The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Crafts => Topic started by: Ina on October 21, 2012, 12:29:41 pm
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... knitting needles? I'm having a problem... Which is, of course, caused by the fact that I am a bl**dy foreigner and started out knitting in Germany, where sizes are different! I know I can get all the needles in all the sizes in Shetland (Lerwick is knitter's paradise!), but at the moment I can't even find a mailorder place to get needles from, and I don't happen to have the small change necessary to pop up north for a day. John Lewis in Aberdeen used to be good at these odd sizes, but now they don't even sell anything smaller than 2.75mm - and I rarely use anything larger than 2.5mm... And I have already tried all the craft shops in the area.
Anyway - I need circular needles, 2.5mm and 3.5mm, 100cm long at least. That's for the top-down jumpers; they get quite big across the chest. I have several in both thicknesses in 80cm (thank you, Lidl - plus some from way back which I've "imported"), and I have already started in that size, so don't want to undo what I have already and start again!
If I can't get them locally (i.e. in UK), I'll order them from Germany. But I thought I'd try here first...
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There's a set of 3mm 120cm on Ravelry ] (http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/uk-classifieds/2331479/1-25)here
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Ina,
there are a huge amount of websites that sell knitting needles although I can't vouch for the sizes they sell.
Try purplelindacrafts.co.uk or stashfineyarns.com for starters
Sally
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I use Purple Linda crafts for crochet stuff. As said try the internet. I am sure if you contact the wools shops in Lerwick they will send you some. Funny though I cant get what I want up here.
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I've ordered needles from all over the place (tend to shop for cheapest price) including amazon and ebay.
I've had some from these guys before and they have a wide range of circulars inc. 2.5mm 100cm.
http://www.mcadirect.com/shop/knitting-needles-circular-needles-c-24_58_96.html?osCsid=j0af2davpbriq7i8p49ijk0ts2 (http://www.mcadirect.com/shop/knitting-needles-circular-needles-c-24_58_96.html?osCsid=j0af2davpbriq7i8p49ijk0ts2)
I'd also suggest one of these
http://www.mcadirect.com/shop/prym-knitting-pin-gauge-611740-p-1999.html?osCsid=j0af2davpbriq7i8p49ijk0ts2 (http://www.mcadirect.com/shop/prym-knitting-pin-gauge-611740-p-1999.html?osCsid=j0af2davpbriq7i8p49ijk0ts2)
I inherited a lot of knitting needles from people when I started knitting, but many had no size labelled or were marked in old UK system, so this has proved very useful for working out what size things are!
Dans
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The British Addi website (addineedles) has all sizes I think, apart from 3.5mm, and the needles are lovely to knit with - the circular ones don't have a mind of their own so you can use them straight out of the packet. A bit over £5 each plus 60 or 90 p P&P Sorry I don't have the exact url
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It's always worth looking in charity shops as well. I've often seen needles in our local ones.
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Always ask if you do. Some charity shops keep them behind the counter.
Dans
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Thanks for all your replies. I'll try the websites you mentioned - the ones I'd found so far had only British sizes, and none of them longer than 80cm. Charity shops are unlikely to have "continental" sizes, either.
Update:
mcadirect and addineedles have the right sizes (the others don't), and addineedles have even extra long ones, up to 150cm - hooray! Sometimes it's strange which websites come up when you google for something, and which ones seem to be ignored...
Get the creditcard out, I'm ordering... :excited:
Thanks for your help!
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Glad you found what you were looking for :) I just wanted to add that knitting jumpers on 2.5/3.5mm needles is definitely a work of love and devotion and I'm in awe!! You deserve a :trophy: !
How many stitches do you have on a row?
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3.5mm is definitely an exception - I got a joblot of oiled Aran cheap, and that's lovely wool but far thicker than anything I usually use! The 2.5mm I use for some Shetland wool (Jamieson's), but my absolute favourite is proper Guernsey yarn - 5-ply - which I knit with 2mm needles. I think for that one I had 372 stitches (in the round). The knitting doesn't take that long; I think professional knitters used to (or maybe still do?) finish one per week. My problem with "normal" jumpers is that it takes me a month or two to knit the thing, and then a year or two to sew the bits together! ::) So anything that doesn't involve sewing up/finishing off, like Guernseys or the raglan I'm doing at the moment is so much better...
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I just love knitting in the round - learning how to do that transformed knitting from a chore to a hobby for me :knit: Now once I get to the top all I have to do is graft under the arms and sew in the tails. The only picking up is a few stitches on either side of the neck at the front - (I hate picking up stitches - one side works fine but the other side never looks right).
For the first time in ages I'm knitting a jumper as flat pieces - the realisation that when I get to the top I still have two front pieces and two sleeves to do is totally daunting. And if I ever get to that point then I'll still have to sew it up :rant: I hope it's worth it :bunny:
I'm glad you found the needles you want. Happy :knit: :thumbsup:
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Glad you found what you were after Ina!
oooo I hadn't thought about knitting jumpers in the round. I love knitting hats in the round, and have started knitting flat things on circulars. Shall have to investigate jumpers in the round.
Dans
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Dans, look at the thread on knitting jumpers from the top - that's one way to do it. And two books I found very useful are:
"Knitting Ganseys", by Beth Brown-Reinsel; not strictly traditional Ganseys (or Guernseys), but that style, and includes cardies.
And "Cornish Guernseys & Knit-frocks" - gives you a lot of history as well, and the traditional patterns. I knitted a copy of one from that book which is over 100 years old...
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Ina,
I have never tried knitting in the round before, other than a pair of socks, so I am interested in the books you have mentioned too.
If you could have only one of those books which would it be?
thanks
Sally
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There are more different patterns in the first one - the second only gives you two basic, traditional ones with lots of variations. From the historical point of view, I prefer the Cornish one (and I used it for my own Guernsey); but purely from the knitting point of view the first one would probably be better!
Maybe you could get one or both in the library? Or even other ones on the subject? Fair Isle is knitted in the round, too; same pattern as Guernseys, really. A good book for that is "The Fair Isle Knitting Handbook", by Alice Starmore. Too complicated for me! I always got my fingers in a twist when I attempted that... I think you have to start very young to master it. ;D I'm all for plain knitting...
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Thanks Ina, Perhaps I will put them on my christmas list
Sally
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Glad you found what you wanted Ina. I was going to suggest McAree in Edinburgh/Stirling too, because their online shop is always well stocked and although they don't go for the sensational discounts that other sites do, they always have what you look for, and in big quantities. Never had a single problem with them in over a year I use the site.
I had heard about knitting jumpers in the round too and actually have just bought myself a long circular needle to give it a go, although the amount of good yarn (with a high wool content) needed to make one in my size is so astonishingly high (in 50g or 100g balls), that makes me cry (and my bank account too).
I have received today two free patterns to knit in the round from Jamiesons and I swear I'll make one - takes what it takes!!
If you also want them, you can PM me or email Jamiesons directly and they will send the pdf.
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Yes, knitting your own isn't cheap! I love Jamieson's wool - was absolutely gobsmacked first time I went into their shop and saw all those colours... And it's all "real" wool! Whereas the only "wool shops" in Aberdeen didn't actually sell any wool - only plastic stuff. Lucky if you found anything with at least 50% wool. (I use sock yarn with 25% acrylic content - whenever I tried making them with 100% wool, they didn't last long enough; but otherwise I only use 100% wool.)
I'll keep your offer in mind - don't need any more patterns at the moment, though - thanks for that! Need to finish what I've started first.
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I love knitting in the round, apart from anything else the weight sits in your lap and not on the needles so knitting doesn't make your hands/wrists ache in the same way.
JC Rennie (http://www.knitrennie.com/) is a good place to buy proper yarn at good rates. If you buy the 500g cones, which is enough for at least a couple of jumpers I gather, it's about £25. For all wool, or wool and silk mix and some good colours. You have to do a bit of maths (explained on the site) to work out the weight of the cone wool, is the only problem. I'd have said that the Castle stuff on the cone (which is not the same as the handknit balls) is about double knitting, it's coming right on 4mm needles.
The cones are 'in the grease' so the finished article needs scouring afterwards. I've bought the Castle 500g and it's perfectly knittable with as it comes, feels a bit harsh, but softens beautifully when washed.
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Two jumpers from 500g - that sounds too good to be true! For my Guernsey I needed about 800g. OK, that's quite a large one, but still. And you usually need more if it's thicker yarn...
Strange.
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From the JC Rennie website, under Technical info.
How many garments can I make from a 0.9kg cone (greasy)
This depends on what garment you are making and what size. We can normally make three or four sweaters with a 0.9 kg cone. Generally think backwards. If you are knitting 8 pairs of socks which you estimate will weigh 100 grams for each pair then a 0.9kg cone (greasy) should suffice.
My bad, they were talking about 900g cones not 500g.
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Yeah, but they say 3 or 4 jumpers... Well - what can I say - they are all a lot slimmer than me! :eyelashes:
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But still, the stuff's good quality and not expensive.
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But still, the stuff's good quality and not expensive.
;D Don't tempt me - I have another three jumpers to knit before I am allowed to buy any new wool! I'm useless with wool... I hate shopping; every time I have to buy something (urgent need for "civilised" clothes for example) I come back with either books or wool. Or both. ::)
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;D
I have so many UFOs ....... :P
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JC Rennie (http://www.knitrennie.com/) is a good place to buy proper yarn at good rates. If you buy the 500g cones, which is enough for at least a couple of jumpers I gather, it's about £25. For all wool, or wool and silk mix and some good colours. You have to do a bit of maths (explained on the site) to work out the weight of the cone wool, is the only problem. I'd have said that the Castle stuff on the cone (which is not the same as the handknit balls) is about double knitting, it's coming right on 4mm needles.
The cones are 'in the grease' so the finished article needs scouring afterwards. I've bought the Castle 500g and it's perfectly knittable with as it comes, feels a bit harsh, but softens beautifully when washed.
WOW WOW :knit: :knit: :knit: Starry eyed now, I want to buy everything! I MUST finish my UFOs so I will not feel so bad at buying more yarn :innocent:
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I've just done the 'sums' for the 500g Castle cone and it contains 1500m of yarn.
This sweater, on Ravelry, takes that amount of DK yarn, for a medium.
(http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k70/jaykayg/87f106cd14e61b8af0e12e299231e715.jpg)
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I daren't go anywhere near wool shops as I always want to buy lots and I've already got more yarn than I know what to do with.
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argh you guys are far too tempting!
Some of those cones say machine knit vs hand knit. What is the difference between them in terms of yarn, and can you hand knit with yarn meant for machines?
Dans
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From the JC Rennie website, under Technical info.
How many garments can I make from a 0.9kg cone (greasy)
This depends on what garment you are making and what size. We can normally make three or four sweaters with a 0.9 kg cone. Generally think backwards. If you are knitting 8 pairs of socks which you estimate will weigh 100 grams for each pair then a 0.9kg cone (greasy) should suffice.
My bad, they were talking about 900g cones not 500g.
I've just had a look at that - that's the machine knitting yarn. Very thin - 2-ply - the normal handknitting yarn would be 4-ply (which explains why they are getting so many garments out of one cone!).
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Seeing that I've been going on about real Guernseys, I thought I'd better tell you where to get the yarn for that.
http://www.guernseywool.co.uk/index.html (http://www.guernseywool.co.uk/index.html)
Not cheap - but the end result is almost waterproof and will last for years. Especially if you do what I intend to do with my next one - knit the bottom ribbing top-down, so I can repair it easily. Mind you, my old one lasted for about 8 years, and I was wearing it almost non-stop! They do patterns as well.
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I'm sorely tempted by a Guernsey, once I've worked through my current stash ;)
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I'm already trying to decide on the colour - although it'll be at least a year until I'm "allowed"! ;D
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I'm tempted. I'm very tempted. I particularly like the heather colour.
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My old one is dark navy - very traditional; I always wanted a black one, but that's hard on the eyes, especially when you are knitting in less than ideal conditions... I like the cedar, too.
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Someone at our Guild knitted a beautiful lace shawl. It was black, but she'd knitted it white, so she could see it, and then dyed it black afterwards :)
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argh you guys are far too tempting!
Some of those cones say machine knit vs hand knit. What is the difference between them in terms of yarn, and can you hand knit with yarn meant for machines?
Dans
Yes you can - wool for machine knitting generally comes on cones and is oiled to help it go through the machine easier, but there's no reason why you can't hand knit with it. It'll feel a bit different to 'hand knit' yarns but once you wash it, the strands bloom and soften considerably.
I knitted a gansey for my DH last year. The seamless construction is brilliant. The pattern was easy to adapt as well, so as DH is a tree surgeon I put in rope cables, knit/purl ladder pattern and tree of life. Then - disaster - I washed it at too high a temperature and it felted really badly!! I haven't attempted another one yet :-[
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That's very sad... They do say on the website that the Guernsey yarn isn't suitable for machine wash, but I'm sure I've washed mine in a wool wash cycle. But I suppose no wool can stand too high temperatures!
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Re knitting in the round - Elizabeth Zimmermann should have designs on this?
I knit all my standard jumpers/cardigans in the round, starting from the top. There is a point just before you take the arms off for doing later that the rows are endless.....
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... or at least it seems that way! ;D I'm at over 500 stitches at the moment and still increasing...
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That is a lot of stitches but I suppose it depends on the thickness of the wool. I avoid anything finer than double knit.
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That is a lot of stitches but I suppose it depends on the thickness of the wool. I avoid anything finer than double knit.
double knit.... ??? even after 20plus years knitting in the UK that's another thing us silly continental knitters can't remember... I always have to look at the length per 100/50g to gauge how much I need for a project...
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I can't work it out that way.
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It is what you're used to. I have American friends I discuss knitting with too and their system is different again - and they measure yarn in yards per pound :o
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The moral being stay where you know how it's done. Or be confused.com
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That is a lot of stitches but I suppose it depends on the thickness of the wool. I avoid anything finer than double knit.
double knit.... ??? even after 20plus years knitting in the UK that's another thing us silly continental knitters can't remember... I always have to look at the length per 100/50g to gauge how much I need for a project...
Glad I'm not the only one! ;D
At least they do now sell "proper" wool here, and even decent sock yarn (although most of it is imported from Germany....) Only a few years ago I used to order my wool online from Germany, and on my infrequent visits back home I returned with a suitcase full of yarn! My aunt still sends me sock yarn for Christmas and birthdays.
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You've got her well-trained, Ina.
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Update:
Just finished the jumper that I needed the needles for - hooooray! Well, still need to tidy up a few ends, but no sewing up or so, thanks to knitting in one piece.
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Ina, can we see a picture?
Sally
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I'd have to find batteries for the camera, and find the camera first, and remember how it works... :D
I'm useless with photos, in other words!