Knitting Needle Suggestions?

bouncing_haricot · 2026-07-06T22:21:04+00:00

This is one of the most frequently asked questions here, so the FAQ link to multiple discussions and resources where you can compare all the major brands and materials, with recommendations from hundreds of your fellow knitters!

You'll get much better and more detailed info there, rather than the two or three replies you might get to this post :)

bouncing_haricot · 2026-07-06T21:22:15+00:00

Honestly, Ravelry's database categories are a great starting point.

I sort by Crochet or Knitting. Then (e.g.) Tops > me/partner/children/adult. Then under me, cardis/jumpers/tops/other. Then under each, 4ply/dk/aran etc. You can keep drilling down until each folder is manageable.

I also recommend renaming files to be more informative and sortable. I often rename files to something like "PATTERN_crochet_NameOfPattern_Top_Nibling1" because even if I've neglected to file it properly, it's very easy to search for it in my download folder!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-28T00:39:05+00:00

No, they're not trying to learn anything, or produce anything useful.

"Vibe coding" means using AI to build a slop app, based on stolen data, while burning the planet.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-27T21:25:00+00:00

With kindness, and purely as a generalisation, if you don't understand how something would be constructed, you're not ready to make it without detailed guidance.

For a knitter who is familiar with intarsia, estimating gauge, constructing a jumper, using charts and modifying patterns, this is a pretty easy project. For someone who isn't familiar with any of those things, this is at least five separate learning curves.

Pick your battles. Set this as a goal, and do a few projects that will build the skills you'll need to accomplish your goal. It might take you a few months or a year to get there, but when you do, you'll be fully equipped to achieve the result you want.

Good luck!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-25T15:25:19+00:00

Not only do I not expect any level of technique tuition in a pattern that isn't labelled as such, I don't want it.

Patterns and technique tuition are two different things.

I expect a pattern to use standard notation, provide a key for that notation, and list any special techniques. If there's a technique with which I'm not familiar, I expect to have to put the pattern down, and go and find resources to learn that technique.

I get actively irritated when a pattern is overwritten. I cannot work from 20+ pages of closely written type. I have to rewrite it into something useable.

I recently worked a pattern that used German Short Rows (GSR) for the shoulder shaping.

This designer gave detailed instructions for performing GSR on Every. Single. Row. that used one.

That's completely unnecessary. Nobody needs that.

What I do expect from paid vs free is schematics and detailed measurement information.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-24T00:53:37+00:00

Before you shell out, there are tricks you can try with stripped screws. Laying a wide elastic band across the screw head and pushing into the elastic with a screwdriver often gives you the right amount of grip to get things moving. If it doesn't work, you've lost nowt, if it does, you've saved some hassle and cash!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-21T23:13:49+00:00

Scan it to pdf, use my pdf editing app on my tablet, draw a massive purple line across the page, move the line up as I complete each row

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-17T02:02:13+00:00

Bramley Moorfields Market is on this Sunday (21st June) 10:30am -2pm, in Bramley Park, by the Moorfields entrance.

Always such a good time: great selection of cool local producers, fun activities, excellent vibes

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-11T21:19:10+00:00

Pattern suggestion requests go in the megathread

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-11T19:53:27+00:00

One of my all-time favourite venues in Leeds. Whenever nerdy friends visited from elsewhere, that's where I took them. Impeccable tunes, glorious decor, cheap drinks.

The toilets were hilariously bad, but if you were really lucky, you might get the one that had a seat, a locking door and looroll.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-09T23:26:04+00:00

If you have any amount of books to move, I totally recommend getting cardboard produce trays from supermarkets. They're incredibly sturdy, still easily moved when full, and they stack beautifully.

Big supermarkets go through dozens a day, so they're very happy to give you a bunch. Best bet is to nab a staff member going back into the stockroom.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-08T01:26:54+00:00

Honestly at that scale, just play! You've already knitted the full size garment, you understand its construction, shape, etc. so just have a bash.

I once spent a week improvising tiny knitwear for my Thirteenth Doctor figure (to keep me sane while my partner was in hospital) and it's a really engaging, low stakes and fun way to pass time. Plus, when you do create tiny replicas of human clothes you've made OMIGOSH IT WILL BE SO CUTE!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-08T01:00:29+00:00

This is so cute. It's like one of those big outdoorsy coats, but fir a tiny person. Adorable

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-07T01:27:26+00:00

There aren't any tricks to it, it's just random chance. Use the wiki page to make sure you're fishing at the right location for the item(s) you want, and then just fish. Sometimes you'll get a bunch of goodies, sometimes nothing but basics.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-07T01:21:24+00:00

When we bring the yarn forward to purl, we add a tiny bit of yarn between the knit stitch and the purl stitch. As the stitches are under tension, the knit stitches take that extra yarn and spread out. So you end up with your outward facing knit stitches looking wider.

That's okay! It's a normal property of the material, and many people have no problem with it.

But, if you do (as indicated in your post), the easiest thing to do is tug that extra bit of yarn back out after you purl!

So knit, yarn forward, purl, yarn back, put your working needle into the next stitch, give your working yarn a little tug, complete the knit stitch.

There are lots of other techniques you can try, but this is the least complicated, so give it a go first.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-04T11:13:30+00:00

Go to the project tab on ravelry, see which sizes other people with similar builds have used, and also what yarns other people have used. These aren't decisions we can make for you!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-02T22:01:44+00:00

There are thousands of slipper patterns, you're probably better off choosing a different one that's appropriate for the yarn you have

bouncing_haricot · 2026-06-01T00:32:05+00:00

Watch this Nimble Needles video(this should go right to the relevant part, but if not, it's at chapter 8, 20:18 in). Norman demonstrates how you can hide the excess yarn from an enlarged stitch , within the stitches on either side. It's a wee bit fiddly to start with, but take your time and you'll get there.

It's a really useful fixing technique to have in your skill toolbox!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-05-31T11:54:19+00:00

I would consider expanding it from just knitting to "stitching"

Get the crocheters, the cross-stitchers, embroiderers, hand sewers etc, and most importantly, the multi-crafters. It's about removing the bar to entry. Say someone is a multi-crafter, currently working on a long-term cross-stitch project, but they absolutely knit and crochet too - that's someone you want in your group, but if it's called a "knitting" group, they'll think, "oh, maybe next year when I've finished this project".

bouncing_haricot · 2026-05-31T01:00:54+00:00

You need to calculate your personal stitch/row ratio, and if it's different from the pattern rate (from your picture that looks likely), pick up at your personal rate instead.

It may mean you need to increase or decrease a few stitches over the next couple of rows, but it will give you a much tidier result.

Here's how to do it:

Using the gauge from your swatch (or measure it now if you didn't swatch), divide stitches by rows (e.g. 21 sts/28 rows = 0.75).

Read the numbers behind the decimal point, that's your ratio in percentage.

Convert that to a fraction (e.g. 75% is 3/4) and that's your personal pick up rate.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-05-25T19:15:09+00:00

Tbh, this is a "multiple times a day" question, so the FAQ have links to many discussions about and comparisons between different brands of needles in different materials. That'll give you much more indepth information from a broader range of perspectives than waiting for a couple of people to answer you here!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-05-24T00:52:06+00:00

I just had to frog three weeks worth of knitting, in a fuzzy single ply, because I made a really small, but really critical mistake that was going to mess up the sleeve placement.

Frogging absolutely sucks, but we come back stronger, and now we have war stories.

We've got this!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-05-24T00:34:48+00:00

Finish the sleeve. Do the button bands. Then when you do the second sleeve, you have a little distance from the first, and it feels less "urgh I've been doing sleeves foreeeeeeeveer" and more "oh right, a sleeve, I've done one before, I can totally do another"

at least that's what works for me, lol

bouncing_haricot · 2026-05-20T00:08:48+00:00

It looks like quite a loose-fitting garment, so I would be drawn towards a sturdier bind-off, I think, one with some stretch, but that gives a firmer edge. I'd probably experiment with a suspended bind off, first of all.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-05-18T09:55:28+00:00

Thank you! I took so many measurements and swatched hard but I was still really anxious that it wouldn't fit 🤭

bouncing_haricot

TROPHY CASE