When to switch from circular needles to dpn?

#1

I am knitting the Flap Hat on page 14-15 of One-Skein Wonders 101 Yarn Shop Favorites. I don’t know when to switch from circular needles to dpn. It doesn’t say in the pattern or how many dpn to use. It gives instruction for knitting the band and knitting the hat. It then gives instructions for decreasing for the crown. Do I have to switch at this point? I go from 44 stitches to 37. Knit 1 round. Decrease to 30 stitches. Knit a round. Decrease to 23 and so on until I am left with 8 stitches. Is there a set point I have to switch or do I switch whenever it doesn’t comfortably go around? How many dpn should I use?

I am using US 13 circular needle 16” and have size 13 dpn.

Thanks in advance,
Jessica

#2

When your sts no longer fit on the circ without stretching then switch them. You use as many dpns as you have in a set which is 4 or 5; you leave one free to knit with and put the sts on the rest. You can also continue knitting with the circular and one or 2 of the dpns if you prefer that. You don’t have to move the sts from one to the other, just start knitting with one of the dpns, then pick up the next one when that’s about 2/3 full of sts, then the next, etc.

#3

[color="#330099"]Since they are flexible you can use two circular needles of the same size (even if the length is different). Actually a bit longer than 16" is better at the smaller diameter. Use them like a set of two DPNs.

I am slowly building my needle set, two matching circulars at a time. :wink:

I absolutely hate snagging or tangling my yarn on all the extra point the DPNs have sticking out like quills on an angry porcupine. Worse is when the points get me and not just the yarn. :nails:

Two, flexible circulars beats a host of DPNs by two to one or better.
(Yes, the math geeks will agree with that ratio. :wink: )

You also reduce the number of “inter-needle” gaps that you may need to snug up.

Oh, I could go on for a while longer about the glories benefits of using two circulars instead of DPNs but I’ll spare you further verbosity. :oops: [/COLOR]