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Stitching & Crafting Room:  Why dbl ptd needles when knitting on circ. needle?  |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 03 2007 : 12:55:30 PM
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Alright--I have tried to avoid these evil double pointed needles at every turn, and I guess I'm going to have to learn how to use them--but WHY? Why knit a hat on circular needles, only to switch to double pointed? What do they do, except scare the heck out of me? I just know I'm going to push my knitting off one end, AND, I love how some patterns say, "cast on 139 (or some other silly uneven number) stitches, and divide them evenly between 3 needles" WHAT????? That's 46.33 stitches per needles, girls!
See, I want to knit this sweater for my dh for Christmas--it's a pattern from 1941, for an approved "heavy wool sweater for servicemen". Since he's such a WWII nut, I thought it would be a neat gift, knit it a nice cashmere blend, but still in army issue green. He would love it, and the pattern is pretty simple, however, it calls for double pointed needles for the neckline--I think I understand that one, but if you're knitting a hat on circular needles, I simply do not.
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian. |
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JenniferJuniper
True Blue Farmgirl
359 Posts
Jennifer
New Hampshire
USA
359 Posts |
Posted - Oct 03 2007 : 1:24:43 PM
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I'm one of those weird people who learned to knit on dpns before circulars, so I'm just about as backwards as you can get (ha) but I actually prefer the dpns.
One main reason to switch from circular to dpns is when you start making decreases, you get to the point where your hat, neckline, or whatever will be too small to fit around the circulars. BTW, you don't have to keep the number of divided stitches perfectly even, an extra stitch on one of the needles will not make a difference. |
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shannanstitches
True Blue Farmgirl
62 Posts
Shannan
Havre de Grace
Maryland
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - Oct 03 2007 : 2:20:24 PM
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I was scared to death of DPNs when I first started knitting. But with practice, I got over it and they are pretty much all I use. Just take it slow and you'll be fine. You can prevent ladders (loose stitches where the needles join) if you knit the first and second stitches at the beginning of each needle a little tighter than the rest.
my blog: http://shannanstitches.blogspot.com/
my pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannanstitches/ |
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Carolinagirl
True Blue Farmgirl
486 Posts
Kim
Rutherfordton
NC
USA
486 Posts |
Posted - Oct 03 2007 : 4:42:20 PM
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What does the sweater look like? Maybe you could adapt a top-down, all-circular, no-seaming pattern to it. How is the neckline made?
Sorry for all the questions. I always try to look for a route around DPNS and seaming in general, and top-downs do it...
Kim in NC |
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Daisy
True Blue Farmgirl
107 Posts
Daisy
Thistle Sprig Farm
NW Indiana
USA
107 Posts |
Posted - Oct 03 2007 : 5:34:32 PM
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I have found if you use bamboo DPNS the stitches slip off much less then if you use the metal kinds. DOn't be afraid of them! They are great fun!!
Daisy
Thistle Sprig Farm |
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Stitching & Crafting Room: Why dbl ptd needles when knitting on circ. needle? |
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Why dbl ptd needles when knitting on circ. needle?
