Types of Knitting Needles

Video Transcript

"Now we are going to talk about what you need to get started. Of course, you need a pair of knitting needles (ones that have a good hand feel; something that you like the way it feels in your hand). I like these; they're one of my favorites. They are bamboo. There are also needles which are plastic which are really easy (but they bend). So a beginner may not want plastic. But, they are really light, so if you don't want any weight in your hand, they're good. For beginners, it's probably easier to use metal because they are firm and you won't be able to bend the stitches or slide too much. But remember, all needles are slippery for a reason. So, you are going to have to be careful when you slide it on and off. And needles range in size from these little bitsy things that look like chopsticks. This is how I knitted, do you remember, that beaded necklace. These beads on this necklace; I knit the beads on this necklace with this really tiny needle and I used a really thin yarn. To this poncho, which I knit on, I think this was about a twelve. See how it is very open (you can almost see me through it). To this drop stitch which I knit on huge needles. I think I knit these on these thirty fives. So, you go from something really, really tight like the beads to something really loose like this drop stitch scarf and the bigger the needle (of course), the bigger the stitch and the thicker the yarn, you're going to have to use, will be. Other accessories you will probably need when you get started knitting, but not unless you are really advanced, are these stitch holders. So sometimes, a pattern will tell you to knit ten stitches, put twenty stitches on a stitch holder and then knit ten more. Eventually, after the stitches are on the stitch holder, you're going to join everything up again, or you may not and it just may be another side to the pattern that you are working. I found the stitch counter. The good thing about this is that you don't need a pen or a pencil to keep track of he number of rows. You stick this on the end of your needle like this and then when you finish a row, you just twirl the number around and (if I can do it backwards; there) and you knit four rows. When I knit five, I twirl it around and now I'm on five. So, there you go."