mummy knit knit

Needles: Circular

I have been quite fortunate in my collecting of various needles! When I first began knitting, there was a wee shop by my house that was closing up. All of  their needles were 50-75% off (as well as their yarns etc, hence why I have a good yarn stash already) As well, I would trawl the local charity shop for donated yarns and used needles.

For a Holiday gift, my husband purchased me a rather large sum gift certificate for Never Enough Wool, as well as a bamboo needle set in every size. He also spoiled me to oblivion by purchasing a set of Brittany Birch needles to compliment some Malabrigo as a stocking stuffer.

Needless to say, I’ve got a lovely and sizeable collection of needles of all types. Thru this I’ve learned what I do and do not like and what needles I prefer to use for what. Looking at the basic structure of the needles, I have narrowed down a significant preference to my bamboos and definitively my Addi Lace Turbos.
In my opinion, these are the areas of needle that make the largest difference.

Joint between cable and needle

If a joint is bulbous or ridged in anyway separate from the cable, it can be SUCH a pain. If you’re a tight knitter, good luck with a large ridged needle in slipping your stitches up onto the needle from the cable. It can make such a difference to switch to a needle with a smooth transition, such as with the Addi’s. Out of my 4 varieties of cable needles, I find my Clover Bamboo’s the most challenging in this department.

Needle tip and body

Some needles are pointier then others. If you’re working with a REALLY splitty yarn or loosely plied yarn, you may need to consider which you would feel most comfortable knitting with. Generally I like a pointier needle such as with the Addi Lace Turbos (the brassy colored one) I do like working with bamboo when working a bulkier loosely plied yarn. Another consideration is simply the weight of the material the needle is created from and the surface texture. Addi Originals (the silver)  are extremely slippery in a way I compare to ‘Jell-o’…figure that one out..? The Addi Lace have slip with a touch of a matte surface, providing what seems to be grip along with the slip. Bamboo provides slippage, lightweight, easy navigation. The plastics…sadly to me, feel like knitting with sticks and not in a good way. I never use them..so can’t really speak much to them. They just generally feel sooo awkward compared to the others in my collection.

Cable

I’m crazy picky about my cables. I want them to be thin, extremely flexible and the longest possible. I find plastic needles and bamboo needles carry the most RIGID cables. (Perhaps this could come in handy when doing a project requiring that the needle keep to its own self and not get looped around itself easily.)
So far, I am loving my Addi Lace Turbos for their FINE cable and significant flexibility.
(I check pliability of a cable by how well it twists up or pinches together with little or lots of resistance)

Overall, you probably pick up a strong tendency towards the Addi Lace Turbos within my writing. As a New Knitter, they have provided me reprieve from all of my frustrations I’ve had with cable needles in my short knitting past.