by Beverly Bochenek

Created on: February 05, 2011

Knitting with circular needles is both fun and functional. Once you master the art, and it’s very simple to do, you will find your pattern library and your skills expanding to make use of this most useful knitting tool.

You can use circular knitting needles for knitting ‘flat’ or the same way you use straight knitting needles. This will come in handy when you are making a larger item that has a lot of stitches. Using circular needles instead of straight ones will hold more stitches without bunching up the stitches. This makes knitting more comfortable and easier to manage.

It’s also harder to lose a needle since they are connected with a wire. However, it is still possible if you’re using interchangeable needles that screw onto the wires. Another advantage to using circulars is that they don’t interfere with anyone else when you knit with them so knitting on airplanes or any other place where space is tight is still possible without causing discomfort to anyone around you,

If you decide to use circular needles to knit in the round the big advantage is that you never turn the project to work on the wrong or private side of the fabric so just using the knit stitch will create the stockinette stitch. If you want to do the garter stitch, you purl every stitch. So circulars can save you effort if not time.

If you’re ready to try your hand at circular knitting, one of the quickest and easiest things to make is a hat. Follow these directions and you can have a new lid in just a few hours!

Materials:

Worsted weight, number 4, yarn – a 7 oz skein is plenty

Size 10 ½ circular knitting needles 16 inches

Stitch marker – if you don’t have any just use a small piece of yarn of a different color to mark the end of the round.

Yarn needle

Assumptions: You know how to do the knit and purl stitches; you know how to decrease by knitting two stitches together.

Step 1 – Cast on about 62 stitches. Use whatever cast on method is comfortable for you.

Step 2 – Join the yarn to make a circle. If you are familiar with double point needles, you know how to do this, if you aren’t; make sure the working yarn is in your right hand. Before joining make sure your stitches are all facing with the bottom of the stitches on the inside. If they are twisted, your hat will be twisted and unless you have a twisted head to match, you won’t be able to put it on.

Step 3 – place your stitch marker on the

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