Well I thought I had my mind made up about which brand of interchangeable needles to buy, but I was totally wrong. I went to my local yarn store, Mt. Laurel Yarn Boutique in Sturbridge, MA, to get more information and to see first hand what they had to offer for interchangeable needles. They had Denise, Hiya Hiya, Addi Click, Rosewood Interchangeable by Plymouth Yarn and had Clover but it was on the way and not in store yet.
It was very nice to see and touch all these brands of interchangeable needles in one place. Plus the store was very quiet so I was able to ask lots of questions without feeling like I was hogging their time. The owner uses Denise as her primary needles while the other woman used the Hiya Hiya. The owner said that there are several regulars to her store that use Denise needles religiously as their primary needles even some busy knitting teachers. I told her that I did not mind spending the money for quality needles that will last. She still recommended the Denise needles to me.
Here are some things that sold me on the Denise interchangeable needles before even using them. The set included needles from sizes 5 to 15. It also had six cables from size 5" to 19" along with 2 connectors to make them longer and 4 end caps to save your project or make them as straight needles. This whole set was only $50 in a nice storage case. Denise offers a lifetime guarantee! If anything ever needs to be replaced, I can bring them to the store OR contact the manufacturer myself for a replacement at NO COST. Finally, and probably the most important selling point to me, the are made in the USA! In addtion, I purchased the companion set (in lavendar) and the size 19 needle. I will be getting the size 17 needle too but they were out of stock.
After switching out the fixed circular needles that I borrowed, I was able to play with them for over four hours. Here is a picture of the just about completed bottom of my hexagonal market bag:
I had some difficulty using the longest cable by itself since I did not have much room to play. So I squished it together and added a connector and another cable. This worked much better. As you can see, I am using two different sized needles right now. I am completing the knit row using the 10.5 needle from the 5 needle. I just twisted it off and changed it. I will be knitting the mesh part of the bag next with both of the 10.5 needles until I get to the top.
By the way, I was bad on Monday. I bought the rest of the accessories for the Denise needles. I got all of the long cords, to do Magic Loop, in 30", 40" and 52", size 17 needles, size 10.75 needles and the Denise organizer in red. I am so glad that I tried these needles and did not follow the advice of several other reviews and forums. I am very happy with these as they are functional and were not super expensive even after buying all the accessories. I would highly recommend these to anyone in the market for interchangeable circular knitting needles!!!
I've been reading your reviews on interchangeable sets and I'm wondering which set you like the best, Denise or knit picks zephyr?
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to disappoint you but neither. I have since discovered Knit Picks Nickel Plated, which is the exact same as Knitter's Pride Nova. I love metal needles because the stitches move more freely and easily. They only cost a little more that Knit Picks Zephyr needles and they are more durable to me! I hope this helps!
DeleteThanks, Diane. I'm a new knitter and I'm trying to figure out which type of needle I like best. I picked up a bundle of needles at a garage sale and borrow metal ones from my mother-in-law, who is teaching me. I found that the metal needles were too slick and the yarn slipped off- especially with bulky yarn, probably because it was acrylic. I tried a bamboo one and found it to be too sticky and thought there must be a happy medium! I'm also trying to figure out which is better for me- using circular or straight needles (if you have a choice I mean in a pattern, etc.) One of my first projects was a poncho with a hood and the hood used a circular- it was awkward for me but it may have been that the cord was too long or something- which led me to look at interchangeable needles. So far I like straight needles, but there will be times when you need circular so I have to get something and I thought just getting the most common used sizes with different lengths- not sure. So many options!
ReplyDeleteKnitting needles are a very personal choice. If you are unsure, get the Knit Picks Try It Needle pack.
Deletehttp://www.knitpicks.com/needles/TRY_IT_Needle_Set__D90589.html
This way you can try al three types that are available from Knit Picks ~ zephry, nickel plated and harmony wood. Remember, you can use circular needles as straights too. Good luck!