If you’re looking to buy knitting needles, there are a lot of different option on the market. After knitting for several years and buying many different styles of needles, I’ve definitely developed some strong opinions. Below, you’ll find what I think are the best knitting needles and my tips for picking out the right needles for your project every time!
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Best Knitting Needles For Beginners: Clover Takumi Bamboo Needles
Clover Takumi bamboo knitting needles are reasonably priced, easy to find, and lovely to knit with. I recommend these to my beginner knitting students when they knit the Beginner Lace Hat Pattern I assign them over the slightly less expensive metal needles because they tend to be a bit easier for new students to use. Metal needles feel more slippery, so new knitters grip their yarn tighter. This leads to a too-tight gauge and eventually hand pain.
As much as I love my bamboo needles, they do start to have issues when you get small enough. The very small sizes can warp and break under pressure (RIP the needle that got crushed in my cary-on on the way home from Vegas). They also only go so small. I’ve never seen them smaller than a US size 0 (2.0mm), probably because after that point they’re just too thin to function. If you’re making a project using needles that are US size 2 (2.75mm) or smaller, I’d recommend using my small gauge pick below.
Best Knitting Needles For Small Gauge Knitting: Knitters Pride/Karbonz Carbon Fiber Knitting Needles
If you want to go small, like really small, carbon fiber needles are where it’s at. I’m currently knitting a pair of socks using their US 000 (1.5mm) 6″ long DPNs and it’s fantastic. The needles don’t bend or warp, but still have a small amount of flexibility. The carbon fiber is smooth but has a bit more resistance than metal, so I don’t worry about my yarn falling off the needles.
I like the 6″ length for kitting socks for myself, however, you may want to size up to the 8″ if you’ve got feet above a US size 8. The smaller needles mean that you get a tighter gauge, which means more stitches on each needle and a denser, less squish-able fabric. So your stitches actually end up taking up more space on the needles than knitting at a larger gauge. This won’t be apparent if you knit top down and start with ribbing, but I’ve found things start to space out a bit when I get to the pattern section on the leg and the needles get really full once I pick up stitches on the heel and start my gusset.
The one downside to these needles is the metal tip. I don’t love the slipperiness of metal or the slight feeling of the yarn resisting when it passes over the transition. But by the time I finished my first sock I had totally adjusted. The alternative seems to be fully metal needles, which I may try at this size eventually (you know, for ~*science*~). Overall, however, I like the carbon fiber knitting needles much more than any metal needles I’ve ever used. I think they’ll be my go-to small gauge needles for a long time.
How to Choose the Right Needles For Your Project
Pick the Right Style of Knitting Needles
Your pattern should specify what type of needles to use for a given project. Generally, needles fall into one of three categories: straight, double pointed needles (DPNs), and circular. You also may occasionally see additional types of needles, such as these Strickspeil needles, which are intended to replace DPNs.
Straight needles are straight sticks with one pointed end and one end that has a stopper of some kind. They’re usually sold in sets of two. DPNs have points on both sides. These are generally sold in sets of five, and you use all five needles at once while knitting. Circular needles have two short needles connected by a cord. It’s important to get the style of needles that is specified in the pattern, since they all work in different ways.
Interchangeable Needles
I generally think that it’s best just to buy the needles you need as you need them. However, as I do more and more projects, I’ve found myself starting to shop for interchangeable circular needle sets. I personally have my eye on a few different sets.
The Addi Click Set in Olivewood is gorgeous and would be compatible with the rest of Addi’s interchangeable needles. They seem to get great reviews, but it seems a little difficult to find retailers selling the individual needles, so it might be a pain to try new needle styles or replace damaged needles.
Also, I can’t get over how pretty the Lantern Moon Ebony Interchangeable Needle Set is! I love that they’re very clear on their website that the wood is ethically sourced, which was my very first question when I saw this set. Aesthetically, these are just the prettiest needles!
I also am very tempted by Indian Lake Artisans Freestyle Needles. I love shopping from local artisans, even if they are more expensive than bigger brands. The one thing that makes me hesitant is that that I don’t know if I’ll like their hexagonal shape. I probably will find an excuse to buy a single set of needles sometime in the future just to try them out!
Interchangeable sets are an investment, one with may or may not be right for you, depending on where you are in your knitting journey. If you find yourself drawn to a lot of projects that use circular needles, getting a set with a wide range of needles and cords that can be swapped out might be a good idea. This is especially true if you find it difficult to make gauge when using the recommended needles in a given pattern. However, if you tend to cast on multiple projects at once, this can be an issues.
Choose the Materials for Your Needles
Once you’ve identified the basic type of knitting needle that you need, you can move on to thinking about the needle material. Consider both your own personal preferences and how that material will interact with the yarn you’re using for this specific project.
As I mentioned above, needles can come in a range of different materials ranging from wood, to metal, to plastic etc. I like my needles to be some type of wood or (when knitting very fine gauge) carbon fiber. These tend to be a bit more “grabby,” which I like.
I might also choose to change to a more slippery needle if I find that my yarn/needle combo feels a bit sticky. Plastic and metal are great for people who prefer a more slippery needle. Plastic, however, does tend to break more easily than other types of needles and lower quality needles can have defects that snag at your yarn.
The color of your needles is also something to consider. Ideally, you want there to be good contrast between the yarn you’re using and the needles you’re using. So, if your signature color is black, maybe consider getting a set of lighter colored needles. And if you love pink more than anything, skip the pink needles so you can see your pink yarn. For those with more omnivorous color taste, don’t worry too much about this unless you find yourself having difficulty seeing when knitting a specific project.
Choose the Right Size Knitting Needles
Once I know what type of knitting needles I want, the next thing I do is find the correct size. Look first at the needle circumference. This is important because the circumference of your needles determines how large the loops you make with your yarn while knitting will be. This effects your gauge, which in turn effects whether or not your finished knit will be the dimensions described in the pattern. It also impacts the density and drape of the final fabric.
Needle circumference is expressed in two ways: metric measurements or country based size number. Usually both the metric measurement and the arbitrary size measurement will be included on the packaging and in the pattern instructions, so when in doubt, go with the metric measurement. You’ll find a chart to help you convert between the metric, US, UK/Australian/Canadian, and Japanese below
Next, you want to look at the length of the knitting needles. This is usually listed in your pattern, but there may be some wiggle room.
DPNs and straight needles are measured from tip to end. The goal is to have enough space to comfortably fit all the stitches you’re using for the project, without being longer than needed. If a project gives you options for needle length it’s up to you to pick the best option. If you’re new to DPNs, I’d choose the longer option to minimize the risk of stitches falling off your needles. With straight needles, I’d choose the smaller size because as a smaller person (5’1″), I find them a bit easier to work with.
The length of circular needles is measured from tip to tip, including the cord. Sometimes, the length of the solid needles is mentioned, but those are still included in the overall length measurement. When knitting in the round, you want the length of the needles to be slightly smaller than the finished circumference of the object. The goal is to avoid stretching out your knitting as you work, while still having plenty of space for all your stitches. Again, I like to go with slightly smaller needle length, but you may find you prefer slightly longer needles.
How to Learn Your Own Personal Preferences For Knitting Needles
Over time, I’ve found my self developing strong ~*opinions*~ about my knitting needles. And whether I’m loving or hating a set of needles, I try to pay attention to why I’m feeling the way I feel. This can be hard for me because I’m a big fan of long knitting sessions while binging TV (I highly recommend learning to to knit and read subtitles at the same time).
For example, I knit a lot of socks, and when I first started out, I preferred 7″ long DPNs because I was worried about my stitches falling off. Now that I’m more confident in my needle management, I prefer 5″ or 6″ long needles. I was able to figure this out because I took a little time to knit without distractions. Usually, this just means spending 5 minutes to really focus on my knitting before putting on my distraction of choice.
While I started out this article talking about what I consider the “best” knitting needles, I hope I’ve impressed upon you that the best needles are really the ones that work for you! Do you have a strong personal preference for knitting needles? Or any questions about picking the right set? Let me know if the comments or over on Instagram!