What Kind of Needles Should I Use?

Pro-Tip Tuesday

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As a knitting instructor, I get this question all the time. There’s no single answer to this question, rather, it triggers a barrage of questions of my own:

 Are you a loose knitter or a tight knitter?

• A loose knitter may be better off with bamboo or plastic – something with a bit of friction

• A tight knitter may prefer metal, to allow his or her stitches to slide more easily

What kind of yarn are you using?

• If you use a slippery yarn, like silk, you may be happier with a “grippy” needle.

• If you use a grippy yarn, like wool, you may be happier with a slick needle.

What are you making?

•  I nearly always recommend circular needles to people knitting anything wider than a scarf (or hats, socks, gloves, you get the picture).

What have you used before? Did you like them?

• If you learned with 14” long metal needles and were comfortable with them, by all means, keep using them, unless you really want to try something else.

•  There’s no reason for a beginner to buy needles in a range of materials, unless you really want to. It’s more important to spend your knitting money on yarn and on the correct size of needle

• Inevitably, if you keep knitting, you’ll have all the needles. Trust me.

Pro-tip Tuesday: Another Reason to Swatch

I am so on my soapbox about swatching. It not only crucial for ensuring your projects fit. It is also a truly knitterly thing to do. It allows you to get to know your yarn, your gauge and the type of needle you want to use. Finally, you can use a gauge swatch to estimate the yarn requirements of your project.

First knit your swatch and measure it. In addition to gauge, you will want to calculate the area of your swatch. For those of you who haven’t studied geometry lately, it is length x width = area (in square inches in this case). Then weight your swatch on an accurate digital scale, such as the type bakers use. When you know how much the swatch weighs, you can calculate how much yardage you have used, based upon the weight of the swatch. If the skein of yarn weighs 50 grams and it has 87 yards, a 4 gram swatch uses 7 yards of yarn.

How did I come up with this number? I like to say that knitting requires a great deal of lower mathematics – algebra, geometry and the occasional dash of trigonometry may be called on to help you complete your project

In this instance, I figured out that:

 4/50 = x/100, or 8%.

Then I multiplied 87 yards by .08 (8%) and got 6.96, rounded up to 7 yards. Ok, so what? Well, our mythical swatch also had an area of 6 x 6 inches or 36 square inches. So, 36 sq. in. of knitting uses 7 yards of yarn and 5 sq. in. uses 1 yard. If I were planning a 60 inch x 60 inch blanket, (3600 sq. in.) I would divide 3600 by 5, getting 720. Therefore, my blanket would require approximately 720 yards of yarn.

I would go ahead and buy at least 800 yards in order to ensure that I have enough of a matching dye lot to complete my project (and that is a sermon for another day).

7 Reasons You Should Learn Knitting Now

“Oh, I’d love to learn someday.”

People say this to me all the time when they see me knitting. But you know what life is. Someday often never comes. The summer is actually the perfect time to learn to knit. Vacation travel offers great downtime that can be enlivened by a portable project. Knitting can alleviate the boredom and frustration of weekend traffic and long airport waits. Plus, the following 7 benefits.

1. Experience the joy of creation. The 21st century “knowledge worker” can spend weeks or months expending their energy and creativity on projects that never reach fruition or, even if they do, are highly intangible. Making stuff is a powerful antidote to the resulting feeling of emptiness.
    

2. Express yourself. Madonna said it. But really, why wear mass produced clothes in colors and styles dictated by the fashion industry. You do you.
    

3.  Calm the f*ck down. The repetitive motion of knitting has been scientifically demonstrated to induce relaxation by slowing the breath and the heartbeat, thereby reducing blood pressure and the production of stress hormones.
    

4. Knitting lessons in June = gifts in December. Handmade gifts are meaningful and unique, provided, of course, that you actually master a skill before attempting to make gifts. No one wants that first uneven scarf or pot-holder, not even your mom, whatever she may say to you.
    

5. Keep your mind sharp by learning new things. As we age, most of us are drawn more and more to doing only things we are good at. It is mentally and spiritually healthy to be a beginner again. Further, you can actually form new pathways in your brain by learning something new. And learning knitting lets you wind up with new clothes – a win-win.
    

6. Be productive while you binge-watch Netflix. Admit it. We all do it. Alleviate the guilt by making stuff. Even a beginning knitter can do simple projects while glued to “Game of Thrones.” Plus, there’s knit inspiration to be had on TV.
    

7. Join the artisanal movement. All the cool kids are brewing kombucha and beer, growing their own pickles and fabricating their own computers. Don’t be left out.