accidental feminist

When I first started knitting, I used metal needles by Susan Bates. I bought them around the time that an American icon, Woolworth’s, was going out of business. Everything in the “crafts” section of the Hyde Park store was on sale, including the acrylic yarn, horrible 80’s sweater patterns and useless how-to books. I just wanted to try it out. I remember casting on a few stitches only to have them immediately fall off my needle due to my clumsiness and confusion. But metal needles are durable, and they stayed with me until the year 2003, when I started to take a more serious interest in my knitting career. In early 2003, I bought my first pair of bamboo needles, and it was the best $10 I ever spent. They were Crystal Palace size 7 double pointed needles, and the stitches seemed to stay on the needle better. I felt more in control of my projects. They were lighter and more flexible. They were also MUCH more pleasant to look at.

There’s something so institutional about the grays and blues of metal needles. The wooden and bamboo ones are various shades of brown and yellow. They’re organic and make you feel as if you’re using materials straight from Mother Earth. Combined with the feel of 100% wool, you feel as if you’re working naturally. It feels almost rustic. Ok, so metal is from the earth too, but could you feasibly make knitting needles out of it without the help of machines? No. But you could certainly fashion a few needles out of some bamboo sticks near your cave and go to work weaving blades of grass into a nice new loin cloth.

Knitting needles are the second most important part of any project (next to yarn). And it pays to invest in a pair that you feel comfortable with and excited to use. Picking needles is also a bit of a crap shoot at first. The kind of needle that will work best is highly individualized and can depend on things like: what kind of yarn you’re using, whether you’re a tight or loose knitter, how big your project is. The best way to figure it out is to try different kinds. You can even buy a few pairs and switch off in a project for comparison. The one thing I’ve learned is that you can NEVER have too many needles. Here’s a list of a few kinds of needles and the benefits/drawbacks:

1. metal:

pros:
– the cheapest and easiest kind to track down
–sturdy
–easy to knit with because of slickness (also con)

cons:
–slickness makes it easy for stitches to slip off
–ugly (in my opinion)
–could be confiscated by airport security
–cold
–COULD EXPLODE

2. bamboo:

pros:
–stitches don’t slip off needle as easily (also con)
–more flexible
–warm
–pretty/earthy (if you’re in the mood for hippie)

cons:
–bit harder to knit with because stitches don’t slip
off needle as easily
–more expensive, and harder to find—not at your local JoAnns

3. plastic:

pros:
–most flexible
–slick for ease of knitting (like metal and also a con)
–cheap
–lots of colorful/fashionable options including pink!
(if you’re in the mood for hip)

cons:
–not biodegradable
–slick for ease of loosing stitches

4. wood: See bamboo