It’s no secret, as a knitter, I like it BIG. I’m happiest when using 7-10mm needles, love the challenge of 15-20mm knitting and hate knitting anything that makes me use a sub 5mm needle set. Laceweights & 2-plys really turn me off.
So, when I decided to stock needles & hooks, I bought lots of (what I consider very) small ones, because I know that most knitters and crocheters are not like me, they love the laceweights and 2-plys, & not everyone loves the chunky & super-chunky as I do, but I also made sure that I had some stocks of the larger sizes, especially the ones that you cannot easily get.
Why? Quite simply, because of the Knitty French Market Bag pattern.
In 2005, I tried to knit me one, but as a lover of the chunky, I used bigger needles and yarn. The first attempt I made using Jaegar Natural Fleece I picked 9mm needles. Now, this pattern starts on DPNs and moves to a long cable needle as the bag grows.
Finding 9mm DPNs was hard. I also much prefer knitting with wood, and the only ones I did find were via eBay, from Pony, in plastic.
So, when I switched the bag to Pencil Roving and therefore needed 12mm DPNs… I couldn’t find any anywhere! I ended up heading to my local hardware store in my lunch hour, buying a 2m piece of 12mm pine doweling, a junior hacksaw, some sandpaper & an extra large pencil sharpener from the shop next door and making myself some!
I made 2 sets from the dowelling, a little diddy set to start me off, & a more sensible length set for as the bag grew but was too small still to go onto Addi Turbos
If one person needs a tool, logically other people must also have the same needs.
So, that’s why I’m very committed to stocking all-the-needles in all their various long, short, fat & thin glories.
Given that I’ve pretty much sold out of the ones I originally bought and so have to go buy more really soon, I think that I made a good choice.
If you are the same as me & like the bigger yarns to play with & I don’t currently have the size you want, give me a poke & I will order in for you!
