knitting | Needles!

kareila posting in

I've discovered that perling isn't actually that hard! The reason I was discouraged the first time I tried it was that I was using shiny metallic needles, which were so slippery that I couldn't pull the loop through. I despaired of ever managing to perl without using a crochet hook. But then I tried bamboo needles, and all was right with the world.

I mentioned this to another knitting acquaintance of mine and she replied that she always knitted on metal needles because they let her knit faster. She wanted her needles as slippery as possible. Whereas I find that bamboo is good for me - not too slippery, but not as sticky as plastic.

So: a poll!

Poll #1656 Favorite material for knitting needles?

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 83

View Respondents

Which material for knitting needles is your favorite?

View Answers

metal
39 (47.0%)

plastic
5 (6.0%)

bamboo
49 (59.0%)

other (specify in comments)
13 (15.7%)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

eledhwenlin

I use wooden needles by KnitPro: http://knitpro.eu/

They are fantastic. :D KnitPro has a system for circular needles where you can switch out the cable - the cables available in different lengths and they are screwed unto the needles. It makes it easy to knit several projects at the same time because you can just unscrew the cable, put that project aside and go on with something else.

From:

doushkasmum

My comment precisely, 8-> Knit pro needles rock! And they are so pretty!

From:

damned_colonial

Note for the OP: http://knitpicks.com/ is the US distributor. I have their metal ones and love them, but I like my needles slippery. But then, I mostly knit with fairly grippy wool. Right now I'm knitting with something a bit slipperier and I've dropped a couple of stitches because of it.

From:

jazzypom

What she said. Knit pro harmonies are pretty. My only bug bear is when you get the bad ones, and they come out of their metallic casings. Bahhh. Aldi turbos are a close second, though

From:

aedifica

Wood or bamboo (does bamboo count as wood? I know technically it's a grass...)

I have some acrylic tips on my circular needles right now and I'm liking them better than metal but not as well as wood. They're grippier than the wood, which is a slight negative for me, but the biggest reason I don't like them as well is they're clear and the way they interact with the light makes it look like I have lint on my yarn! I keep getting caught by that.

From:

yvi

Wood and bamboo - though bamboo seems to break more easily. Yes, I have broken a few needles already.

From:

malka

Huh. For me wood breaks more easily -- I can keep bamboo 0s alive, but Brittany 0s tend to die. It's cool that it's different for different usage patterns.

From:

yvi

Might just be that I preferentially break dnps and my dnps are bamboo :) Though I have managed to break a Knitpick Harmony... however, that was by stepping on it, not while knitting.

From:

zeldaophelia

All three? :D

For me it really depends on what I'm working on. I like metal when I want to knit faster. Wooden for when I'm working on intricate things or teeny stitches (wooden sock needles are a must have for me. While I'm really loving the magic loop for sock knitting, I do have to sacrifice having stickier needles and that means I do have to deal with more dropped stitches than if I was on my regular sock needles.)

I remember trying to knit something cotton, I think, with wooden needles and swearing off wooden for good (it killed my hands). That was before I tried sock knitting. ;)

I also have a set of Denise needles (plastic) that I absolutely adore. They're sort of in-between metal and wood. A bit sticker than metal, but not as sticky as wooden.

From:

catdraco

I'm a metal girl all the way, but I also have the Denise interchangeables (I wanted Knit Picks, but they wouldn't ship to Australia *sad face*) and I really like them. They're much slipperier than I expected, which for me is a bonus.

From:

carynb

For me, it really depends on what I'm knitting. Lacework, I almost always do on metal - I like the sharper tips, and the slippiness is actually a plus. Anything really fuzzy (mohair, for instance), I use metal. Just about everything else, I use bamboo, for the extra grabiness.

From:

gloss

I love metal needles, whether Addi or Inox. The real criterion for me is cable flexibility.

From:

saekhwa

I completely agree. I have circular needles that I purchased from Knit Picks that I love, but I'm thinking about getting Addi since I've heard/read such great reviews about it.

From:

labellementeuse

I go between wooden and metal. The only downside for me is that I break my wooden ones in the smaller sizes (just completely snapped in half my new KP 2.25 mm needles, halfway through the project for which I ordered them... I'll be replacing them in metal for sure.) However, I love the hand-feel of wood and KP Harmonies are the ideal slippiness for me. Broad expanses of stockinette I also like metal, though, as it is swifter.

From:

rainkatt

KP will replace those--I found a snag on one of the size 8 DPNs I got from them, and they sent me a whole new set. You have to deal with their shipping issues, but they're very nice about it.

From:

labellementeuse

Well, I mean, I sat on them? So I'm pretty sure that doesn't count as a manufacturing flaw. :P

From:

rainkatt

HEE. I figured they'd just snapped while you knitting, because I know people that's happened to.

Lantern Moon replaced a friend's, because she LOST hers. I thought that was above and beyond, but they were perfectly happy to do so.

I honestly expected KP to tell me that since I had enough needles to finish my project, I should suck it up and get over it, but they just shipped off a new set to me. I'd asked for one, to replace the flawed one, but "they don't come that way."

From:

labellementeuse

Unfortunately no. I put them down on the bed, got out of bed throwing the blanket over them, got back into bed, put my hand down, and heard a very unpleasant noise. :( I was just kind of glad I was only 10 rows into my project (lots of 1x1 rib and a little lace = not the kind of stitches I enjoy transferring to new needles.)

Lantern Moon sound like class acts, but wow, I can't believe your friend actually asked that! I'm not trying to cast aspersions on your friend at all, but I'd never dare to do anything like that. How cool!

Knitpicks/pro have been good to me as well - I had one that did splinter, and they replaced it (well, my supplier did) without any problems (actually all I had to do was write to the online shop where I got them and she took care of whatever paperwork is required, which was reeeeally good.)

From:

rainkatt

She only lost one needle of the set, and they just sent a new one. It blew me away, because I would have never asked, but I think she just mentioned it when talking about one she'd broken, and how her sets were getting too small to knit with. To be fair, it was at the booth at Sock Summit, so the customer service may have been more than usual. They offered, and it was done--it was shipped to her, because they didn't have any at the booth. On the plus side, she's going to think twice before buying someone else's needles.

I am so paranoid about doing exactly what you did--I tend to move the knitting project to the far side of the bed or sofa, and make sure all the needles are together, and I don't sit down until I know where the knitting is. At least you didn't stab any body parts? ::tries to look on the good side::

From:

linaelyn

Utterly geeky of me, but I read this - I'd asked for one, to replace the flawed one, but "they don't come that way." - and immediately thought of Galadriel's gift of three golden hairs from her head when Gimli had asked for one.

Um, where's that morning coffee?

From:

zats_clear

metal, unless I am knitting with slippery strings or will be mobile with it greatly. then bamboo cannot be beat!

OY, and I totally forgot, I am loving my circulars but have not gone straight since I attempted knitting years and years ago under my mom's watchful (and surprisingly unhelpful!) eye. Perhaps my own personal rebellion?

Edited Date: 2009-11-09 08:35 pm (UTC)

From:

I answered metal, but it varies a little. I have the metal interchangeables from Knitpicks, and I use those most frequently. For dpns, though, I usually prefer bamboo.

From:

snippy

Depends on what I'm doing and the yarn! I like bamboo for smaller sizes (sock yarn, lace yarn), Inox for everything else--I love that slick plastic coating on the Inox needles. I'm not a fan of plain metal, though--I don't like the sound or the feel of them.

From:

rainkatt

Bamboo or wood, mostly.

I have the KP Harmony interchangeable circs that I do most of my larger projects on, and I like the KP sock needles, too. I used to love metal, because I liked the slippiness for some things (plus, I couldn't bend or break them as easily), but I have a severe nickel allergy, so I had to quit using them.

When I was at Sock Summit, I bought a set of Signature Needle Arts sock needles in my favorite size, and while they do slip sometimes if there's only one stitch on a needle, and I set the knitting down, I love, love, love the way I can knit twisty stitches with them. I absolutely adore them, and SNA guarantees they are hypoallergenic. I've had no reaction, so I think they're right.

I also own an old set of Aero Bernat straights, with the coating, and they're OK, but I find that the plastic feel of those and the acrylics I've tried really drives me nuts, but it depends on the yarn, too.

So, for me, it depends on project, mood, and with socks, what's available. I have sock needles in bamboo, the SNA metal ones, and the KP wood set. There may be some other wood ones in there, too... Until recently, I had about five sock projects going at once.

From:

neotoma

Metal for socks, bamboo for cotton, and my rosewoods for lace.

From:

moonpuppy

I use bamboo for everything EXCEPT some horrid plastic yarn that a "friend" bought and wanted a hat knit from it. I had to buy metal circs to get that . . . stuff to move at all.

NOTE: I don't mind acrylic yarn. I'm knitting myself a sweater with some LionBrand Suede that I adore. But this stuff? O.M.G. I'm sure glad I didn't buy the yarn. OTOH, if I had, I would have just burned/melted it. Accidentally, ya know.

But, back to topic, all my dpns and straights are bamboo. Most of my circs are, and more will be when I win Powerball.

From:

ames

I use them all! It really depends on the project and the yarn I'm using; my knit and purl stitches are pretty much the same, but I do find that some yarn on wooden needles slows me down, and other yarn on metal is far too slippery.

From:

to_love_a_rose

To be fair, I've never used anything other than metal needles. I did just buy my very first bamboo needles, but I haven't gotten a chance to use them yet. We'll see.

From:

kieslin

While my first preference is metal, I often use both metal and bamboo depending on the project. All my circs, hooks and cable needles are metal though. I have yet to try wood. I'm usually put off whenever I see the low quality wood needles because it always looks like the stain is going to transfer elsewhere. Plastic is the last resort mostly because they occasionally warp and feel uncomfortable for long periods of time.

I have a set of Denise needles on its way, I can't wait to get my hands on those and try them out. I would love to try out a Harmony set but alas Knitpicks don't ship to Australia. So cheers for the link to Knitpro.

From:

linaelyn

I prefer to knit on wood or bamboo because much of my knitting occurs when I'm watching my kids out at the park in the fall, winter & spring -- metal needles are COLD on fingers! Wood is warm. The texture of knitting on wood is especially delicious, too. Smooth but not slippery.

From:

pinesandmaples

No one has mentioned my favorite needles yet! My guilty pleasure, love them, would mortgage the house to purchase them needles are casein needles in sizes greater than US 4.

Typically, I use cheap metal needles. They make me happy so I use them. I use plastic needles for socks, but only because I found Pony Pearl needles that fit my hands before I found metal needles that fit my hands.