Upgrading My Knitting Needles
Last week I ordered a set of Chiagoo Mini Interchangeables, the most I’ve ever spent on knitting needles in one go. I haven’t used them yet, their first outing will be an upcoming sock project, but I figured now would be a good time to reflect on the previous needles that I’ve used that led me to them.
My first knitting set
Back when I was in primary school, my family frequently visited our local indoor market. The market had a bunch of stalls, and was very much aimed at being cheap and cheerful, not like the craft markets you get today. It was the type of place where you could by scratchy acrylic jumpers, bin bags, and raw meat all in one go. It was where I got my ears pierced, and also where I was bought my first knitting kit. The kit came with three balls of pink yarn (most definitely cheap acrylic) and a pair of 15cm straight wooden needles, and it only cost £4. I can’t remember what I did with that yarn, though I’m pretty sure it got a work out being repeatedly frogged.
Pony Needles
Once I discovered patterns online, I realised that I could make things other than squares. I was exclusively using DK weight yarn from my local £1 store, so I didn’t need a lot of sizes, but if I wanted to make hats I’d need some circulars. Once again, my local market was the place to go, however they only did Pony needles. I was probably quite excited to ‘upgrade’, but in hindsight I absolutely hate those needles. Whenever I think of using them, all I can think of is the squeaky feeling of these mixed with the acrylic yarn. This is probably why my next set would be wooden.
Knitpro Interchangables
I bought my next needles whilst I was in college, and able to get to a hobbycraft. At this time, I’d started taking knitting more seriously. I bought a set of Symfonie KnitPro Interchangeables, coming with 4mm, 5mm and 6mm tips as well as 3 cables of varying lengths. Costing me £16*, it was the most affordable way to dip my toe into interchangeables. I soon realised that my style of knitting meant that the tips of the wooden needles blunted fairly quickly, and that I should switch to metal needles. The great thing about KnitPro Interchangables is that the cables are compatible with all of their needles, so I was slowly able to collect metal needles as I needed them for projects. I tried the Zings and the Novas, and I definitely lean towards the Novas, though I can’t quite put my finger on why. However, I did realise the limitations as soon as I started doing tighter gauge projects, where my only options became to buy fixed circulars.
Chiagoo Mini
Earlier this year, one of my KnitPro cables broke. It could have been one of the original cables that I bought 10 years ago, whichh wouldn’t be so bad. It also could have been one of the cables I bought last year, which would. I realised that it was time for an upgrade, but I put it off because I knew it would be expensive. My KnitPro collection has been amassed over 10 years so I had fixed and interchangable needles in the same materials, and if I wanted to replicate that I’d have to buy a much bigger set than I originally did. I decided instead to start relatively small, and go for the Chiaogoo Mini Set. I’ve always wanted to get myself some Chiagoos, but by starting with a set for sock making, I was able to focus on the type of projects that I am actually currently working on (small and portable!), in the way that I like to make them (small circulars for the majority plus having a spare second set of needles for the heel turn). I’m hoping that these needles will last me a while, though I know that they aren’t incredibly versatile. That said, versitility isn’t everything. I know that I hate knitting magic loop, so whilst my longer cables are more versatile, they also make my knitting less fun. Surely fun should be my priority?
* The same set is now nearly double the price, which I think is unfortunate for getting new and younger people into knitting.
