Stitches

How long should be your first knitting needles?

I bought the book "Ultimate knitting bible" and I saw many different kinds of needles. In one chapter it said that you should have longer needles. So how long should be my first pair of needles?

Public Comments

1. If you are knitting a blanket, afghan, or large sweater - longer needles will be a help. If you are knitting baby socks - you will need four shorter, finer needles. What you are knitting dictates which is the best length of needle...... My "first" knitting needles were a couple of sharpened brand new #2 pencils (9" long?) as we lived way out in the country and my aunt was teaching me to knit with string (no yarn and no way to get to town to get any as I was 8 and she was 13). That Christmas, she bought me a skein of yarn and a pair of 13" long #8 needles......I still have them some X4 (mumble) years later.........the yarn is long gone! So - look at the instructions for what you are making and pick up the size that is suggested. If you do need longer needles - you will learn that as you knit.
2. If you plan to use circular needles, for most projects a 24" needle is the length of choice, followed, for many larger projects, by 32" needles. If you want to knit by Magic Loop method 40" are the generally acceptable length, and hats in the round (not using Magic Loop) go on 16" needles, or on two 32" inch to knit using two circulars. For straight needles, 14" length is the longest you can usually find, although they do come in 12 and 8" lengths. For general use double points, get 8" ones, if you plan to knit gloves or mittens, or children's socks, 5" needles are preferred. Your best bet is to start with 24" circulars, although less expensive brands only come in 29 and 42" lengths.
3. The needles that are right for you are totally a matter of personal preference. Basically, you will need needles long enough to hold the cast-on stitches for the project you are knitting. Needles come in many lengths from short double-pointed needles to 10" to 14" single-pointed needles to 60" circular needles (like double-pointed but with a thin cable in the middle between two points). My personal preference is to use circular needles for everything because the weight of any project is equally balanced between your hands and wrists at all times. Particularly with a project such as an afghan, the weight of the fabric can be wearing when it is all on one needle. My personal preference is to use very long circular needles--40" to 60"--for almost everything. It's easy to pull the "extra" cable out of the way (Magic Loop) in circular projects and to knit back and forth on other projects.
4. Whatever you can borrow from someone else. If you are going to buy a new pair, I would go with some relatively short bamboo needles. 7 inches are good for scarves and dishcloths, and it's nice to have a short needle. That way you aren't carrying that extra length. You will fatigue faster if you're dragging longer needles around. I wish I had gone all crazy and bought myself an interchangeable circular needle set when I started knitting. I've bought enough needles that I can't justify the expense now, but there are still many sizes I don't have, especially circulars.