Again, please understand that these are only general recommendations. Two different companies might call their yarn DK weight but that doesn’t mean that both should be knitted with needle size 6 for the best results. Does knitting needle length matter? The term chunky or bulky is used to describe a #5 size yarn. It’s about the size of two strands of light worsted weight (#3) held together. Using the recommended needle size US 9 -11 [5.5-8mm] – it has a gauge of 12 to 15 stitches to knit 4”. Super Bulky

Double Pointed Needles are shorter, and therefore lighter, than straight needles. They’re typically about 6″– 8″ in length. You don’t buy them individually but rather in sets of either 4 or 5. In addition to selling good quality knitting needles, we sell them for you for fixed low prices. We are of the opinion that good quality must be accesible for everyone. We therefore always have fixed low prices and we have ongoing offers and sales of different sizes and models. When buying multiple knitting needles at once, we can offer you volume discounts - the more you buy, the more money you save.

Of course, new materials (like celluloid) might also explain the departure from the SWG (as they required different machines and thus resulted in different sized needles). One also has to keep in mind that around 1910, commercial flights across the Atlantic were not available, and neither were telephone calls possible. Unlike today, knitters around the world were much less connected internationally and the world moved much slower and still a bit in isolation.

Whereas single point needles have a pointed end on one side and a flat end on the other, double pointed needles have points at both ends. when I first started knitting I did not know that I could use circular needles to knit flat – and I had only a few sets & I didn’t understand that I COULD knit that pattern that was knit flat with my size 7 circulars- I didn’t need to go buy straight size 7s … I just always try to tell new folks because when you first start you don’t know if you will love it and you don’t want to invest in tons of needles! Your personal tension: Are you a tight or loose knitter? Your knitting style and even the needle material (wood vs metal) will have a huge influence on your gauge. In terms of where this is located on the knitting needle, it’s pretty obvious. So why does it matter? Because you can have tips in varying degrees of sharpness. There are very sharp points and much duller points. Neither is better than the other overall but what you want can vary significantly depending upon your knitting style, the pattern, and the yarn that you’re working with. Therefore, as a beginning knitter, you’ll want to explore needles with different tip sharpness to figure out how they each work for you. Needle ShaftThese days, I see an increasing switch among U.S. pattern designers to the metric system for similar reasons. Since the Imperial and the U.S. knitting needle size system still exist side by side, recommending size 6 needles can be very confusing as knitters from both sides of the pond are likely to buy a given pattern. In our webshop we have also listed all our sizes in us sizes so you can follow American patterns without problems and at the same time get the best results with the right knitting needles! You can also find a large selection of knitting needles, where you can make a particularly good deal. A knitting set is for you who want all your needs covered. Buy your knitting needles here in our webshop and save money on good quality! Today I’m pausing this project to consider the joys of working with chunky, bulky, and super bulky yarn. If knitting with big yarn and big needles isn’t something you usually do, I’d like to push you out of your comfort zone, and into the super cushy zone. On top of that, different materials (e.g. wool, alpaca, or cotton) are also an important factor. Some of these might change their appearance drastically after the first wash.

Side note: The SWG was only implemented in 1884. Before that, it was the Birmingham Wire Gauge; keep that in mind when you follow historic patterns).

Which knitting needles are best for you?

So in some parts, this chart is only an approximation. Still, you can easily see that a 4 mm knitting needle converts to a U.S. size 6. And knitting needles sold as 5 mm in Europe can be found as size 8 on the other side of the Atlantic. Knitting needle sizes explained There are two different measurements you need to know for knitting needles: the length and the needle size. Knitting Needle Lengths