Circular knitting needles are handy. They are two straight needles connected with a flexible cord. The length of the cord is different. They are workable for round knitting. They are available in different sizes.
Circular needle sizes
- 1 & below – Typically chosen for laced projects or those that need intense patience. The small-sized needles are specialized and not available in every store. Beginners don’t need these sized needles.
- 1 to 3 – These sized knitting needles are great for those who prefer to knit cozy socks. Many knitters knit socks with size 1 & 2 needles using the sock yarn. Besides, socks you can make shawls with these needles from sock yarns.
- 3 to 5 – A great option to knit sport-weight yarns. Socks, baby blankets, sweaters, and other items that use sporty-weight yarns can be knit with these sized needles.
- 5 to 7 – Ideal for DK-weight yarns that are a little lighter than worsted-weight yarns. Anything from scarves to sweaters to gloves can be knitted.
- 7 to 9 – The most popular needles recommended for beginners. It is used in knitting worsted-weight yarn.
- 9 to 11 – Faster knit is done because the head size grows large. For quick knits using chunky-weight yarns, apply this needle.
- 11 to 17 – For a bigger yarn project choose this size range.
- Larger than 17 – Size 17 is suitable for jumbo-weight yarns used to create thick knits. Metal and wooden knitting needles are not perfect for thick knits because knits make the fabric heavy. Therefore, plastic needles are recommended.
Cord lengths
9” – It is the shortest needle suitable for projects with small circumferences like baby hats, narrow sleeves, or socks.
16” – The 16” cord length is perfect for round knitting like sweaters or booties for babies, hat brims, as well as collars, and sleeves of adult sweaters.
24” – If you need space on needles while knitting then sticks to small shawls, small cardigans, small adult pullover, etc. using this 24” cord.
29” to 32” – For medium-sized knitting projects 29” cord length is perfect.
36” to 40” – When the knitting project is heavy then this cord length range is more comfortable because the weight is not placed on the needle, which allows fast knitting.
More than 40” – Choose these cords only when you have to knit bed-size blankets because knitting small projects can make you feel uncomfortable as you will need to handle the extra cord length.
When choosing a circular needle the cord length and size consider the application needs as well as your personal preference. To uncover your personal taste, you need to experiment using each size and cord extent. Even check the yarn weight you will use in the project to easily identify which knitting needles to choose. Generally, the majority of yarn labels reveal the needle’s size suitable to the yarn.
In brief, short cord length is perfect for small projects, while longer ones can be chosen for large chunky, or heavy projects.
