What Are The Different Types Of Knitting Needles And Their Uses?

Knitting is an art that used to be passed down from generation to generation, but nowadays you can also learn it with a little research on the internet. You may remember your mother or grandmother knitting different woollen garments with the help of knitting needles. Needless to say, nowadays there is a much larger variety of knitting needles available in the market than there was earlier.

From the smallest knitting needles to the giant knitting needles every different variety is available in the market. In fact, there are so many of them available that it can get confusing for a newbie to understand which type will be the most suitable for them. If you too are fond of knitting then you can learn the different types of knitting needles and their uses. This will be useful for you in creating different types of designs with wool, cotton and other yarns.

Various Types Of Needle Material

Traditional knitters are probably familiar with aluminium knitting needles which were the most commonly used ones earlier. But nowadays they are available in a variety of different materials.

• Wood – These needles are very smooth and the best ones are the ones made of bamboo. These wooden needles are best used to knit the round because the yarn slips smoothly on them as you work your way around the circle. With wooden needles, you may not need to even pause to push the yarn.
• Aluminium – These are the most traditional in use and are available even nowadays. They are the needles that probably your grandmother used. These needles are also quite smooth and they can be used for any kind of knitting. You can knit the most complicated designs with these needles although you may have to push the yarn along when knitting a round.
• Plastic – Plastic knitting needles are just right for beginners because they are less expensive than ones made of wood or aluminium.

Choose a knitting needle as per the style you want to stitch:

• Circular – circular knitting needles are used for knitting items that are round in shape like hats. Sometimes even knitting some designs sweaters may require you to use circular needles. Different lengths of the circular needle can be used for different knitting projects and you can learn about this by conducting some research online.
• Straight – Straight needles can be used with any knitting that has to be flat. However, make sure that you don’t use them with very heavy yarn because holding the project with so much weight may twist or break the needle and will also be heavy on your wrists. For heavy knitting, you should use giant knitting needles which will be able to carry the weight of the yarn without bending or breaking
• Double-pointed – These needles are meant for knitting small circles or cubes. Usually, they are used for knitting the crown of a hat or the neck of a sweater. You also need double-pointed needles to knit an I-cord.

These are the different types of needles that you can use according to your requirement. You can conduct a thorough study of the different types of knitting needles and their uses by conducting some research online.