Understanding Your Knitting Needles

In this brief article we aim to just give a basicUnderstanding Gauge ............
understanding of knitting needles, their sizing and whatIn knitting, there is the concept of gauge and it means
you need to look out for.the number of stitches in a given length. This concept
Size IS important................is related to the pattern you have and, if in your
Knitting needles come in different sizes. It is importantpattern it says there are supposed to be, for example,
to know the size of your knitting needles because their5 stitches to an inch and you can make only 3, than
size is related to the size of your stitches and, implicitly,you should and need to change the size of your
to the appearance of the finished work.knitting needles. Each pattern requires that you knit a
Knitting needles are given different numbers accordingcertain number of stitches using a particular yarn and a
to their measure. Do not think of their length! It isspecified needle.
important how big round the needles are. However,However, it is not necessary to stick to the yarn or the
these numbers can differ from one country to another.needles specified in the pattern, but it is important to
For example, a knitting needle of 3.75 mm is number 5get the correct number of stitches per inch in order to
in American measurement and number 9 in Britishhave the right size, length and other characteristics of
measurement, or you may see on the bag of thethe pattern.
knitting needles you buy it is simply written as a 3.75Different Kinds ..........
mm needle.You can also choose between circular needles and
Notice that the American measurement has lowstraight needles. Some people prefer circular needles
numbers for needles with smaller diameters, and thebecause they are more comfortable to use and you
numbers can go up to 50 for a larger diameter like 25can knit both in the round and back and forth like
mm, while the British measurement has high numbersstraight needles. You can find circular knitting needles,
for low diameters and the numbers decrease when itdouble point knitting needles and also single pointed
comes to high diameters like, for example, 000 forknitting needles made of different materials such as
knitting needles of 10 mm, Therefore, you need to looksteel, wood or bamboo. There are also different types
up a knitting needle conversion chart to ensure youof knitting needles like Addi knitting needles, Clover
end up with the correct needle size.knitting needles, Misc knitting needles, Crystal Palace,
To confuse you still further if you have a 4.5 mmRosewood and HiyaHiya
knitting needle, in that case the size number coincides;To find out more pay a visit to a good knitting or
with both countries calling it size 7.haberdashery store & ask for advice.