What are everyone’s favorite interchangeable needle sets? And why? I have Knit Picks Options that I bought almost 20 years ago. They work great…except the plastic part of the cable pops out of the metal part, and there’s no fixing that. TIA!
Best interchangeable needle set
I bought an Addi Click Lace set when I changed from straights about 10 or 12 years ago after a lot of research taking into account factors like cost, availability, replacement availability for any parts that could be faulty or if I needed extras. With the Addi’s I like that there’s no ‘key’ to join the needle to the cord a, better for my aging eyesight and I like the sharpness of the lace tips. The cords are a bit of a pain in that they DO NOT relax, but you adapt to it, same for the join snagging with certain weight yarns. Everyone recommends buying Chiaogoo, but they are very expensive and there are many more equally good brands out there to choose from.
I think it comes down to personal choice ultimately, do you prefer knitting with wood, plastic or metal, which style of fastening will work for you with interchangeables or do you prefer fixed circulars. Do you want a sharper or blunt tip.
Lots for you to think about, a lot of homework for you to do lol
Good luck
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I can’t say I have a favourite as I haven’t tried more than one brand. I have a lykke set which I like although sometimes I prefer my budget bamboo straights and fixed circulars because they are more grippy, the lykke are very smooth and slippery.
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I use Knitpro Symphonie interchangea, they are wonderful. Not cheap, but have lasted me well apart from the day when I trod on one and being wooden it broke. Quelle surprise! The pins do have to be tightened with the little gubbins but a safety pin works just as well. I find they don’t come undone in the middle of knitting so none of that irritating snagging. The big plus is the really good variation in wire sizes.
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I seem to gravitate to Knitter’s Pride, the US version of Knitpro. The tips and cables are interchangeable with Knit Picks sets. My first interchangeables came from Knit Picks and I still use and enjoy the Sunstruck tips. I find the Knitter’s Pride brand seems to be better quality and I prefer their cables. Knit Picks honored the warranty for me until I got tired of using it and bought a set of comparable Knitter’s Pride tips to replace the defective Sunstruck tips and will do any future replacements with Knitter’s Pride. I love my Nova Platina and Zing sets too. Knitter’s Pride, Knit Picks, Lykke, and other brands are all clones of the same basic design and the pieces are interchangeable.
If a cable that won’t stay together is your main concern you can see if the warranty on your set applies. If you’re in the US check out Handsome Fibers for more cables or to try a set of tips. I like the Knitter’s Pride cables in colors. I now think of what color cable not in terms of length to use. lol If you’re looking to buy a new set be sure to buy from a seller who can and will honor the warranty. Nobody wants to get cheap crap masquerading as the real thing and be stuck with it or to find that they bought from an unauthorized seller and so the warranty is worthless.
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Thanks all! I’ve been trying to figure out where I bought my set from, but I can not find it in my email, which is killing me!!! I know I bought them in 2007…so I’ve definitely gotten use out of them! I’ll let you know what I decide to get.
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If that happens call KnitPicks and tell them what happens. Usually they will send out a replacement for it with out charging you for it. I had one of the wooden neddles break of right where the medal join was. I called and told them what happen and they asked what size and what wooden one it was and they sent me a replacement needle with out charging me for it.
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Oh! Good to know. Thank you!
I prefer stainless steel or nickel-plated circulars because they knit faster. Chiagoo and Hiya Hiya are wonderful because their cords have absolutely no memory. The problem was that the metal needles poked my fingers (esp. Hiya Hiya) and caused them to go a little numb. So I thought I’d try the wood needles when I was ready to buy a set.
I received my first set of IC Set needles tonight!–Knitter’s Pride Dreamz Symfonie Wood Deluxe. They are not as speedy as the metal circulars and there was some memory in the cord that I used, but they are pretty smooth and they don’t poke my fingers. I used the included cord key to tighten the tips after attaching them to the cord and I haven’t had any problems with the join coming apart.
I’m on the fence though: I miss my speedy Chiaogoos AND I actually like the clicking sound of metal knitting needles (apparently this bothers some people. one woman’s music is another woman’s annoyance I guess).
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I love my Lykkes! I switched to the ChiaoGoo bamboo for a couple of years, because of the wonderful red cables that don’t kink, but didn’t really like the abrupt transition from cable to needle in sizes above 4 or 5. It was often hard to slide the stitches up past it. Then I found that Lantern Moon now has very similar cables that work with Lykkes, so I’m back to those. The cables are quite pricey, but I was willing to go with it because for me the Lykkes are perfect for most things. They are slightly more slippery than the ChiaoGoo bamboo also, so I can go a little faster.
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One thing I didn’t consider when choosing needles was the colour of the needle and the colour of the cable. My Lykkes are pink needles and pink cables (because that set was on sale, no other reason) but I bought an additional blue needle which came with a black cable. For me the blue and black aren’t a great colour to see my stitches on as I like dark colours, the pink cable is good for seeing dark stitches. Maybe it doesn’t matter for everyone, or maybe it does. If I worked with a lot of pale and pastel colours I’d like the dark cable. May be something to consider when buying a new set.
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Wow so many great opinions! Thank you!