BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Knitting Knitting needles

<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> lucky you!

I learned to knit on circulars, and still prefer them. They just seem tidier to me. I hate the way the other end "flops around" on singles, and double points just make me nuts! I'm forever dropping stitches!

One of the nicest and most-used gifts my husband ever gave me was the Boye NeedleMaster set of circulars. Now I kind of covet bamboo circular needles and the Denise set, but I'd feel disloyal to my sweetie!

I tried the circular needles but my wrists started hurting really bad.

I thought you had to cast on all the way around on circular needles. I don't know anyone who uses them...

You do Samten. You might like to take a look at the videos on www.knittinghelp.com, they'll show you how to use circulars.

Do you knit with the yarn in your left or your right hand? I knit with the yarn in my right hand and sort of balance the circular needle against my thumb to steady it while I flick the yarn round it with my index finger. I'll try and get a photo taken of how I hold my needles. I got shown how to do it one day when I was sitting in a hospital waiting room and an older lady saw me struggling with my circular needle and showed me an easier way. I tried it and it worked.

I also hold my needles under the palm of my hand, not over my hand like a pencil as I've seen in the knitting videos! This is probably because I was taught by my great aunt who held her long straight needles from under her hands with the knobs tucked under her elbows. Gives you a lot more control than letting go of the needle each time you make a stitch.

I voted straight and circular.
I prefer to use straight needles but occasionally need to use circular especially if I'm going to have numerous stitches on the needles that wont fit as well as circulars do.

Becky, I've had all those sets, and ended up selling them all and sticking with Addis. The Boyes (I might have had a bad set) all had sticking-up parts at the joins, so my yarn was always snagging. The Denise were OK but the tips were rather blunt, and also, having the thicker plastic connecting cord made it hard to slide stitches along the length of it. And the bamboos wear down way too quickly. I'm holding out for Brittany to start making circs!

Several years ago they had a note on the "news & notes" section of their website stating that circs were on the way, but I notice they still don't make them, and the news note is gone. Oh well...

Donna

Straight except when nothing but circulars will do. I find myself having to "untwist" the circulars.

I agree, I love my Addi circulars and Inox straights. I must say I do wish the manufacturers would have "beta testers" to let them know of potential problems with items they make before releasing them on the public.

If they just wouldn't twist! Anybody have tips on how to keep that from happening?

Cat Bordhi suggested in her socks book that you hold the needle cord above a hot kettle for a couple of minutes and it certainly worked with my Addi's, though I can't vouch for any other make.