I have arthritis in my hands, and would like to know what needles you knit with, that make acrylic yard glide easily over the needles.
Please tell me what needles you’ve found that make it less painful to knit.
I use straight, or double-pointed, or circulars. If a company makes silky smooth needles in all of those types, that would be nice, but not necessary.
I use mostly acrylic yarns, and some of those get caught on wooden and even on Addi needles.
Thanks for any help.
Sorry to hear you have arthritis.
Have you tried stainless steel needles? I have not used any yet but I’ve read they are very smooth. It could make casting on and the first few rows more difficult if the stitches are prone to fly off too easily but once you’re past those couple of rows it may help. If you liked them you could always cast on with a stickier needle then swtitch on row 3 or 4.
I was actually thinking of trying some very long straights for lever knitting, either under the arm to support the working needle or with a knitting belt. I’m not convinced I’d suit the belt but my knitting style is close to lever kntting anyway. Apparently it is a good style for reducing knitting pain.
I was browsing some used needles on ebay, I just realised how many unwanted needles there are in the world! I might get some used stainless steel just to try them out.
Addi Turbo and similar needles are slick and work well with all yarns including acrylic. They have a nice surface that’s easy to hold and work with.
It can be difficult finding the right combination of yarn and needles but so kind of you to knit for charity despite the arthritis.
I have a complicated (for me at least) cabled vest on the needles currently. I’m using Knitter’s Pride Nova Platina and they work just fine for me. I find that how I knit makes a huge difference. I minimize finger and hand movements as much as possible. People don’t believe that I can knit Continental using Norwegian purling and not use my fingers much. ‘Normal’ continental purling cramps my fingers and makes my hands hurt to the point I almost gave up knitting. You might look at how you could change some movements to help. For the record, I couldn’t knit English right handed to save my life. I should add that while my hands seem bad to me in comparison to others I’ve got it great. I wish you the best in resolving this issue. Facing the possibility of giving up knitting was a horrible thing for me.
Have you tried compression gloves to help with hand pain? They keep your fingers warm but you can still knit, and many people find them helpful.
Good suggestion. I don’t think I could knit while wearing them but many do. I wear wrist warmers a lot. It seems if I keep my wrists warm my hands and fingers bother me less. Seems weird.
I use Knit picks rainbow interchangeable. If I am knitting in the round, I use a smaller needle on one end. This allows the yarn to slip off the needle with very little friction. I am currently knitting leg warmers, using a 4.5mm and a 3.5mm, and it is easier on my hands.
If you are knitting flat, you could use use 2 cables and 4 needles, with different sizes on each end, making sure you are always knitting with the larger needle.
I also have very arthritic hands, particularly thumbs, and I find Knitpro cubic interchangeable circular needles very comfortable, they rest easily in your hands. Hope this helps Jenny
What brand of lightweight knitting needles?
I’ve seen the cube-shaped needles, and wondered why that design was made. they do help?
That’s interesting, I’ll give that a try.
Thank you!
I knit English style, maybe that’s a problem for my joints. I’m so old, I almost don’t feel like learning something new, but in order to continue knitting, maybe I should look at some Norwegian purling videos? Knitter’s Pride Nova Platina: I found some at Ayarna.com, for a good price, the description says they’re smooth and lightweight.
Interesting. Lever knitting. I found several websites explaining it. How long would those straights be?
Yes, ebay has a lot of great bargains, Etsy does too, but you have to look harder on Etsy. 
Jenny, are those the same as addi pro Rocket 2 Squared?
Norwegian purling works with the yarn held in the left hand. I think if you search cottage knitting as well a lever knitting you might find some tips.
I can’t offer comment on English style knitting since I can’t do it. I’m sure there are ways to ease the strains associated with any style. I had to figure out my own ways of coping. If the Knitter’s Pride needles interest you you might try one set of needles or a circular before spending a lot of money. If someone you know uses needles that look the same (like Knit Picks needles) maybe you could test a pair; they should knit the same. Do be sure you purchase any needles from an authorized dealer who can and will honor the warranty. I use Knitter’s Pride because I had quality issues with Knit Picks and the cables fit both brands.
The longer needles are either 35cm or 40cm. The length can be wedged under the right arm (high or low depending on comfort) either in the armpit (it is also called pit knitting) or between arm and body lower if more comfortable, or can also be wedged into a knitting belt. The knitting belts cost around £50 - £60 which might be a bit pricey to buy just for a trial run. You can use long straights for under the arm or dpns for either under the arm or in the belt. The dpns can be used for flat knitting if you prefer to work back and forth rather than in the round.
I think the main brand used are Addi as the set of dpns comes in 5 needles. I think they are generally aluminium which is much lighter than steel and are supposed to be very smooth. I have seen stainless steel on amazon and eBay, I have read stainless steel are very smooth but I do think they will be a bit heavier. I am no expert and never used these, I’m just sharing what I have been looking at. I was thinking of trialing some. When my mum taught me to knit she would often say I could tuck the right needle under my arm but I never understood why that would be worth doing and instead I went with supporting the right needle on top of my thumb crook. Irish cottage knitting, English parlour knitting, lever knitting, pit knitting, different names and almost the same technique. Where I live this is the common way of knitting.
Do you hold the right needle under your right hand (this style suits the knitting belt more I think or wedged lower against the body) or with the right needle over the top of your right hand (suits lever or pit style wedged higher)?
It’s also possible to hold the left needle almost vertical with lever knitting and some people wedge the left needle between their legs, it still needs to move but it can take weight off the left arm/shoulders/hands. I have mine pretty much vertical and I get somewhat annoyed that I bought lots of circulars as the needle tip and cable doesn’t offer support, stitches for this method glide more freely on the straight needle too. There’s a video of Stephanie Pearl McPhee lever knitting where you can see the left needle early vertical and the right needle wedged and when she demonstrates her style for short dpns or circulars, that’s how I knit.
I have recently been getting RSI in my right thumb due to working 2 colours for stranded knitting, the yarn in my right hand is no problem whatsoever, no strain at all there, but my second colour I hold in my left hand, continental style, and this requires my right thumb to move and manipulate the right needle to pick the stitches for the continental colour yarn. So, for me continental style causes more pain problem. Unfortunately I don’t think what works well for one person will necessarily work well for another and we all have to find our own way. I do have some faith in the knitting belt and the pit knitting styles as traditionally they were used to reduce strain for the traditional industry knitters. But probably the same can be said for every style in the countries where they developed as they would all want to be efficient and industrial.
I don’t trust etsy, I’ve seen so many fake items and breaches of copyright on there that it has put me off the entire site. EBay I don’t mind for used things, I’m not expecting customer care. Amazon for larger sets of budget needles, not expecting follow up care on those either. Or else a well known brand from a knitting shop to get the customer care.
I hold my right needle under my right hand. Throwing knitting, I think they call that.
What is RSI?
I did find some stainless steel needles, and am looking forward to trying them out. I do have a pair of wooden needles, either Knit Pro or Knit Picks, they are pretty smooth to work with.
Sorry, RSI is repetitive strain injury. It’s painful but not like arthritis. A mixture of resting and stretching, and just time, will it help it recover. I just did too much colour work and the continental side is what cause it. I don’t know for sure the long needles will help with avoiding this in thnfuture but I feel its orh a try for me.
I really like the knitpro/picks basix beech wood but I thought in general wood was stickier than metal.
Let us know how you get on with the steel. I hope they help. Someone here(sorry I forgot who) posted a video of an amazing woman who had one arm and explained how she had managed to continue knitting with one arm. I think she had a knitting belt. Impressive.
There’s a gal in my weekly knitting group who had a stroke at age 36. She knits with one hand, and cranks out more than the rest of us combined! Definitely an inspiration!