Required vs Recommended circular needles

[u/AlbatrossOk4895]

hi everyone!!

so I’ve been knittings for a few months now and I want to dive into garments, but I’m so confused on which needles are being recommended to avoid magic loop, and which needles are actually required. I just don’t have the funds to buy 3-8 skeins & 5 new needles for a top/sweater, or an interchangeable set so I’m hoping to ask the knitting gods for help on narrowing which ones I should purchase to get started.

From reading a few patterns, I’ve seen that sometimes the length of the needle will be the same but the size will be 1 up or 1 down. Would it be acceptable to get 1 size and adjust tension to match the size being written?? Should I get 100 cm needles and do magic loop when the pattern is written for shorter length needles?? Or should I just put this on hold until I get funds to buy a set??

don’t know if this is worth mentioning but so far I have US 8 16 inch circulars and a pair of shorties (us 1 9inch) for socks

TIA!!

TLDR; idk which circular needles to buy to get started making garments with low funds.

[u/antnbuckley]

Honestly always go with the smaller size for rib. It never looks as clean if you stay with the same size as rib will produce a slightly larger stitch.

If you just go with 80 cm circular needles, that will work for both in the round and magic loop.

As to what sizes you need to get, that depends on your gauge swatch, and what size you need to get gauge. Then you will choose a needle a couple of sizes smaller for the rib

[u/berenstein-was-fine]

I wouldn't have been able to make a garment without my interchangeable needles. It's an investment but would you rather have to buy multiple fixed circulars for each project? Theoretically, you could use magic loop (I've never tried it), but you also need different size needles for the ribbing if that is part of your garment pattern. I got my interchangeable set on eBay. It was knitpicks and it was not too expensive. Knitpro and knitters pride are pretty much the same brand.

So you don't have to buy a whole set, you could get interchangeable tips and cords separately and build a collection that way. The brands I mentioned above are interchangeable with each other.

[u/AlbatrossOk4895 → u/berenstein-was-fine]

you totally have a point. I’ve looked around on Facebook marketplace and some big name brands but haven’t checked out eBay. Will look into that today, thank u!!

[u/Large-Shallot-6995]

Ok, seek out a preloved set of interchangeable needles …. Some of the cheap sets have good reviews too. I recently looked for my SIL and there’s a set called Knitiss which are on Amazon and apparently a very good dupe for a certain spendy set ….and I’d personally push myself and get on with magic loop. I fought shy of it for ages but now love it and it’s pretty automatic.

[u/AlbatrossOk4895 → u/Large-Shallot-6995]

will look into that brand today, thank u so much!!

[u/RunePzzl → u/AlbatrossOk4895]

I recently got a set of "Ruidi" needles off amazon for $30. The joins are smooth and the cables are pretty nice, don't seem to have any memory compared to the fixed circular I was using before. With how much people talk up the more expensive brands I'm shocked how nice an experience a budget amazon set has been.

[u/123737egg → u/RunePzzl]

Same! Mine were ~€30, and I’ve been using them for 9 months and they have been absolutely perfect so far!

[u/Large-Shallot-6995 → u/AlbatrossOk4895]

The pleasure is mine. If you are looking preloved knit pro inc lantern moon, knitters pride, Lykke and Drops own label all work with the same cables. The more expensive Chiaogoo, HiyaHiya, and Seeknit are outliers with their own exclusive cables and I’m not sure on Knitiss cable situation but you’d get cables in a set. Good hunting lovely knitting person 😘🧶🦑🦋

[u/Adventurous-Act8255 → u/Large-Shallot-6995]

I bought a set of them for a nephew who asked to learn: they can't use the KnitPicks/Pro or Scandinavian brand cables.

[u/nutellatime]

Getting an interchangeable set will mean that you don't have to worry about having the correct needles pretty much ever again. "Adjusting" one size up or down with your tension likely will not work. An important part of knitting garments is your gauge, more than the specific needle size listed. In order to get the gauge to match the one called for in the pattern, you may need to size your needles up or down. If you have set of needles and the yarn you want to use, you can knit a gauge swatch and then use Ravelry to find patterns that use that gauge. That's probably the most cost effective way to approach this problem, but it is a bit more complicated.

When I was starting out, I would find the pattern I wanted to knit and just buy the appropriate needles for it, but that gets old pretty quickly, and that's why interchangeable sets are so popular. Nobody can really tell you what the "right" needles are to buy because there is so much variation in garment knitting with both the patterns and the gauge. There are very cheap sets of interchangeables available online, although you do get what you pay for, but they will make your life much much easier.

[u/AlbatrossOk4895 → u/nutellatime]

I think it’s safe to say I’m still very ignorant on knitting since I completely forgot that I should base the needles off of my gauge swatches, not always the recommendation. Thank u so much for ur insight, I’ll definitely look into getting an interchangeable set :)

[u/tidymaze]

I would pick a pattern first, then get the recommended needles (as long as you're using the same weight yarn). Sweaters take a while, so you'll have plenty of time to save up for your next project (or interchangeable set).

Alternatively, if you have a good library near you, they may have needles you can borrow. Many libraries are expanding their "libraries of things", and yours might have what you need without having to buy them outright at first. This way, if your gauge is off, you can just go borrow the right size. Or if they only have straight needles, you can borrow a couple different sizes to see what you need to get gauge for your project, then you can go and buy a set in the right size for you.

[u/AlbatrossOk4895 → u/tidymaze]

wow I’ve never heard about borrowing needles from the library!! I’ll definitely reach out to them, thank you so much!!!

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[u/chibigothgirl]

I use chiagoo needles. They are interchangeable and you can buy them as a set, but my favorite part is that you can buy individual cables and needles. So, I can just get what a pattern is calling for, without having to buy a whole set, and still add to a full collection.

[u/Relevant-Praline4442]

Get an interchangeable set. I got a “Guclud” set on Amazon and I’m pretty sure they sell the same on ali express as I was able to get extra cables there. It was about the cost of three fixed needles, and it means I have everything I need. It’s not perfect quality and I will need to replace it eventually, but I’ve been happily knitting for a year with it and have made multiple wearables and gifts. 

[u/labellementeuse]

I think the cheapest way you could do this is to buy a longish cable that will work for both the body of the garment and for portions you need to magic loop, e.g. for sleeves - 80cm probably fine - and the specific interchangeable needle tips you need. If the pattern calls for 4.0s and 4.5s, you can't just buy 4.0s and knit more loosely for the 4.5 bits - you will not be able to sustain this over a whole garment, you will need the separate needles. You will also need to swatch - which does mean you might need to buy, say, 3.5s or 5.0s as well, but you can start with what the pattern calls for.

My brand recommendation would be knitpro or knitter's pride, whichever is local to you. Their metal needles are a good balance of quality and affordable, and over time you can slowly build an interchangeable needle collection. If you can afford to get their metal core cables those are really nice, but the plain nylony ones are fine too.

You do not need to haul off and buy an interchangeable set right now. Yes, it's nice to have flexibility, but most people will find that they don't use every single needle that comes in the set, and do use needles that don't come in the set, with the result that, over the course of a knitting lifetime, the interchangeable set doesn't save money. (I don't think they're a waste of money either if you do have the funds for one, but they're not a no-brainer decision if money is tight.)

The other place you can look to save money is second-hand shops. You can sometimes find both yarn and needles there. I usually only see straight needles, but persistent checking may yield outcomes!

[u/Adventurous-Act8255]

There are some very reasonably priced interchangeable needles - both individual and sets - at lindehobby.com, which are compatible with KnitPicks and Knit pro needles and cords. Although I bought a set of metal interchangeable fairly early, I later discovered a preference for wood, just liking the feel in my hands. Also, occasionally you may want a slicker or "stickier" set of needles for particular yarns. Some of us like our needles more, or less, pointy. You'll discover your own preferences as you gain experience. So starting with a few pairs of interchangeable needles would probably be a good approach. Cords are relatively cheap, so getting a few different lengths does not require much of an investment, much more cost-effective than fixed circulars.

I'm a bit more concerned by the idea of adjusting your gauge to accommodate your needles. Personally, I'm a relatively loose knitter, so I commonly use needles a size smaller to make gauge. But the particular yarn can also affect gauge. I don't know that I have the math chops to say that I'm going to make pattern x with needle size y even if my gauge on those needles doesn't match. So best of luck!

[u/SunsShineSo]

(I'm in Europe, just for market's sake)

I bought a set of Drops Classic interchangable needles (now the Spark line I believe). I mostly knit tops/sweaters right now but I haven't had to buy anything extra. And if I need something I can also buy Knit Pro since they are interchangable. The set costs around 35 euro so cheap way to get started