I want to make 2 afghans by Christmas (eek!) but do not know how to use circulars and don’t want to learn right now (time crunch). Is it possible to do a full size afghan (not a lapghan) on straight needles (size 13 or 15) without having to do it in pieces and seam it together?
In my opinion it’s going to take you longer to make 2 afghans on straight needles than it would with a circular needle. There are going to be so many stitches on the left needle that your left hand will probably get very tired and crampy from trying to hold the stitches from slipping off the needle as you work and this alone is going to slow you down. As the afghan gets longer the weight is going to be a problem to deal with…very heavy on the left then very heavy on the right. With a circular needle the weight is more evenly distributed and easier to deal with.
Just casting on with straight needles is going to give you an idea of how dense the stitches are going to be on one needle.
Whatever you decide, good luck with your project!
JudyD
Don’t be scared - circs are super easy to learn to use as straights - just imagine they’re straights, and try to ignore the cord in the middle. switch which needle is held in which hand when you get to the end of a row, just like straights!
good luck on the afghans!!
There are no special techniques for using circular needles as straights. You just think of them as very long straights without the weight and limited space of straights.
You’d have a very difficult time trying to fit enough stitches on a straight to start with, and I agree that the weight would be awful after a while. With a circular needle, you just use the tips as regular needles, switching hands after the row is done, and the stitches can spread out on the cord and not crowd your hands.
You will be better off and a lot happier around Christmas if you do the afghans on circular needles. I am not saying because I love circulars!! (which I do) but because it is a lot more easier on your hands and wrists if you dont have to carry that weight all the time you are kntting the afghans. The weight is not good for your wrists and it usually slows you down. And most importantly as Ingrid said circular needles are just like straight needles there is no special technique involved. If you put down your work in the middle of a row and are confused as to which is the Right needle and left needle all you have to do is find the yarn coming from the skein and the needle on which this yarn is - is your right hand needle.
Yeah, what everyone else said about circs. For a flat project like an afghan they’d be a godsend and learning would be a snap since there really isn’t anything new to learn.
Thank you soooooo much everyone! I will go out and pick up some circulars this week. I’m assuming they make big ones (like 13 straights), right?
When I cast on, do I let the cos go around the wire and up to the base of the right needle, but not ON the right needle (since I’ll be transferring to the right as I knit)?
they can go on the needle…they would have to if you were going to knit in the round because you wouldn’t be able to stretch if they didn’t. As long as you have room on the needle you can keep casting on! (i cast on 300+ stitches onto a 24" needle once for a hat i was making…it was an almost unmanageable number of stitches but it did work!) They make circs in 13s, 15s, 17s, and bigger…
eta…I wouldn’t actually SUGGEST that many stitches for a 24" needle under most circumstances…it really is sort of annoying…lol
You can let them go onto the other needle just so long as they don’t get pushed off the tip.
sue
Oh Please DON’T be frightened of circulars.
I had never ever used them and I just made a spiral scarf on them. I so enjoyed the experiance I bought myself a top of the range set.
Its not hard it just makes the job easier. Honest. Give it a go. Like a friend of mine on here told me you can do anything!! :cheering:
Good Luck.
I just wanted to tell you this because if I
Oh Please DON’T be frightened of circulars.
I had never ever used them and I just made a spiral scarf on them. I so enjoyed the experiance I bought myself a top of the range set.
Its not hard it just makes the job easier. Honest. Give it a go. Like a friend of mine on here told me you can do anything!! :cheering:
Good Luck.
I just wanted to tell you this because if I can do it so can you. :happydance:
Sharon
I’ve been trying to knit a blanket on circs for 6 months, it never works, holes, missed stitches. Ive given up. I don’t have those problems on straights. 
If you prefer straight needles over circular needles, then maybe DPNs is the best solution for you in this case. DPNs can be use for all kind of knitting, not just for working in the rounds. If you just need more width, then just use several DPNs and instead of connecting the last needle with the first, you just turn when you get to the last one.
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