Essential Materials for Knitting with Circular Needles

Learn how to choose yarn and what tools you need to get started in the art of knitting with circular needles

Using only yarn and two needles, textile designer Carmen García de Mora (@carmengarciademora) creates seamless and timeless garments with her own hands. And she does it with very simple and accessible materials.

If you are curious to see what it takes to create a circular top-down garment, read on as Carmen lists the tools that are never missing from her work table and that you need to get started in the art of knitting with circular needles.

These are the materials that the expert uses to knit:

Type of yarn

The yarn we choose defines our design. You should know the different varieties of threads to choose correctly.

- Lace. This yarn is suitable for very advanced knitters as it needs very fine needles and must be knitted carefully.

- Fingering. A bit thicker but somewhat complex to use because it also requires fine needles.

- DK. Thicker but still not ideal for knitting. It is used with size 3 needles.

- Aran. Ideal for beginners. It is knitted with size 5 needles.

- Bulky. Knitted with larger needles and used by the expert.

- Superbulk yarns. This yarn is knitted with needles from size 7. It is not ideal for making garments due to its thickness. It is typically used to knit blankets, for example.

Although more thicknesses are available, our expert believes the above selection is all you need to know to start in this technique.

How do you choose yarn?

The choice of yarn will depend on what time of year we are going to wear the garment. This fact will determine which material is the most suitable. Based on the weather criteria, it is important to remember the following:

The best known winter yarns are:

- Wool
- Alpacas
- Mohair
- Cotton

The most popular summer threads are:

- Cotton
- Bamboo
- Linen
- Blends

Regarding the color

Carmen explain that, in addition to plain colors, there are yarns with color variations along the ball. The latter are good when you are starting out and don't want to make thread changes. However, she does not recommend using them very early in your training. The reason? Carmen says that using a single color allows you to better evaluate what happens with the textures and the needles.

The importance of labels

Always read the labels of the yarn you buy. You will find information about:

- The composition of the material.
- The density. When looking for a specific thickness, always make sure that the grammage and length are the same or as close as possible to what you require.
- The grams per meter.
- The needles indicated for use. You do not have to follow these necessarily. We can use different needles to achieve specific effects. The finer the needle, the stiffer the fabric. Larger ones, on the other hand, will bring a fluffier effect.

Needles

Needles have different characteristics that are defined by:

- Thickness. Some needles are more suited to a specific type of material than others.

- Length. The shorter ones are used to make smaller holes, such as sleeves and cuffs.

- Material. Needles can be made of wood, metal, or plastic. Our expert recommends wooden needles because although metal ones allow you to knit faster, it is easier for the stitches to slip and come off the needles. For this reason, and because knitting is also a sensory activity, wooden needles are more enjoyable both to the touch and to the sound.

Cables

A cable is what joins the two tips of the needles. It is a tool that allows us to knit both flat and circular. Cables come with stops so that when we remove the needles, we can still hold the stitching together so that it does not escape. They are also accompanied by tightening implements so that the knitting does not become loose.

Remember that the technical length measurement of the cable is not the measurement of the cable but rather the measurement of the cable with the needles. In other words, it is the distance from one end to the other end of our needles.

Additional materials

There are some extra tools you’ll need to have on hand if you will work with circular needles.

- A tape measure.

- Hooks to leave stitches in place.

- A large sewing needle for closing up ends.

- Scissors.

- Stitch markers, ideally in different colors.

- Blocking mats. They are used to stretch our knitting and detect irregularities in the stitches.

- A storage case.

Now that you know what materials you need to start knitting with circular needles, you may want to sign up for the course Introduction to Knitting with Circular Needles. Follow in Carmen's footsteps and make a seamless top-down garment from scratch. Once the course is completed, you will create garments combining different materials, stitches, and shapes.

English version by: @acesarato

You may also like:

- What Are Patterns, Silhouettes, and Volumes in Fashion Design?
- How to Cut Leather: Step-by-Step Tutorial
- Meet Self-Taught Dressmaker Juliet Uzor, in this Domestika Diary