A Tale of Sock Needles

**Disclaimer** This is all generalization and I know that personal preference plays a significant role in knitters choosing their materials and tools.  So while Knitter A might prefer bamboo needles for sock knitting, Knitter B might disagree.  Neither knitter is wrong, it all comes down to personal preference.  With this post, I am to explain my own preferences and how the different needles I’ve experimented knitting socks on have worked for me.   **End of Disclaimer**

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m becoming a sock knitter.  I’m almost done with my 5^th pair of socks for 2016 (as part of the Yarngasm Podcast’s Box o Sox KAL) and while that may not seem like a lot for those of you who are able to churn out a pair of socks every week, I’m taking it as proof that I’m a budding sock knitter.  And also my stash of sock yarn seems to be growing by the day.  As I’ve been watching more and more knitting podcasts and reading more knitting blogs, my mind has been opened to the vast and varied field of knitting needles.  Growing up in rural Vermont, I was pretty much limited to whatever knitting needles they stocked at the local Ben Franklin.  This led to a large collection of metal Susan Bates straight needles.  These weren’t bad needles, but I had no idea about interchangeable sets, lace needles, or that different materials could affect your gauge.  I now know about all of these different types and styles of needles and with that knowledge came a whole flood of opinions on what needles are best for what types of projects.

I have a large and varied collection of knitting needles and perhaps in the future I’ll write a post going through all the different types I have.  It would be interesting to delve deep into the pockets of my knitting bags to see what needles lurk there.  However, in regards to socks I’ve used 3 different types of needles: Knitters Pride DPNs, Addi Turbo Sock Rockets, and ChiaoGoo Red Lace.  Each of these needles have their pros and cons and every time I try a new needle it seems like I realize more and more what I liked and disliked about past needle choices.  I knit all my socks on size US 1.5 needles.  I’ve linked below where I purchased my needles.

Knitters Pride DPNs: 

I am, at heart, a DPN knitter.  When I first learned to knit in elementary school, I didn’t know there were any other options for small circular knitting other than double pointed needles.  I had a knitting teacher in my local 4-H group who taught me once and I never looked back.  I know I may be in the minority on this one, but I don’t find DPNs to be fiddly or difficult like I’ve heard other people complain about.  If given the chance, I’d knit every sock, mitten, and sleeve on DPNs.  That is part of the reason why I purchased this particular set.  It comes with multiple sizes of DPNs ( US 0, .5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3) for all your sock knitting needs.  I personally have only used size 1.5 for socks, but I’ve used size 0 for fingering weight mittens and currently have a DK weight mitten on my size 3 needles. I find the in between sizes great for cuffs or for when your gauge is just a tiny bit off.  I knit my first 3 pairs of socks on DPNs and I didn’t have a single problem.  I find DPNs quick to knit on and the many joins between needles help me reducing my chances of laddering on my socks because the angle between each needle isn’t that large so you don’t have to pull quite so hard on the yarn to close the gap between needles. 

I did come across a few downsides, however.  First, I realized that I have Second Sock Syndrome.  I knew I had a touch of it when in years past I would only finish one mitten and never get around to making the second one.  But that was back years ago and soon after those few mittens, I put down my knitting for a few years.  I thought for sure when I picked it back up again that I wouldn’t have the same issues.  I was wrong.  So the fact that you can only knit one sock at a time on DPNs is really discouraging at times, especially if you’re knitting very large socks.  Also, I’ve been known to be a bit rough with my knitting.  I don’t have beautiful, hand sown project bag for each of my many works in progress.  Instead, I have three large canvas bags that I have multiple projects stuffed into.  So, when switching from project A to project B and having to dig through a bag full of knitting, I’ve been known to be a bit rough with my rummaging and this has caused one of the DPNs to slip out of the stitches and me to have a mini panic attack the next time I reach for those socks.  However, if you’re just more careful with your knitting than mine I’m sure you’ll be fine.

Pros:

·         Quick to knit on
·         Reduced risk of laddering

Cons:

·         Can only knit one sock at a time
·         Stitches will sometimes slip off if you’re too rough

Now here is where things get a little tricky.  The differences between DPNs and circulars are glaringly obvious.  However, the differences between circular needle A and circular needle B are more delicate.  This is when I discovered that trying needle B will help me realize what I really liked or disliked about needle A (and vice versa).  Below, you can see a list of what, for me, are pros and cons.  I know for some people, they might prefer a stiffer cable so for them it would have been a pro for the Addi Turbos.  Again, just my opinion. 

Addi Turbo Sock Rockets: I bought mine at my LYS, but Webs sells them online: http://www.yarn.com/skacel-addi-turbo-rockets-knitting-needles/

So after a few pairs of socks, I discovered magic loop and realized that because of my Second Sock Syndrome, magic loop sock knitting was probably best for me.  While I don’t enjoy magic loop as much as DPN knitting, I had to go with the most productive option.  I heard of Addi Turbo Sock Rockets on various knitting podcasts and the podcasters made it seem like these were the crème de la crème of knitting needles!  An absolute must have for all sock knitters!  And for a while after I got them, I agreed.  These are great needles and magic loop is, indeed, magical.  I still love the fact that when I’m done knitting socks two at a time that I’m done with both socks!  I know that sounds obvious, but it is a great feeling every time.  The needle length on these is great and it helps when making smaller socks or working the toe/heel when you might have a smaller number of stitches on the needle.   Shorter needle length also means you don’t have to pull the back needle out as far before you can start knitting, which just helps the whole magic loop set up at the beginning of each row go a bit faster.   I know I have a few things on my cons list below, but the one that really annoyed me the most was the coating of the needle coming off.  And it doesn’t just wear off, it comes off in flakes.  This leaves rough edges on the needle tips and caused some yarn snagging a few times.  The edges seem to have worn down now, so it isn’t too bad any more, but the chipping is really what caused me to start keeping an eye out for a new pair of sock needles.

Pros:

·         Two at a time socks!
·         Shorter needle tips

Cons:

·         Stiffer cable
·         Needle coating wears off
·         Join between cable and needle can be a bit tricky

ChiaoGoo Red Lace:

I purchased US 1.5 fixed circulars after purchasing the interchangeable circular set and falling in love with ChiaoGoo needles.  These weren’t my first interchangeable set, but they may be my last.  My frustrations with my Addi Turbos were becoming more and more noticeable and it made me wonder if there was a better needle out there for me.  After a bit of searching, I found exactly what I was looking for (link above).  By far the biggest pro for these needles is the flexible cable.  Now, I’ll admit that I did buy a 40” cable for these while my Addis are only 32”.  However, even with no knitting on the needles, the cables are vastly different so I don’t think the length really mattered.  The cable is “highly flexible, multi-strand, nylon-coated, steel cable” and it doesn’t hold any shape.  I, and I’m sure many of you, have had the experience of ‘breaking in’ a new circular needle.  The cable is incredibly stiff and wants to stay in its coiled position.  I’ve heard of some people dip the cables into boiling water and then try to straighten the cable but I’ve never tried that and have stuck with powering through, knowing eventually the cable will soften up a bit.  But with these needles, you don’t have to go through any of that – they start off incredibly flexible!  Since these are lace needles, they do have a longer, more tapered tip which really helps when picking up stitches for my favorite short row heel.   The only down part to these not being made specifically for sock knitting like the Sock Rockets is that the full tip of the needle is a bit longer which can cause some difficulty when it comes to toe decreases or any other time you have a smaller number of stitches on your needles – it just gets a bit fiddly.

Pros:

·         Two at a time socks!
·         Very flexible cable
·         Longer needle points
·         Smooth join between cable and needle

Cons:

·         Longer needle tips

Here is my best attempt at documenting some of the above comparisons.  Some of them might not be visually striking, but when you’re knitting on the two needles, you can certainly feel a difference.

 Here, you can see the difference in the cable stiffness. 

Difference in needle tip length.  Addi on top

Not a great picture, but you can sort of see how the tip of the needle is a different color than the rest of the needle because the coating of the needle has worn off. 

Now I know I have listed out a good amount of pros and cons for these three different needles but, long story short, I still use all three.  I now usually have a pair of socks on each of my circulars and use my DPNs for complicated sock patterns or for heels and toes so I can have some better control with the stitches.  I would also love to give knitting on 9 inch circulars a go but honestly the whole knitting only one sock at a time thing is really bumming me out now that I'm used to knitting two at a time, but you never know!  Moral of the story: use whatever needles you like and just keep knitting!