New needles

Purely in the interests of research (my story and I'm sticking to it), I've been trying out some new needles.

These circs came from The Knitting Zone. The metal ones are made from stainless steel; the others are resin-soaked bamboo and both types are nice and pointy, have smooth joins and come in size 2.25mm which is good for knitting socks.

I'm a bit of a fan of flexi needles. These came from Scottish Fibres and they're made in Germany from either rosewood, ebony or bamboo. I haven't had time to swatch anything with them yet, but they feel very promising!

Comments

[E-J]

A clueless novice writes: "Hello Jan. Is there a reason why you'd choose circs over DPNs for knitting socks?"

[Wibbo]

I like knitting socks on 2 circs - using DPNs feels like grappling with a hedgehog!

[Sue]

Are those flexi needles seperate ie. look like two ends of circs - but not joined? They look intriguing.

I too prefer two circs - or as I've just learnt - my first magic loop - I like that too. To me dpns are more like porcupine quills than hedgehogs:)

[Wibbo]

Yes, they're like half circs - each one has a short needle, a cable and a button thingy at the other end so the stitches don't fall off. Good for scarves and shawls where you're knitting back and forth rather than in the round.

[Judith]

The flexi needles look like the Pony total needle system which I also like for shawls and scarves and general back and forth knitting as I find them easier than long straights. They have a black coating which is great for speed but the sad thing is they seem to be not distributing them in the UK or Europe any longer, just the USA. You can find them on e bay so I think I wil try some from Scottish Fibres now.