Yarns and needles

#1

Morning…I have some questions on yarns and needles. Is there a place, chart or book that tells what yarn to use with what needle. And are the wooden and bamboo needles just a preference? Or do they come sized different. I bought some wooden needles for my daughter… she got bored… and restarted my knitting experience with them, then got some aluminum and am having a hard time useing them… they slip all over.

I bought some new self pattern yarn from Senstations and its a 88 acrylic and 12 nylong… and have no idea what the yarn ingredients mean for a project… or if this yard is recommended for a certain needle. 11 oz 4 medium 312 grams It is such a small ply its so hard to see on the needle… and it has bumpy parts… so some cast on looks very thin and some thicker I have to go count stitches to make sure I didnt mess anything up.

So I guess this is 2 questions… yarns and what they are good for… and needles
Cheri thanks

#2

Alot of times on the yarn labels it will suggest the size of needle…but you may have to change needle size to get gauge (listed on the patterns). The type of needle is all on what you like if you do a search for needles you will find lots of results. I prefer Knit Picks Interchangeable sets, they seem expensive but really in the long run save you money (instead of having to buy all new and separate needles). I have tips from all their sets and use them for different things…if the yarn is slippery I will want to use their Harmony Wood set, if the yarn is kinda grabby then I will use the Nickel set, if I’m wanting a lighter needle then the Zephyr set. Again it is all personal choice and what you like.

As far as yarn choices go again this is personal taste. You will use yarns that you love and then come across some that you dislike…which Sensations yarn did you buy? We may be able to give you some patterns that it would work with…

#3

This chart should help you with what needles are [I]generally[/I] used with what weight yarn. It’s more to classify the yarns into a weight range as some patterns may use larger or smaller needles that are normally used with a yarn to get a looser or denser knit.

#4

It says Rainbow Boucle patterns… self pattern Boucle… yes it did say needle size on back… but assumed it was for the pattern I didnt read that was on the inside. It says 8 5mm, then 4 " x 4 “” then 24 R and 16 stitches…now that I read it it says the pattern is using an 11 (8mm) needes… … so if the 8 is whats recommended… then why is pattern in an 11…just waiting for my brain to convert from crochet to knit… I know this is easy… just isnt clicking…

cheri
thanks for your assistance I will check the set you recommended

#5

thanks to all the responses ahead of time… and post time… This is so awesome.

Cheri

#6

I think that pattern says to use 2 strands of the yarn. That’s why you’d use a larger needle. The 8 is not really the [I]recommended[/I] needle size, so much as it’s telling you that’s what was used to get 16 sts and 24 row over 4 inches, which is called ‘gauge’. As I mentioned above, it’s more to show what weight class a yarn fits into. In this case, it would be a worsted weight. I’ve used up to a size 10 and 10½ with this yarn; I don’t knit tight but like a loose stitch than you get with a size 8 needle.

#7

Okay… now that makes sense to me… on the label stuff. I will make sure to look at that more closely now.

I was thinking of doing 2 strands… was not following pattern on the package… just wanted to make a simple knit purl…k2 p2 scarf with it or somthing along that line… maybe seed stitch I seen on the website. Or a bigger needle… I think my wooden ones may be a 6 or 7

Thanks again
Cheri

#8

To answer your more general question:

Needles are supposed to be in standard sizes, either in US sizes (the smallest are several zeroes and the biggest are double digit numbers), or UK sizes (the reverse sizing method of the US), or millimeter, which is the measurement of the diameter of the needle. So if you get 3 pairs of needles and they are all a size 2 US (which is size 12 UK, or 2.75mm) and one pair is made from aluminum, one from bamboo and one from plastic, they should all be the exact same size. However, because of the way yarn grips or slips on different materials, and an individual knitter’s style, they may produce different results. Also, which yarn is used. The general rule of thumb is that you should use a grippier needle (say, bamboo) for slippier yarns and a slippier needle (metal) with grippier yarns.

There is also the factor of personal preference. I cannot stand to knit with plastic or acrylic, but some people love it and will use nothing else.

The different types of needles- straight, circular and douple pointed, are used for doing different things, and again, personal preference comes in here, as well. If you have long enough cords on your circulars and use something called Magic Loop knitting, you can actually knit any size of flat or round knitting. I personally do not like ML at all, and so I use DPNs for small tubes, such as socks, mittens and cuffs. Some people use their circulars for all flat knitting, but some prefer to use straights for that.

As others have said here, to get the correct gauge, use the size needle that works for you. I usually go down a couple of sizes to get the correct gauge-- I’m a very loose knitter. But I have a friend who is a tight knitter and has to go up 2 sizes. In patterns, they’ll give you a needle size and that’s really just a suggestion. (If they give you more than one size, you do need to use 2 sizes, because they want a tighter and looser knit for different parts of the project.)