Knitting turns yarn into fabric using loops strung between two needles, producing everything from sweaters and blankets to gloves and socks. The needles themselves make more difference to the experience than most people expect.
Material
Bamboo and wood grip the yarn slightly. That friction means fewer stitches slide off, which is why they are the right choice for beginners and for slippery yarns like silk and bamboo. They are warm in the hand and quiet.
Metal is fast and slick, with sharper tips. Better for lace, where you work several stitches together and need a fine point, and better for anyone who finds wood too grabby. They are cold at first and noisy.
Plastic is inexpensive and light, which matters in very large sizes where metal or wood would be heavy.
Most knitters end up preferring one and keeping a few of the others for specific jobs.
Type
Straight needles are what most people picture. Fine for small flat pieces.
Circular needles are two tips joined by a flexible cable. They work in the round, and they also work perfectly well flat – and for anything large they are better, because the weight of the fabric rests in your lap rather than hanging from your wrists.
That single point is the most useful thing on this page. A great deal of knitting-related wrist and shoulder ache comes from holding up the weight of the work on straight needles.
Double-pointed needles work small circumferences – socks, sleeves, hat crowns – in a set of four or five.
Interchangeable sets combine tips and cables. Excellent value once you know what you knit, wasteful before.
Size
The size printed on a pattern is a starting point, not an instruction. It is what gave the designer their gauge, and your hands are not their hands.
Swatch, measure, and change size until your gauge matches. More stitches per inch than the pattern means go up a size; fewer means go down.
Sizing systems differ between US, UK and metric, and the UK numbering runs the opposite way to the US. The metric measurement is the only unambiguous one – use it where a pattern gives it.
Tips
Sharp tips for lace and anything with a lot of decreases. Blunter tips for plain work and for splitty yarns, where a sharp point splits the strand.
What to buy first
One pair of bamboo or wooden needles around 5mm. Add sizes as projects need them.
Buying a full set before knowing what you knit means owning a lot of needles you never touch.
