Circular needle help!

#1

AH! I just got my first pair of circular needles today!

I’d been avoiding them for sooooo long, because they terrify me (along with DPNs!) but I broke down and got US9s, 32-in, because it was all I could decide on.

I have NOOO IDEEAAA how to use them. The video posted on the site doesn’t make sense to me, sadly. I’ve learned how to do basically everything else from this site, I can’t believe I can’t learn this one!

So. Can anyone help? Explain it in writing instead of video, maybe? Any help would be most appreciated!

#2

Maybe you should get used to them by knitting flat first. The shorter needles may be hard to switch to if you’ve been using 10" straight ones. Just cast on about 30 stitches and knit back and forth for a few rows, turning at the end of each row like you do on straights. After you’re comfortable with them, you can cast on about 100 stitches and join by spreading the stitches out so the stitches stretch out from tip to tip. (if they don’t reach all the way, CO another 20 or 30) Take the tip with the first st you cast on in your left hand and the end with the last co stitch and the yarn in your right hand. Now, just start knitting as if they were straight needles. Only you’ll go around and around instead of back and forth.

Use some scrap yarn to practice on and get used to it, then figure out what you want to make with it.

#3

Another thing I would suggest is to straighten your wire between the needles. You can do this by dipping the wire in hot water for awhile and then running your index finger and thumb along the wire to straighten it. You can also use a hair dryer aimed at the wire to warm it up and it will straighten. I hear that with the Addie needles you don’t have to do that.
Circulars are not scary! They’ll take you into a whole other realm of knitting.
have fun:X:

#4

32" is a pretty long needle–it will make a big tube when you knit in the round. Good for an adult sweater.

Many of us use circs for all back and forth knitting–no dropping the needle, no forgetting the other needle at home, no couch swallowing.

There are also other techniques–magic loop and knitting with two circs for in the round, that are great to know.

#5

Thanks so much for your replies! I fiddled with it a little last night, and I am well on my way to making a VERY LARGE TUBE. Hooray!

I should probably go and get needles that are shorter than 32in. I tried magic loop and just haven’t gotten the hang of it yet, haha.

Thanks!

#6

You might want to look at the Options set from Knitpicks. Very nice and reasonable when you see how much an assortment of needle sizes and lengths will cost.

#7

I use circs for everything, flat or in the round, they’re not scary. Try getting the Options, or some other high quality needle. If you don’t want to pay alot, go for Inox and Inox Express from Schoolhouse Press.

#8

I’m in looove with my bamboo circular’s! They are really comfortable to me an dI think I learned on them because the metal was always slipping. So, I would say just take everyone else’s advice on how to knit. I think they are very easy to use because they don’t drop and they hold stiches much easy in my opinion. So good luck…
P.S. I’m a new knitter and sometimes we gotta stick together…LOL.