Circular vs Straight Needles

Question for my fellow knitters - which do you prefer to knit with - circular or straight needles?

There’s no wrong answer. Some knitters prefer circular needles, some prefer straight needles.

Personally, I prefer knitting with circular needles, although it wasn’t always like that.

When I first started knitting in 2011 I only used straight needles. I was very new to the world of knitting and thought that straight needles were the only option. Wow, was I wrong! There is a whole universe worth of knitting needles available to us to find what works best for us.

If you are new to knitting and not sure what I’m talking about, circular needles feature two needle tips, like straight knitting needles, but they have a cable in the middle. As with straight needles there are lots of needle sizes to choose from, depending on the yarn, tension gauge, project you are knitting, etc. The cable is available in lots of different lengths and so is perfect for knitting cardigans, sweaters, hats, gloves, socks, etc.

With straight needles, you can only knit flat. With circular needles you are able to knit flat or in the round.

Circular needles are available in two different design types - fixed and interchangeable.

Fixed circular knitting needles are already together in one piece and can’t be changed. The needle tips and cable are set to the needle size and cable length.

Interchangeable circulars are available in two parts - both needle tips and the cable. This means that if you need 5mm needles and 60cm cable you have to buy the two parts separately. You are then able to twist the needle tips and cables together to make them into one piece. The cables can often be used with Tunisian Crochet Hooks, but that’s a blog for another day.

I had to start using circular needles as I wanted to knit a cardigan that required circular needles as you can’t knit large pieces using straight needles. As apprehensive as I was, I went for it, and knit my very first garment with a set of fixed circular needles. Even though I was knitting a cardigan it didn’t feel as heavy on the circular needles as I suspected as I’m not holding the weight of the project on two needles. That’s awesome for all knitters, especially for people like me with wrist issues.

Looking back, the one mistake I made was going for fixed circular needles. For me, I found them cumbersome. Perhaps it was the needles I got in particular, but I found the joint between the cable and needle points to be quite snaggy, meaning that I had to push the yarn over the joints rather than an easy slide along the needle.

After knitting a few more projects I realised I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I hoped, and put my fixed circular needles away.

Then a few years ago I was hired to knit a sweater for a customer, and although I was feeling anxious about it, it was a simple pattern and I knew I could manage with fixed needles for one project.

I was talking about knitting this sweater in my weekly Knit and Natter group and one of the lovely women there introduced me to interchangeable circular needles. She walked me through the entire process and was always available for questions.

The needles she introduced me to are Knit Pro Symfonie Interchangeable Circular Needles. There are other brands on the market, but I am so happy with these that I don’t feel the need to try others. I love the Knit Pro Symfonie needles anyway as I use their straight needles. Their interchangeable circulars did not disappoint. They are made from densified laminated birch wood. The yarn slides along the needles and cables effortlessly, and the joint between the cable and tips has never been a problem for me.

The one word of warning I would have for interchangeable needles, regardless of which brand you decide to go with, is to regularly check the join between the needle tips and cable hasn’t become loose. There is nothing worse than being in the middle of a row and the cable and needle tip part ways. It’s a nightmare to put them back together again mid-row. I always check the join every five rows.

There are two types of cable that Knit Pro have - SmartStix and The Mindful Collection Swivel Cable. They are both fantastic, but if I had to pick a favourite it would be the Mindful Collection. The cable is a little bit thicker and is easier to unfurl, especially the longer cables.

I knit my first project with interchangeable circular needles, and my love was born. I started to fall in love with using circular needles with most of my projects, even when I was knitting flat. When knitting something like a scarf that is long and requires a lot of yarn that ends up being quite heavy, knitting with circular needles definitely makes the process more enjoyable, especially for wrist problem folks.

Every cable pack comes with a cable key to tighten the join between the cable and needle tips and a set of 2 end caps, which are fantastic if you are working on something like a cardigan and need to leave a section to work on another section. With these end caps, you can remove the needle tips, secure the cable with the end caps on both ends and use the needle tips for the next section.

I still use straight needles occasionally if I am working on a small swatch or project, but for the most part I reach for my circular needles a lot more than straight nowadays.

Are you a straight needle knitter or do you prefer circular knitting needles? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time....

Kirsten