they don’t click like aluminum needles. Others prefer aluminum and plastic because they are smooth and quick to knit on.

A newcomer to the knitting needle scene is casein needles. Made from a protein in cow’s milk (not vegan friendly), these needles are said to make for smooth and effortless knitting and are very light. And some places make glass needles, if you want some needles that will really get noticed.

When you are first starting to knit you will want to try needles made of many different materials to find out which feels best to you. There’s no right needle to use with a particular yarn, so use what you like and what you can afford.

"Shapes" of Knitting Needles

Needles come in three varieties: straight, circular and double-pointed. Straight needles can be used for most projects: scarves, bags, small blankets, wraps and ponchos, even small clothing items that are stitched flat and sewn together, such as sweaters and tank tops. Most people start knitting on straight needles, and you can do a lot of projects with them.

Circular needles are two points attached to a (usually plastic) cable. The cables come in different sizes, and some companies sell interchangeable needles where you can buy a set of ends and a set of cables and make a variety of needles out of the same set. Circular needles are used to make tubes, such as hats, sweaters or bags without side seams. They are also useful for large flat projects such as afghans or scarves stitched horizontally, because the cable can hold more stitches than a straight needle and the project sits in your lap rather than off the end of one needle, causing less strain.

Double-pointed needles are short, usually aluminum, needles with points on both ends. They are mostly used for making socks. You could knit your whole life and never need a set (usually four or five are sold together), but if you want to make socks this is the way to go.

Storing Knitting Needles

Once you start building your collection, you will probably wonder what to do with all the needles you aren’t currently using and how you will tell what size the needles are after you’ve lost or thrown out the packaging.

Straight needles can be stored in a roll, which is basically a fabric pouch with dividers sewn into it to hold the needles. You can buy these or make one yourself. Just slide the needles in and roll the whole thing up, and you’ll have all your needles in one place. You can tell what size most straight needles are by looking on the end of the needle (opposite the pointy end).

Circular knitting needles are more difficult to kept track of. You could make some wide pockets in your needle roll to curl the needles up in, but it probably won’t roll nicely after that. If you buy an interchangeable set, they will come in a storage box that holds the cables and has special notches for each of the needle ends.

If you buy individual circular needles as you need them, you may also have trouble keeping track of what size they are. Circulars are sold in pouches, so if you can keep the packaging you’ll have a nice way to store your needles as well as a way to tell what size they are. Circulars often have their size printed on the metal part right before it joins the cable, but this rubs off easily.

To keep double-pointed needle sets together, use a zip-top sandwich bag. Write the size of the needles on the outside.

The best way to tell what size your needles are is to invest in a gauge ruler. This little metal ruler is much more portable than a standard ruler or tape measure, so you can carry it around in your bag to measure gauge swatches, but it also has holes that correspond to the size of most common needle sizes. Just slide the needle into each hole. The one that it fits snugly in tells you what size needle you have.

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