The kinds of needles
- Straight: a pair with a stopper at one end. For flat pieces like scarves.
- Circular: two short needles joined by a cable. For hats and sweaters worked in the round, and for big flat pieces.
- Double-pointed (DPNs): sets of 4 or 5 short needles for small tubes like socks and the top of a hat.
- Interchangeable: tips and cables you screw together in many sizes. Good value once you knit a lot.
Materials
Metal is fast and slippery, wood and bamboo are grippy and warm, and plastic is light and cheap. Beginners often like wood or bamboo because the stitches don’t slide off.
The best first needles
A pair of 5 mm (US 8) wooden straight needles, or a 5 mm circular needle with a 60 cm cable, with medium (worsted) yarn.
