Need 18" or longer single point needle or?

#1

I squeeze one needle under my right arm when knitting, so I can’t use circular needles because their needle parts are too short. I have a cardigan pattern that starts at the collar and expands towards the shoulders and arms, so I either need very long single point needles or circular needles that have at least 12 inch needle parts so I can fit it under my arm. I can’t find circular needles like that and the longest single point needles I found are 16 inch. There are larger needles but for much bigger sizes, I need US size 7. Is there any other way to convert a regular needle into a circular needle? Thanks, Sanem

#2

You can make your own. Get a wood dowel that would be about a size 7, cut it to the lengths you need for a pair, sharpen the ends and smooth with some fine sandpaper, and put a stopper on the ends.

#3

Knitting with circulars can be awkward at first, but once you get a feel for it it’s really much more comfortable. Most of the weight of the weight of the object can rest on the cable.

Interchangeable circulars can be made to use as straight needles sort of… you put the cable and one needle on the end and use an end cap.

This is what the sample set looks like for the sets many of us have.
http://www.knitpicks.com/needles/TRY_IT_Needle_Set__D90589.html

#4

Thank you so very much to both of you :slight_smile: I will try the wood dowels for this project and I may try to befriend the circulars starting with a smaller project. I did check the interchangables but those needles are also too short for me.

I must confess that I don’t know how to follow a pattern so I can’t yet post a few lines from it. I learned knitting from my mother who always had an amazing eye to guess and create as she knitted. I’m not as good as her so I have to learn using patterns.

#5

You can use a pencil sharpener to make the points.