Needles!

[kareila]

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%)

Comments

[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.

[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.