Love to knit? Know your needles

You adore knitting? You really do need to know all about knitting needles to do the best job first time, every time.

Why are there so many kinds and sizes of knitting needles?

Different needle materials are designed to support knitters by helping them handle the yarn efficiently and comfortably, with minimal repetitive strain on their hands. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and they're made from a wide range of materials because each material works best for a different kind of yarn. In fact the choice of often made by feel – what 'feels' best often works best.

What are knitting needles made from?

Knitting needles are made from a wide variety of materials, everything from the ordinary plastic and plastic-coated metal ones we're used to seeing to sustainable bamboo knitting needles, glass ones, even knitting needles made from bone. The more knitting experience you get under your belt, the better you'll understand, instinctively, the best needles for the project you're working on.

Three kinds of standard knitting needles

There are three types of standard knitting needles, each with their own special function, designed for knitting in a specific way. Every needle is classified according to its circumference and length.

• Single point needles, AKA straight needles – This is what we're used to seeing, a plain and simple straight needle with a point at one end and a knob at the other end to stop your stitches falling off. They're perfect for flat knitting, where you work one row after another. You finish one row, turn it round and go back again to finish the next row.
• Double pointed needles, AKA DPNs - Double-pointed needles let you knit tubes of fabric, for example socks and sometimes sleeves. Some people use four or even five needles to knit round in a circular movement to make a tube with no seams. Every row is counted as a 'round', and the final stitch in one round leading directly to the first stitch of the next round.
• Circular needles – A circular knitting needle is made up of the shortest needle tips just 4-5 inches long. They're joined together with a flexible cord and can be used exactly like everyday straight needles to knit back and forth, and also knit in the round to create seamless tubes. You can make long rows of stitches on the needle so it's brilliant for knitting large shawls and adult-size seamless jumpers.

Having said that, circular needles come in two flavours. Fixed circular knitting needles have their ends permanently fixed to the cord or line, and you buy them in a specific length and needle size combinations. The joint between needle and cord is smooth so your stitches can move smoothly from the cord to the needle itself. Interchangeable circular knitting needles are different, featuring separate tips and cords, where the tips screw into the ends of the cord. You can join them up in any combination of needle size and cord length, delivering an awesome amount of flexibility – you can knit a massive range of things this way.

When to use plastic knitting needles

Plastic is nice and warm, which means it's comfy for people with carpal tunnel syndrome and makes knitting a pleasure if you suffer cold hands. They have a flexible core that strengthens them, and because they come in bright colours they're great for kids learning to knit.

When to use metal knitting needles

Smooth and fast, the metal knitting needle is a classic. It's ideal for hairy or textured yarns because they slip over the metal smoothly instead of getting caught, and because metal needles have the sharpest tips, they're perfect for complicated lace work and cable knits, as well as ideal for making very fine stitches.

When to use wooden or bamboo knitting needles

Bamboo is 100% sustainable, always good to know. Wood is 100% natural. They're both smooth and strong but have a very slightly rough surface that means they work really well for hairy yarns, stopping the wool from sliding off the needles. They also happen to be warm to the touch, and the small amount of 'give' they offer means they're good for knitters with carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis.

When to use carbon fibre knitting needles?

Carbon fibre is very light, high-tech stuff with a clever non-slip surface, ideal for keeping hairy yarns under control. It's also very strong indeed, which means you get extremely fine, non-bendy needles that are exactly what you need to work with very fine, silky and lace weight yarns. If you're sensitive to nickel, they are perfect.

About knitting needle lengths

• Straight, single point needles come in a wealth of lengths: 18, 20, 25, 30, 33, 35 and 40 cm. In old money that's 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16 inches
• Double-pointed needles come in three lengths: 15, 20, 23 cm, or 6, 8 and 9 inches
• Circular needles are usually 20cm, 40cm, 60cm, 80cm,100cm, 120cm or 150cm long, very occasionally a whopper of 2-3m long

Now all you need is wool!

Now you know which needles to use, you need wool. Our popular wool shop, Little Wool, is home to loads of gorgeous yarns, some from our own herd of friendly alpacas. Go explore!