Double-Pointed and Fixed Circulars

Here's where you can post feedback and questions about our double-pointed and fixed circular needles.

If you have any problems with your needles, please contact Knit Picks Customer Service at 1.800.574.1323. Thanks!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Knitterly Good on December 4, 2008 at 11:42pm: I will have to buy the Magic Loop booklet and try it. If I could get my socks knitted that fast then this will be the method I'll use. Thank you for you help on this!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Elianastar on January 18, 2009 at 12:57am: I find that laddering is eliminated if I always remember to pull that first stitch tightly as I "switch sides"... if I forget, there can be a bit of a ladder. It is least noticeable with ribbing, most noticeable with stockinette.

My only experience with small circular knitting has been with the Magic Loop method and I love it. I prefer a longer cable... the more I have the better. I will be learning to "herd double points" but mostly because I want to learn to make lace, and I understand some lace work requires or works best on DPNs. I do, however, insist on wood or Harmony needles because they aren't as slick as the metal ones, which I normally prefer.

StarLysandra
Portland, OR; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by KnittinNana on November 18, 2008 at 8:55am: I love my harmony needles! Have you ever considered making dpns in 5" length for sock knitting?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Knit Picks Admin on November 18, 2008 at 9:11am: Close - we're going to get Harmony wood 4" dpns in stock in 2009!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Susan the Blue Lake Knitter on November 18, 2008 at 5:19pm: Wow! If I still used dpns I'd buy a set or two, but I've given up dpns for Magic Loop. I haven't found a pattern yet that I can't use this for. When I need an extra needle for something special, I just pull out a spare needle tip, and it works fine.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on January 18, 2009 at 7:10am: As you know, I do my socks and sleeves with two circs. There is one thing that I still like dpns for: I-cord. You can do it on one circ or even two regular needles, but it's so much faster with dpns. I find I-cord boring (what the Sticks and Strings guy calls "black jellybeans), so I want to get it done fast. I don't think it would work with just a tip. I use them for cable needles as well. I like to stick one end down into my knitting until I'm ready to knit the sts off it. In a pinch, though, I would try a spare tip. Thanks for the tip! :-} (Pun intended, as always!) BTW, I even do circular lace shawl centers with 2 circs. --Peggy; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by KnittinNana on November 19, 2008 at 7:39pm: WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I want all the sizes!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Elianastar on January 18, 2009 at 9:48am: Would these be better for working glove fingers? I suspect so, in which case, thank you! Once I get well underway with the Sweater Workshop Knitalong, I plan to join the Glove Knitalong, and I would like to try some tipless fingered gloves.

Do you have an ETA for the 4" DPN series? I doubt I'll be looking into them much before March or April 2009.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Elianastar on January 18, 2009 at 1:00am: I've not made any socks yet, by any method. I will want to try some DPN socks, although I'm certain I will prefer Magic Loop method because I've already made a number of gauntlets and hats that way.

What is the consensus on using DPNs for socks? Longer or shorter length? I would think longer ones would help minimize lost stitches, but perhaps there are other considerations that outweigh that?

StarLysandra
Portland, OR; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on January 18, 2009 at 7:19am: I don't think they have to be the long ones. The shorter ones seem to work fine. The one thing I would suggest, though, is to start out with Harmony or bamboo. The nickel-plated ones are slick and heavy, which helps speed up your knitting once you're experienced, but they slip out of the sts easily. Imagine: The phone rings, you toss down your knitting to answer it, only to come back and find a bunch of loops waving at you in the air. (Definitely NOT Magic Loops at that!) This can be really scary for someone just starting out. The wood gives the sts a little traction, and being lighter, they aren't as likely to want to see what it's like to lie on the floor. You can always use those dpns later, after you've learned Magic Loop or 2 circs, for making I-cord, which is much easier on dpns, I think. --Peggy; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Elianastar on January 18, 2009 at 9:45am: Yeah... I've already done the math on the physics between bamboo/Harmony and nickel-plated DPNs! LOL! I used Addi turbo circulars exclusively until I found the Options nickel-plated BECAUSE they are slick and slip the stitches so well. But, that isn't what I'd want if I were "herding double points"... I don't think ever, for me personally. I think I'd have to have used DPNs an awful lot to prefer slick over sticky and given my affinity for Magic Loop, that's quite a ways down the road.

BTW, the KnitPicks cables are the BEST on the market for working Magic Loop! I use my Addi circulars almost exclusively for afghans and back-forth flat knitting projects now, which means they don't get near as much use as they used to! I use no "stick" needles because of tendonitis in my wrists and elbows... using circulars keeps the weight off my wrists and often makes the difference between being able to knit and not being able to knit. Besides the lower cost of the KP cables, I prefer the interchangeables so I don't have to buy so many needles! MUCH more cost effective and so much more flexibility... pun intended! LOL!

I ordered a set of Harmony DPNS to do the DPN section of the Sampler for the "Sweater Workshop" Knitalong. I would have preferred bamboo but the size I want is still backordered, so rather than continue to wait for stock, I decided this would also be a good time to give the Harmony needles a spin. Let's just hope "spinning" isn't my experience with them! LOL! I've already had visions of "loops waving" at me with horror on my face!

I've master the Magic Loop technique, but I do have a sense that a confidence level with DPNs is worthy of the time to develop... I'm sure there are things, such as I-cord, for which DPNs just make a lot more sense. I also invested in some 24" fixed cable Options to try two circular socks, though. Haven't made any socks, yet, but once I start trying those I want to try a few different techniques to see which I might prefer.

So, this is one vote for shorter DPNs of the bamboo or Harmony variety... good to know. I did order the longest ones for the Sampler project. I figured it would be a really brief project, so not likely to matter one way or another. I will eventually get a set of the sizes I use most often... so guess I'll keep the shorter length in mind when I do that. Thanks!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by lilahcakes on December 23, 2008 at 6:24pm: Ok, Im super new to knitting we are talking newborn baby new. I want to knit sock and mittens , the directions to the patterns say to use double pointed needles , but So many people like to use circulars and i think i would , im worried that as a newbie I wont be able to figure out how to use the circulars when the instructions show how to use dpns. So any advice on what to order would be great.
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