What kind of needles do you use for knitting a scarf on size 13 needles. I’m trying to do a couple of Misti Alpaca scarfs quickly before Christmas, but the straight bamboo needles seem so slow. I thought 24" circular turbos might do well but the problem is, I have no size 13 turbos and there are none available in my area. Do I just need to keep working along on the bamboos and get over it or try to order some turbos? Do you use straights or circulars for something like a scarf?
Needle?
I don’t use bamboo at all. They are slow as molasses IMO!
However, the type of needle I use [I][COLOR=Blue][COLOR=Navy]depends on the yarn I’m using, [/COLOR][COLOR=DarkRed]not the size of the needle itself.[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[/I]
I prefer ADDI Turbos for single ply ‘splitty’ yarns.
I use KnitPicks nickel plated if the yarn is plied, and especially if the scarf has cable work or lacey stitches.
On the whole, any nickel plated needle is FASTER.
However, a slick wood needle is the KnitPicks Harmony.
It is not as fast as NP, but it is fast enough!
Type and materials of needles is really personal preference. I prefer metal needles and of those I prefer KP Options. I also prefer circular needles.
Thanks ladies for the input. I have never heard of the Knitpicks and will check them out. As a fairly new knitter, there are so many products that I don’t know about, so I just use what my local shop has available–Turbos and bamboo. I’ll check into the Knitpicks and thanks so very much for the info. I get a little more up-to-date if I’m going to stitch, huh!!! 
If you want to keep knitting with your bamboo’s while you wait to get some “faster” needles, get a piece of wax paper, wrap it around the needle and rub, rub, rub. It will make them a smoother and a little “faster”.
I find that bamboo needles mess up my tension. I’m so used to metal and usually nickel plated circulars that when I knit on bamboo they are so slow and the grip so much that my gauge is super tight.
I’m one who likes my metal needles, as that is what I learned to knit on, however they are not necessarily right for every job.
For a scarf, and the type of yarn you are using, metal would almost be a necessity and straight needles, not circular, since a scarf is usually a narrow piece of work. Unless you are knitting a tube scarf, circular would seem more trouble than they are worth for such a small project.
I use circs for small projects, I just use a shorter one. 24" are great, 29" is manageable. I can’t manage straight needles anymore. I think the problem is the yarn/material combo, wood needles aren’t as slippery and that may be what’s needed for this yarn.
Another thing is tension. I’ve found I need a looser tension with larger needle sizes than smaller ones, so that may be part of the problem. Don’t pull your yarn tight when you make a stitch; they need to be able to slide on the needle easily.
Nope, that’s personal preference. Many, many people prefer circular needles even for small projects. We just use a shorter cable. I find them easier on my hands.
I use circulars for everything now. I don’t think I’ve touched a straight needle for probably a year now.
I’ve started using circulars for most everything. I have short arms and straights seem awkward to me–with circulars I can just keep my arms close to me and knit away. Much more comfortable. The only reason I was using the straight bamboos is because the girls at my LYS said they would be best–of course that’s all they had available at the shop right now too :))) I suppose I’ll live and learn the hard and expensive way…
My turbos are currently in transit and should arrive tomorrow. I really like to support LYS’s, but you do what you have to do to get what you need and want. Thanks to everyone for all the input.
Yup, I love my Knit Picks Options and Harmonys and almost exclusively use circs for everything.
I looked at the KP Options and it appeared they only came in semi-small sizes (certainly no 13’s) or the interchangeable kit. I’ve always thought the interchangables would have a rough transition from cable to needle. Can anyone tell me about that? Maybe I looked at the wrong thing. Can someone also tell me about Harmony’s–aren’t they just another (although beautiful!) set of bamboo straights? I must be missing something here…
Same here. Mys traights are burried in my stash. But it is a personal preference.
Same here. My straights are burried in my stash. But it is a personal preference.
The interchangalbe options set only go up to size 11. However you can order additional sizes. I added size 13, 15, 17 to my set and love them. You can also order addition lengths in the cables. The Harmonies are not bamboo. They are very smooth, although not as fast as the nickel plated options. I have had both. I bought the Harmonies 1st as a new knitter. Then I bought the nickels later. I found I used the nickel all the time and bought a 2nd set. I sold my Harmoies to a friend that prefers wood. I sold them so I could fund my 2nd set of nickels. It was diffuclt to part with them.
I find the transition very smooth…no problem at all.
I used to do everything on circulars as well, but I have found since my shoulders froze up a couple of years ago, it was easier for me to use straight needles for small projects and flat work and use DPNs for my works in the round.
When I get more secure in socks and such, I may try using circular needles, but I’m too much of a newbie right now to even attempt such a thing.
What’s a good cable length for making a scarf? 16’s seem a little close, but 24’s sound awfully long…
For flat knitting, 24" is actually a good length; 16" is great for kntting in the round, but the cord is too short for flat knitting easily. There are 20" circs around, they would be good too, but 24s are more readily available.
I agree with Sue. I’d go with 24". It’s more versatile and you get used to it pretty quickly. I like that you can set it down with the stitches in the middle and don’t have to worry about any slipping off.