Discovering new needles ~ Part 2

Source: http://www.knitdarling.com/blog/needle-material-affects-on-gauge

(Don’t you just love knitters who do this stuff?)

It’s worth knowing just to be aware of it, but also could be useful if you are battling to match a gauge for a particular pattern – you might just need to use a different type of needle, not necessarily a different size.

Some people prefer pointy tips (I believe that those who love the really sharp points secretly carry them to use as a self-defense weapon), others, very dull. I actually know someone who files them down so they are completely blunt. Really.

As for me, from the day I discovered my trusty Knitpros, I remained completely devoted to the pretty multi-coloured wood tips.

Some time ago, I was writing my blogpost about the ChiaoGoo flexible needles, and I dropped a quick message to Gina about it. When she heard I was reviewing the needles I bought, she suggested I try some of the ChiaoGoo circular needles.

The conversation went a bit like this:

Beth Marian: I’ll try others for sure now. I love them.

    Gina: Cool – keen to get you into the red lace

Beth Marian: Oooooo I’m not really a lace knitter
Beth Marian: In fact I’m not a lace knitter at all.

    Gina: Don’t have to be — just means tips are sharp!!

Beth Marian: Ah I see, they still have them in bigger sizes
Beth Marian: 4mm etc.

    Gina: Yes… Let me know what size and cable length you are most likely to use

Beth Marian: Stainless steel?

    Gina: Yes — do you prefer bamboo ?

Beth Marian: Ug. Hate steel.
Beth Marian: Maybe they’ll change my mind?
Beth Marian: Worth trying?

    Gina: You can try. Otherwise the bamboo

Beth Marian: Ok, let me try the stainless steel. You never know.

Even though I agreed to trying out the stainless steel, I was honestly dreading it. Given that I was going to review them, I was concerned. What if I didn’t like them? But I’d heard a lot of people raving about the red cables and ChiaoGoos in general, so I thought I might as well give it a bash.

So when next I saw Gina, she kindly brought me 2 sets of needles: the 3,5mm bamboo tips with the Spin nylon cable, and a fixed set of 4,5mm Red Lace needles.

Due to my apprehension over the stainless steel, I started out with the bamboo.

ChiaoGoo Spin Interchangeable Needle Tips with Spin Nylon Cable

As far as the tips go, it is a very similar experience to knitting with the flexible needles, with the exception that the points are a bit sharper. Despite this, it didn’t give me a problem when knitting with cotton, which I expected it might. The ridges are a bit more defined than the flexible needles, they grab the yarn really well, and yet somehow it doesn’t stick and stitches still slide smoothly. It’s quite difficult to describe.

The nylon Spin cable is quite different from the standard purple and black Knitpro cables. I have been devoted to KnitPro for years, but I have to admit there can be problems with the cables.

The quality of the joins on the KnitPro Interchangeables is not always consistent – some are very smooth and not noticeable, but every now and then, you get one that snags a bit. And over time, they do tend to go a bit wonky and get kinks in all the wrong places. I have heard a few remedies for this, like steaming them, or boiling them to stretch them out long when the plastic is warm. I moaned at a craft group meeting about it being like having to wrestle an octopus. Perhaps an exaggeration, but I was hoping to hear some new solutions to the problem. A lateral-thinking knitter pointed out that cables are sold separately and I could just buy a new one if it was so bad. The thought had never occurred to me.

The joins of the ChiaoGoo Spin (bamboo needles and cables) definitely seem superior to the KnitPros. The Spin Interchangeables have a little kind of blob-looking thing where the nylon cable joins to the steel cable connectors, and it swivels when moving it around which means there is less stress placed on the actual join and therefore less likely to break off. There is a hole for the cable key to tighten the connector, and this can also be used for carrying a lifeline through when knitting a lace project.

The nylon cables are very slender and more flexible than the KnitPro cables. They are very light, so for lightweight projects with finer yarns and lace shawls they are lovely, but I think any large projects like pullovers with heavier yarns they might be quite a weight on the cables. They are also certainly less inclined to kinks than the KnitPros. The good news is that the cables are interchangeable between needle types as well – the red cables can be used with both the stainless steel and bamboo tips, and the nylon cables vice versa. So what ever your preference or project is, you can use either of the cable types with either of the needle types. I would choose the red cable for shawls and pullovers, but the nylon cable is perfect for socks.

Once I’d finished with the bamboos I could no longer avoid it. It was time to try out the stainless steel needles. I was about the start swatching for my Lila pullover project with some of Nurturing Fibres SoftSpun Worsted, so 4,5mm were the right size. I figured it would be a good way to test them without too much commitment. If I didn’t like it, I could simply do another swatch on the wood, and go ahead with the project on my existing needles.

So, I apprehensively cast on about 30 stitches (twisted german – of course). By the time I had knitted the first row, I was SOLD. In the space of 5 minutes, my trusty, much loved, pretty Knitpros were now yesterday’s news. I finished my swatch, completely in love and sent Gina another message:

Beth Marian: Damn you and your Chiaogoos. Back to using knit pros and I’m now finding problems with them left right and center. They worked just fine for me a week ago…

    Gina: LOL… Sorry
    Gina: yay!! How exciting :) bamboo or steel ?

Beth Marian: STEEL!!!
Beth Marian: ….and to think ten days ago I couldn’t stand steel needles…

    Gina: :) so glad you love them !

Fixed ChiaoGoos on Lila

My issue with stainless steel has always been that they are generally too slippery. I knit rather fast, so all the stitches slip off the tips too easily, and I don’t like the tension. I keep feeling like I need to yank on the yarn to tighten the stitches up, and I grip them tightly to avoid losing any off the top.

But the ChiaoGoos? Totally different story. These stainless steel tips are slightly brushed, so there is a bit of texture which prevents them from being so slippery. But they are still super smooth, and the stitches just glide without any feeling that you might lose control. They’re amazing. I couldn’t stop myself from raving about them to my husband every few rows.

The Red Twist cables – fantastic. They are strong and sturdy, and will have no problems handling heavyweight yarns. The stainless steel core doesn’t have a memory, so no annoying kinks – they simply uncurl and revert to their original length. I’ve heard that some people complain that these cables, being so sturdy, don’t cross over well and result in ladders when using them for magic loop knitting. I didn’t find this at all. I tend to use very long cables, and were I using a shorter cable, I could see how this might be an issue. As it is, I have no trouble with them. I do pay a lot of attention to my tension, so if you have any difficulties, I am sure with a little extra focus you won’t have any problems.

Another really big thing in ChiaoGoo needles’ favour, is that the sizes are laser printed on the needle. No comparing needles, desperately trying to judge the 0.5mm difference by eye when you can’t find the missing needle gauge. I even downloaded a needle sizer app on my iPhone, but I’m pretty sure it had 1mm margin of error, so that didn’t really help much. With these needles, no guessing, no peering, no turning the house upside down looking for the needle gauge. The answer is right there, and it’s not going anywhere. Ever.

Price-wise, there is a slight difference, but I don’t see it as enough to change a purchasing decision if you prefer the steel needles. The Spin cables go for R65 versus R78.50 for the red Twist cables. The lowest priced bamboo needle tips are R92 versus R98.50 for the stainless steel needles. Given what us knitters are prepared to spend on our stash, I’m not sure that R6.50 is too much to um and ah about if you prefer the steel. Comparatively, Knitpro Nova needles are R60 and the cables are quite a bit cheaper at R35. In my opinion the ChiaoGoo cables are superior, more durable, and certainly worth the extra money. And I favour the needles themselves when knitting, so I am happy to pay more for them.

Of course I managed to find myself a problem with all of this. I was going to have to get myself more of them. Do I get one or two of them just in my most used sizes? Do I get fixed? Or interchangeable, and gradually buy new tips over time? Do I invest in a full set? What should I do? Fortunately, my husband came to the rescue a day or two later, when he suggested that with Mother’s Day being that Sunday, that I should get myself a complete set as a gift. I’m sure his angle was that if I had the set, he wouldn’t have to keep hearing me go on about them quite so much. It worked out well for me though – imagine my glee. Best. Mother’s Day. Ever.

You’ve never seen me get online so fast. While I now have the set of stainless steel interchangeables, I will probably also get another one or two pairs of the bamboo tips because I do prefer them for cotton and bamboo yarn.

ChiaoGoos Red Twist

Of course, as you can imagine, it wasn’t too long before I created another storm in a teacup for myself. I was going on holiday to Thailand for a week. And like any knitter worth her weight in angora, I started planning my holiday knitting long before I bought myself a new bikini.

Here was my problem: taking these stainless steel needles on the plane. I’d never worried before with the wooden ones, but I could see how some diligent airport security staff might consider them to be a security risk. Now what? I was going to have to use wood or bamboo just because I was on a plane for a few hours? And then what? I was going to be in Thailand for a whole week and it’s one thing just making do for the flight, but then to have to use them for another 7 days seemed unthinkable. And I couldn’t just pack the stainless steel set in my luggage and change the needles once I landed – my gauge would be completely off and the project would have uneven tension. I couldn’t have that.

Finally I came up with the most obvious solution: take 2 projects with me. One for plane knitting, one for beach knitting. Beach knitting was packed with stainless steel needles in my luggage to be checked in, and wood for the flight.

I almost feel a little bit ashamed for switching my allegiance so quickly – less time than it takes to knit a swatch. But I was faithful to my Knitpros for years, and I’ve still got them around. I’ll definitely use them again. (Bali next year!), but from now on, my first choice is ChiaoGoos.