Results tagged “Bamboo” from Fabric.com Blog

A knitter's needle is as personal as a favorite pair of pants or how one takes coffee. It is a tiny piece of your personality and thus very important. You will spend many hours with your needles. Picking a tools that can make or break your knitting (and in the end your sanity) is important and should not be rushed into. As a new knitter, I tried everything as I discovered it but I was like a 10 yr old on a shopping spree. As I taught myself, my first needles were metal so I bought a bunch. As I explored more forums, I discovered bamboo so I purchased a set of straight and DPNs. Then I came across my first set of interchangeable in acrylic so that was another chunk of change. After that it was magic loop and the purchase of 40 in. plus cable needle since my Interchangeables were not compatible with magic loop. It went on and on until I finally settled down and found the perfect set for me. I still have many of my original purchases but I only use my "married set": I call them my "married set" because I dated all the others and finally fell deeply in love and have not strayed since. 

Many knitters are monogamous with their chosen set but others have not settled down, changing from needle to needle depending on the project and what is new. If you know you are destined to be a monogamous knitter than it is important to find your needle. You may choose to follow my path but there are easier ways to find your needle.

1)      Do you have any allergies or arthritis? This will rule out some needle right away. I am allergic to nickel so that was an early indicator and why I was drawn to wooden needles. Wood or bamboo is also key for older knitters.

2)      How do you knit? Fast or take your time. If you prefer fast, there are many "turbo" needles out there made with nickels and have pointy tips and slick finishes. If you like to take your time, maybe not slow but not super fast, and precise stitches then wood or bamboo may be for you. Some are well varnished and can be as fast as nickel but I often find that wood and bamboo grip more and prevent slipping stitches. Do you knit more in the round than straight? Then a set of circulars or Interchangeables are for you. My mother in law knits more flat than in the round and sticks to her straight needle and rarely touches her Interchangeables. I knit more round but I only use my interchangeable no matter what the project.

3)      Visit the forums and read what others have to say. You might find someone who knits like you and find your perfect needle without spending time and money on others.

4)      Do you like trends? Then, my friend, you are probably not a monogamous knitter but enjoy new needles with jewelry on the end, Knit Lite, and anything new and exciting. Go to it if you love it. There is no shame in "dating". If it keeps you knitting and happy- where is the problem? You might have less money for yarn but you do have some really awesome needles!

With our great selection of needles you are sure to find the right one for you. Plus, with our free return shipping if you don't- it's not problem to try them out to make sure. Make sure and ask for a Fabric.com gift card for Christmas so you can pick your favorite needle!!!

Pictured: my fave needles- Lantern Moon

Lantern Moon Palm Wood Needles shall be from this point forward be called Turbo Moon. These are smooth, slick and great for speed knitting. Wait; let me back up to my first impression. Gorgeous. These needles are art in themselves. The grain and color of the wood plus the style of the needle makes for a very stylish needle. I felt very posh just knitting with them.

Now for the knitting. They were fast; I mean fast. I first tried them with S. Charles Sahara yarn but the needles were too slick for this yarn (Viscose, Bamboo and Linen). My loops kept sliding off and I felt unwieldy. I had a few balls of some bulky mohair, so I cast on with it and felt back in my element. This yarn has always been a little difficult for me since it seemed so slow and snaggy. Not with my Turbo Moon's. The yarn seemed to flow from one needle to the next. Even tricky stitches, like SSK, were cake with this combo.

I highly recommend these needles because they are so great for difficult yarns like novelty yarns, mohair, angora and thicker wools. The needles felt soft but solid in my hands. I felt no fatigue after a little over an hour of knitting and no aches (I often get aches from hard woods and some metals). The weight was good but even better was the tips. The Lantern Moon tips were not so sharp to split the yarn but not so dull to make picking up loops frustrating. In fact, I thought the tips so perfect that I completely forgot about them altogether until now.

I say buy for 2 reasons 1) they are super fast, smooth and comfy b) they are so beautiful that even if you never use them, they will make an excellent center piece.

KAL Progress

My Wisp is (NOW) going along swimmingly. I will confess a secret: I have made this once before and hated it. I just didn't understand the pattern. I read it over and over and it just didn't make any sense. As much as I wanted to blame the designer ("Ugh- can't she just make it simple! I must drink wine") I knew in my heart of hearts that it was reader error. So I wanted to try it again. I knew I needed support so I would not get to row 15 and throw it down and stomp up and down swearing my undying vengeance upon it. I smite thee! So I decided I would throw it into the KAL poll and see what happened. The rest is current history and happily it worked out because I cleaver knitter, codename: Cape Maui, joined our KAL. She unlocked the pattern for me and though I feel like a dunce for not seeing something so simple, I know I never would have seen it without someone else pointing it out to me. My husband has told me that often enough.

Pshaw, I say. This is different.

Now I am easily on the third repeat and there is no stopping me. I love it. LOVE IT. And the yarn. It was an excellent choice. While noticeably less fuzzy than mohair, it is unbelievably soft and shows the stitch pattern in a new way. I just want to cuddle in it. The Cashsoft feels good in the ball but awesome knitted up. The color, tricky to photograph, is perfect. So bold but the red is classic. I highly recommend knitting wisp it bright colors because it is so delicate and transparent. The lace pattern and a bright color are the winning combo.

I can't wait to see and hear about the other knitter's KAL progress. Post your pictures or Ravelry links on our Facebook page.