I'm lucky! I get to preview the patterns in each issue of Knitty well in advance. When I find instructions that might give a knitter pause or a technique that would be fun to explore in depth, I put on my teacher hat and see what we can learn together.
As the Techniques Columnist at Knitty, I will continue the worldwide knitting community's tradition of sharing knowledge. Follow my lead and try something that might be new to you! Whether you adopt it wholesale, adapt it to your needs, or throw it out, you'll surely gain something by trying.
Do I really need all those needles?
This issue of Knitty has some lovely sweaters, some that call for quite the list of needles. Unless you have been knitting long enough to acquire them over time, this could cost you a small fortune. Does it have to be this way? Maybe not.
First off, it’s not the fault of the designer or editor. It is standard procedure to list needles that match the dimensions of the sweater parts. It is also important to use two different sizes on the body and the ribbing, to be certain that ribbing is tidy and does its job. Don’t cheap out there. What we’ll talk about is needle length.
Let’s look at an imaginary example before we turn to this issue’s patterns.
Our demo sample in these photos is a worsted weight pullover with ribbing at the neck, sleeve cuffs, and the body at the hips. Let’s say the pattern calls for a US 8 (5.0 mm) for the arms and body, and a US 6 (4.0 mm) for all the ribbing. Because you are wise, you have swatched to discover you will actually need a US 7 (4.5 mm) as the larger needle and a US 5 (3.75 mm) for the ribbing. So that part is settled. We’ll use those sizes.
The pattern lists the following needles
US 8 (5.0 mm)
32" long circular for the body
DPNs for lower part of sleeve
16" circular for upper part of sleeve
and maybe an additional 40" circular for the yoke, and a 24" circular where the yoke decreases toward the neck opening.
US 6 (4.0 mm)
32" long circular for ribbing on body
DPNs for ribbing on sleeve
16" or 20" circular for ribbing at neck opening
That’s six to eight needles.
What do you really need? You can make that sweater on two needles— 32" or 40" long circularc in two sizes, US 5 (3.75 mm) and US 7 (4.5 mm).
There is a catch. To accomplish this, you’ll have to learn something called magic loop knitting. Find resources for tutorials listed below. For now here are some photos to demonstrate the scenarios.
US 7 (4.5 mm), 32" or 40" long:
Use the full length circular for the body.
If you prefer your stitches closer together on the needle, so the knitting flows more swiftly, pull out one loop like this.
Use the same circular on lower part of sleeve using the magic loop technique.
Use the same circular for the upper part of the sleeve, pulling out just one loop.
US 5 (3.75 mm) 32" or 40" long:
Use the full length long circular for ribbing on body.
If you prefer your stitches closer together on the needle, so the knitting flows more swiftly, pull out one loop like this.
Use the same circular for ribbing on sleeve using the magic loop technique.
Those are the two extremes. The in-between dimension will be needed for the neck. Forgive me for not knitting an entire sweater up to the neck to demonstrate this, but it will appear similar to the photos above showing one loop pulled out.
Whether worked top-down or bottom-up, many of you already understand this and have knitted like this for years. Let that serve as a comfort to the rest of us who haven’t tried it yet. There are situations, however, where this just won’t work comfortably. If your preferred knitting style involves tucking a long straight needle, or long DPNs, under your arm or anchored in your lap, it may be too much to ask to adapt to knitting without that anchor. No worries, I’m just offering options here. Always choose what suits you best.
I do want to warn you about a potential problem when magic-looping, especially if you are used to DPNs. Knitting on DPNs can potentially create ladders of loose stitches at the needles’ intersections. Careful knitters have learned to snug the first couple stitches of every new needle to compensate for this. If that is your habit, and you switch to magic loop, that very tugging action will create stitches so tight that a pleat will appear in the fabric. Why? Because when you snug, the yarn pulls tight against the tiny cable of the circular needle, not the needle itself. Essentially, you’d be making a few stitches on the equivalent of a US 1 (2.5 mm) in the middle of your otherwise lovely stitches. Train yourself away from the snugging action and everything comes out fine.
Helga is worked in flat pieces on straight needles, but you can use circulars instead, with one added benefit. If you work a sweater on straight needles and let the pieces rest for days (or months as we are likely to do sometimes), you are supposed to tear out the last row worked and re-knit it. No kidding. Why? Because those stitches will be under some pressure on the needles, not relaxed like the ones below, and a “fat” row might appear. On a circular needle, just slide the stitches to the skinny cable where they can relax until you are ready.
Materials used in this column are pictured above: Addi Click Long Lace Needle Kit and Addi Rocket needles. Yarn is HiKoo Kenzie. All from Skacel Collection, Inc, the kind sponsors of this column.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lorilee knits. She also collects National Park experiences and likes being close to rocks, mosses, and lichens.
Her designs have been published by Vogue and Interweave, and she teaches at national fiber events as well as online at Craftsy and Interweave. Lorilee grew up in Pittsburgh, spent thirty years in west Michigan, and now calls Seattle home.
I'm lucky! I get to preview the patterns in each issue of Knitty well in advance. When I find instructions that might give a knitter pause or a technique that would be fun to explore in depth, I put on my teacher hat and see what we can learn together.
