I would like to buy some double pointed needles to make socks. Can someone give me some advise about what size is used most? I notice size one or two is popular. Also, what length is best? 6 or 8 inch? Thank you for your help, I was looking on the knitpicks site and got confused.
There is [I]no[/I] “best” it’s what works best for you personally. Some people like metal, others wood. If I’m going to use DPNs for socks my preference would be 5 inch bamboo. Absolutely no more than 6 inch and even that’s really overkill IMO. That being said…I don’t do socks on DPNs usually, I usually use two 24" circular needles.
The size of the needles depends on the yarn weight. For fingering weight I usually use size US 1. You want socks done at a tighter gauge so they are sturdier.
I use DPNs for socks- I use 5" length. I really like bamboo and I have a set of rosewoods that I love. The wool tends to stay on the needles when using bamboo or rosewoods - I find that I’m not dropping or losing stitches. Rosewoods are expensive and bamboo is more affordable. I knit loose, so I use a 0 or 1 size needle for my socks.
I generally use a size 0 or 1. I knit socks for a while on old 7" dpn’s until I got my 6" options and it took a little while to get used to the shorter length, but now I like them and I like knitting with 5 needles instead of 4.
Some of the blogs I’ve read suggest that some people are more concerned about the weight of the needles. Options are heavy but I don’t find it a problem. I like the pointy ends for working with fine yarns.
like Jan said, there is no BEST.
i like LONG dpns (7 inch are OK, but i like 10 inch (hard to find!) better.
but now days i knit socks on 2 circ (long flexibe DPN’s in a way!) and use 24 or more often 29 and sometimes 32 inch ones!
some knitters like sets of 4PN’s–some like sets of 5 dpn’s…(i have some sets of 6 DPN’s!)
BEST is what ever is best for you…
and only you know what you like best!
that said, Susan Bates makes a "sock set’ of dpn’s --sizes 000, 00, 0, 1 (5 each) in one package–that retails for less than $10!
Thanks to all of you. I was trying to avoid spending too much on needles I may not use in the future. I think I will look for that Susan Bates set, although if it is not wood, I would have trouble. I think I need wood so the yarn stays put! Thank you all again.
This site has been very helpful to me.
For socks the most important thing to me is length and I like the 5" dpns…really it is all about what you like and are comfy using 
I’m a fan of the 6 inch Inox/Prym metal needles. They are not as slippery as some of the other brands and they have a 2.5 mm size (US 1.5) that I use frequently. I don’t think that they have a 2.25 mm (US 1) size though. They are also fairly inexpensive and come in packages of 5 needles.
Yeah…best for me, is not wood…I have a tight gauge, and I always feel like a wood one is going to snap for me…
I like the knit picks 6 inch sock dpns. I will use nothing else!
I want to try to knit a sock. I type it on google saying what size of knitting needle do I need to knit a sock
.it said size 1 or 2 double pointed needle but I also found out on google that is saying that I need dpn 5 or 6 inches so how do I know where it said 5 or 6 inches?
Size 1 or 2 refers to the US width of the double points. Five or 6 inches refers to the length of the needles. What pattern are you planning on knitting?
I wanna do a biginning pattern for a sock.
It might be best to find a pattern and then see what size needles are recommended. Most sock patterns are for thin, sock weight yarn knit on USsize 1 or 2 needles but there are patterns for worsted weight socks knit on ~size 7 needles.
https://www.kristinbelle.com/socks
BTW 6 inch Inox/Prym metal needles are best’.