Hi everyone! I am new to this forum and to knitting. I have been teaching myself to knit for a while and so far I have made a lot of plain looking scarfs! I want to learn more patterns and have looked up a bunch, but they all call for tools that I don’t have. I was hoping for some guidance in buying a set of tools I will need while knitting. I only have two sets of straight needles. Sizes 6.0 mm and 9.0 mm. I would like to purchase a set of circular knitting needles because I see that many patterns call for them…but my trouble is, I don’t know what to purchase! Can anyone recommend a nice pair of circular needles that will come in handy and will help me learn how to use them? And any other tools you think might be handy for me! I would greatly appreciate some knowledge in this area! It has been quite difficult teaching myself to knit from a book!
Welcome!
I would suggest investing in a circular needle set with exchangeable tips. Knitpicks.com has a decent set at a reasonable price to get you started. It comes with various length cords and different needle tip sizes.
A circular set is all you really need to start since you can knit back and forth on them as well as in the round.
A gauge measuring device is handy ( http://www.knitpicks.com/needles-hooks-en/view-sizer.html ) , as well as stitch markers and a tapestry needle to stitch pieces together.
Thank you! This is way more useful than the site I was looking at…there were so many options, I simply didn’t know what to do! It seems like a lot of money to me, a poor college student, but I think it will be worth the investment!
Knitpicks also has a Try It set of interchangeables for $15, with several cables and accessories and one pair of nickel-plated and one pair of wood tips. I don’t know what the shipping is like on those. Free shipping doesn’t kick in until you’re buying a whole set.
If you have a big-box craft store around you anywhere, buy yourself a bamboo-tipped circular needle, preferably a 16" one, in…oh, maybe a 5mm size. You’ll use it a LOT for hats and sleeves, and even after you get your interchangeables or your set of multiple bamboo ones or whatever, you’ll still be glad you have an extra to use as a stitch holder, work a sleeve while you’re trying to find that skein of yarn you need for the stripe on the body, etc. Find yourself some scrap yarn and play with it. Yes, play. Experiment with knitting in the round, try knitting flat on circulars, and HAVE FUN. See if you like the way the yarn moves over the needle points. Watch your local Goodwill and see whether they happen to have any metal-tipped circulars you can mess with. See which you like better. Now, bear in mind that what you like about one type of needle will be even better on the good ones. That way you’ll know whether you want the pretty wood ones or the shiny nickel-plated ones, or maybe something else entirely.
I think the Comby set from WEBs is a good idea too. You get to try different types of needles and see which you prefer and you end up with extras of the most commonly used sizes. I got the Try It set from Knit Picks and the Comby set from WEBS and it let me compare the same size needles in wood and nickel plate on the same project so I could really see which I preferred. I went with the Sunstruck set from Knit Picks and then added the Nova set from WEBS later. For me it was rather expensive but buying a set of needles here and a set there, have to have the same size but a longer cable, adds up fast.
Stitch markers that look like safety pins are an absolute must-have IMO. I think blunt yarn/tapestry needles were mentioned too. A crochet hook or two in in different sizes can come in handy.
We have needles here in KH that are wonderful! Go to the shop section.
I’d get the Comby set first to see which needle material you before buy a set.