Review written by Candy Bailey, knitting instructor, and blogger at Coffee & Wool.
When I began knitting a little over 10 years ago, my teacher bought me a set of size 8 Takumi straight bamboo needles, and I'm convinced most of us that have started knitting in the past decade probably started on those needles, others started on aluminum, some on plastic. Those sticks with capped ends got us through those first projects, and either made us or broke us as knitters.
Then, inevitably we begin to get adventurous and begin to look at projects that require a size other than an 8 and we start buying our own needles, and find that materials and options are endless. Bamboo, wood, plastic, carbon fiber, straight needles, circular needles, interchangeable sets, double pointed, and on, and on, the options can get a little intimidating. But we get over it and eventually find the combination of materials and needle type that fit our own knitting styles the best. Then we all eventually get adventurous again and start find what preferences fit us best depending on what we are actually knitting or to fit yarn preferences. I'm sure you get the idea by now, we can be a fickle band of people when it comes to the bits of sticks we work with.
Over the years, I've been trying to assemble my own master set of workhorse knitting tools, and with the arrival of a surprise gift yesterday think I may have filled the stable, with virtually every size I could need. Am I saying I will never buy another set of needles again? No, of course not.
Picking out needles boils down to personal preference more than anything, but here are a few options to consider if you are on your own mission to build a master set of tools.
My personal preference has led me to appreciate interchangeable sets, tons of options, plenty of cables, all wrapped up in a cute little package that's easy to keep all the bits organized. After switching to circular needles, I use straights once in a very blue moon.
The ChiaoGoo 4" Twist set is a stellar set for someone that's getting serious enough about knitting to invest some cold hard cash. This package comes with a lot of bang for the buck with stainless steel needles ranging from sizes 2-15, a wide range of cable lengths, tightening keys, end stoppers, needle gauge/ruler, and stitch markers, pretty much everything you would need to start any project. I've owned this set for a little over two years, and have put a lot of yardage on it. The points are sharp, making them great for lace work, or yarns that have a tendency to split. Being stainless steel, I think they are less slippery than aluminum, but still slippery enough that yarn will move easily for tight knits, and the tink tink of metal hitting metal doesn't seem to be as loud on steel. The cables are flexible, and have "no memory" they can stay wound up in the case for months, and will lay flat as soon they are pulled out of the case, so there is no frustration caused by a cable wanting to stay curled or not move freely. The joins where cables and needles meet are smooth and stay connected well. It's a very rare occurrence when I can feel the cable beginning to loosen up from the needle, but always in ample enough time that I can pull out the tightening key and set things right again. If I could recommend one set of interchangeable circulars for a knitter looking for their first set ChiaGoo Twists are it.
Now on to the newest addition to the knitting arsenal, a surprise gift, and what I fondly call knitting porn because these needles are bee-you-tee-ful, it was love at first sight when I saw them at Yarn Rhapsody. These are the Lykke Interchangeable Circulars. Even though the ChiaGoo set is extremely versatile, wood has a very different feeling to them, as odd as it sounds they feel alive and feel warm. As soon as I was off work yesterday I switched out the ChiaGoo set that was in my current project over to the these just to see how they felt, and yep, birds sang, the sun rose, and love happened. But like I said wood needles are a different monster from metal ones. This set ranges from sizes 4-17 and comes with cables, tightening keys, and end stoppers. The cables are a little less flexible than the ChiaGoo cables but it's barely noticeable. The joins are the same size from 4-17 which I think is a plus. This set is made of birch and stained to look like driftwood, they are very smooth but "grippy" stitches aren't going to slide off this set unless you intend for them to but the yarn moves on and off of them well. These are functional pieces of art, which I will use quite often, but they probably won't be my go-to-set for more advanced pieces. These are great and gorgeous, but a set that may not be the best option for a newer knitter.
And last but not least, double pointed needles make it into the discussion, and this set is the Knitter's Pride Karbonz. Personal preference has left me making socks and small toy knits on DPNs instead of circulars. This set ranges from sizes 0-3 in groups of five for each size. After snapping a few wood needles or finding flaws that caused snags while working, and loathing metal DPNs (tink scrape tink scrap ughhhh sound) I thought I would give these a shot and went all in on the full set, and didn't regret it. The body of these are carbon fiber, the sharp tips are nickel-plated brass. So you have the benefit of a sharp metal point where you need it, the grip of wood in the body, and Herculean strength. The size 0s can be used without fear of them snapping like little toothpicks in your hands. When you break a needle mid-project and drop a bunch of stitches broken needle phobias develop instantly.
No matter what type of needles you prefer, my greatest recommendation is get the best you can get within your budget, like most tools, the better the quality, the longer it will last. Claudia can order any of these sets for you if they aren't already in stock.
