help me buy needles

[katie9143]

im a new knitter and although i like it, i dont see myself knitting big huge projects for myself. so probably mostly soakers, little pants, hats, mittens, maybe a scarf. all my moms needles are either straight ones or really long round ones, like 30" or so. i know i need 12s and 16" ones, but do they make them interchangeable in those small sizes? i wanted to get size 3,5 and 7, but not in both 12 and 16? i saw interchangeables in longer lengths after following someone elses link in another post...so i think i need help.

thanks

(oh and nak as always)

[flapjack]

I don't know of any interchangeables in sizes that small. I'd suggest you buy needles for projects as you come to them, personally- at least for the smaller circs.

[texaspeach]

knitting with circular needles that short is killer on your hands. you'll want to use double pointed needles or magic loop method (use a very long circular needle to get a smaller diameter, your mom's old needles might work for this) instead.

[katie9143]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

knitting with circular needles that short is killer on your hands. you'll want to use double pointed needles or magic loop method (use a very long circular needle to get a smaller diameter, your mom's old needles might work for this) instead.

someone sent me a youtube video showing the magic loop but it seemed so tricky to me and the fact that i have to set my project down so often to chase dd i decided to buy a small set. i brought the curly purly pattern into the yarn store and the girl there was so nice and she told me that i could just use size 7 for the whole thing (rather than 3 then 5 then 7) and just start out knitting tighter and ease up when i was supposed to change needles. she said that if i decided to knit more of that pattern and wanted it tighter i could try it with smaller needles next time. i think that is a good idea and i was glad to just buy one pair. she thought i might be able to even knit the leg holes with the same 16" needles rather than going back for 12"....i dont know if anyone has even knitted this pattern before and can tell me what they think. they are very small!

[texaspeach]

I make a lot of baby hats, and knitting smaller circumfrences on circs hurts my hands. Ideally the circumference of the item you're knitting is larger than the length of the circular needle. if you're knitting an adult hat with a 20" circumference, you could knit it on a 16" circ, but knitting a baby hat with a 13" circumference on a 16" circ hurts because you don't have as much room.

for the curly purly soaker, it will not be as stretchy if you don't use the different sizes of needles for the ribbing. it should come out the right shape, but the fit is not going to be as good.

[flapjack]

Would one ever want to knit a baby hat with a 13" circumference unless knitting for charity? That's a fair bit smaller than the average newborn bonce- but then my babes are all bigger than average.
I'm going to disagree with texaspeach and say that I think a 16" circ for soakers is worth its weight in gold. I don't get any more handcramps than I do using magic loop, and less since I switched to continental for knitting in the round. BUT I totally agree that the pattern just isn't going to work if you don't use the right needles for it. As a beginner, you aren't going to know how tight or slack you need your tension to be. I say find a different pattern- maybe the punk rock soaker that could be knitted all on the one size needle?

[texaspeach]

When I do ribbing on little hats, I make it smaller than it needs to be because it stretches so much and yeah, charity knitting too.

and maybe my hand cramps are because I have arthritis or something.. who knows.. but knitting small stuff on circs kills my hands.. consider yourself warned, ymmv

[flapjack]

I am (or was) a pianist in my free time, so i have hand muscles to die for Mind, they're the only muscles I ever use, but that could be the difference.

[katie9143]

haha you guys are cracking me up. i am about half finished with the soaker using one set of needles (the 16" size 7s). i tlhink i knitted tightly enough for the waistband. and if its not i will just add a string. i probably will get a few more sizes but i didnt have $25 for needles right now so i just got the one pair.

so i def need a smaller length for the leg holes? or can i use the 16s for that too?

[josybear]

i got a set of single point needles on ebay for a song, then got a set of dpn's for even less, so i splurged on an interchangeable circular set. i really like getting to chose what i want to knit what on every time. now that i know what i use most i might get some high quality needles in just those styles/ sizes, but having all the types and sizes has made life easier as i've started knitting.

[MarisaLoveCat]

matter of fact, i have the same question of choosing the needle sizes. i don't want to invest in unused needles. while we are unsure about the next project on our needles. so a complete set or preferably 2 sets in different types are required.

[motherbirth]

You know, the Magic Loop method is fiddly, but I think it's worth learning. I don't use it that much, but it comes in handy if you don't have the right size needles. Maybe your LYS would have a class, or someoen near you could show you?