There is circular knitting, and then, there are circular needles.
While circular knitting can be done by 4 straight needles, ( DPNs), circular needles are great for straight knitting too.
If you have lost me somewhere in those two sentences, I understand completely..But then, on this first weekend of July, with the monsoons sulking at the horizon, I can rhapsodise about my love for circular needles.
Army cantonment winters were all about knitters at home. Ma, her friends, and visiting Aunts would be knitting up sweaters and caps and socks for the constantly growing brood of kids.
Every bit of knitting was done on straight needles imbued with a fine sense of drama…Vanishing into the crevices of sofas and padded chairs, poking innocent kids hurtling past, or just plopping out of the project when no one was looking. Winter vacations were peppered with frantic search expeditions for that missing No. 10 or No 12 knitting needle, which would vanish just when Ma was starting the sleeve cap or the neck border.
The knob, on which the UK number was imprinted, would erode with vigorous use, and then would drop off. Ma had a collection of these knob-less knitting needles, which would be borrowed for poking my little sister or the cat or my grandma, and for helping sweet-pea creepers to grow straight and tall ( to match the straight and tall Army officer at home).
Ma’s knitting needles were not very straight, though. Regular use had moulded them to accommodate her style of knitting, and those bent and curved needles were used till the last days of her life.
Ma had departed long before knitting entered my life. Internet, Ravelry, knitting blogs and websites swept out old ideas and introduced me to swatching, calculating and making custom sweaters, the geometry of shawls, and circular knitting needles. A quick nod to Elizabeth Zimmermann here, for her lucid and lovely account of circular needles, which converted me to circular needles, for life.
Circular needles are formed of a piece of wire with knitting-needle-like points. Metal wires have now been replaced with nylon or flexible plastic wires in a great variety of lengths. Starting from tiny 9” circulars (for fidgety sock knitting), and going upto 40” and more (for shawls and blankets), the length is crucial for fitting all the stitches comfortably. I prefer the 16” size for caps, sleeves and baby clothes. The 40” circulars are perfect for sweaters, shawls, mufflers and Magic Loop knitting.
Acquiring a set of circular needles is highly recommended for beginners and experts alike. Available in bamboo, steel, birchwood, carbon tipped and much more, a set of circular needles come in a neat package which can travel with you, or sit pretty in a tiny corner of your craft space. I love the freedom of choice which comes with a set—no frantic searching or buying new needles for each new yarn, and the ability to try out all sizes for getting a fabric which appeals to me…without moving an inch from my knitting chair!
And finally, the novelty of knitting with circular needles in public! For maximum impact, use colourful, shiny steel needles, or painted wooden needles with bright connecting wires. I have been knitting on trains and planes, in the metro, at airports, restaurants and movie-halls, and while driving and waiting at traffic lights. Invariably, the fact that I am knitting will get me some glances and stares..but the sliding up to my side/peeping over my shoulder/staring openly at my hands…all that happens after the circular needles are noticed! I have had some happy chats and shared laughter over these needles, especially when someone thinks I am knitting with crayons.
If you have someone in your life who loves knitting, but has kept it aside as wrists complained and compliments faded, encourage her to pick up (circular)knitting needles again. Find some fabulous yarn online, and suggest that she knits a scarf by casting on lengthwise, instead of doing the boring and tedious breadth wise knitting. She will surely find her mojo, and there will be no strain on her fingers and wrists, and then, perhaps, the lockdown will become less tedious and terrible.
