Oho, a week already since the last Frenchie’s Faves. Not entirely sure where the days went, but in keeping with the knitting theme, this week I want to talk about needles. For as much as a yarn snob as I really can be, it’s not really that way for needles with me.
Now, I really can’t stand aluminum needles. They noise they make clack clack clack tink tink clack clack ahhh drives me nuts, and they’re soooo slippery! But the needles I’m talking about today aren’t that much more cost-wise.
Clover brand Bamboo needles. Yeah, I know, shocker right? Wow Frenchie I thought you were done with big box knitting stuff.
Nah man, just the yarn.
Knitting needles are very much like crochet hooks in the sense that they’re personal choice. There’s no “better”, there’s only what works and what is comfortable for the knitter. Clover bamboo needles are definitely on the lower end of the price range, for the more common sizes and if you’re buying them at a craft store, you can use a coupon on them so accounting for discounts you’re really looking at $3-6/pair unless you’re looking for specialty teenie tiny 9” circulars or massive chonkers like a size 15 or something
I have a variety of needles. Knitter’s Pride, Knitpicks, Addi, and I do use them all, but Clover Bamboo are definitely the ones I use the most and find myself reaching for when I go to cast on anything that doesn’t require short tips.
The first three bags I grabbed were Clover needles! Oh, and do you think I have a favourite color scheme? 😂
I also teach on bamboo which has its benefits in again, affordability (not everyone can or wants to invest heavily in The Best™️ supplies when picking up a new hobby) and the key element to them is that bamboo is ‘grabby’. The stitches do slide along the surface nicely as you work, but not so much on their own. The ‘grabbiness’ is particularly useful when working with DPNs for me.
This is in contrast to the very inexpensive Susan Bates or Boye aluminum needles or a pricer polished wood or stainless steel.
I find my students to become much more confident more quickly when making sure stitches aren’t sliding off their needles is less of a concern and they can focus their efforts on the level of multitasking knitting is at the very start.
If you’ve struggled to pick up knitting and you haven’t been using bamboo, pick up a pair and try again. I know one of my biggest hurdles was my constant battle with my boye aluminum needles. I was drawn in by the shiny, by the beautiful colors.
Turns out, I needed to go a little more…au natural.
Frenchie Leigh 