Colourwork knitting is an art. It’s all about mastering tension and choosing the right knitting needles. If you are new to knitting colourwork, the variety of circular knitting needles is believed to be the best for you. Many knitters believe that stainless steel needles are the best choice when it comes to multi-coloured yarns or working with multiple shades. The combination of stainless steel and circular knitting needles of the Mindful Collection has many reasons to become your favourite pair of needles for colourwork patterns.
In this blog, we’ll discuss some helpful qualities that make them the ideal choice when you decide to knit colourwork patterns.
Pointy Tips
Knitters love their needles sharp and precise. Many knitters normally use only finely pointed needles for a colourwork project. The polished tips are helpful in knitting with different shades of yarn. Even if you need to work closely with different yarn colours or even multi-hued shades the fine tips will help you understand the stitch pattern and work accordingly.
Neutral Shade
Stainless steel has a neutral shade that works positively to see the yarn in true colours. Whether it's a dark shade of yarn or a light shade the metallic shade helps view the stitches clearly.
Smooth Surface
Steel knitting needles have a smooth surface that works with almost types of yarn. Be it hand-dyed yarn or acrylic or blend, the needles and the cables of circular needles allow the yarn to glide effortlessly. The needle texture works with all kinds of yarn.
Lifeline holes
Lifelines are aptly named because they can save your knitting in many ways. In colourwork patterns, you knit with multiple yarns or even multi-shaded ones. Different yarn balls & skeins may confuse you so a white or contrasting shade of thread or transparent dental floss works effectively. If you make a mistake, your lifeline is there, safely holding a row of stitches that you know were correct. All you need is to tink (unknit) or rip back to that row with the awry stitch and start again.
The interchangeable stainless steel knitting needles from the Mindful Collection come with a lifeline hole. The hole in the knitting needle allows you to thread a lifeline (a small piece of yarn or dental floss) to move through the stitches. If you have not yet discovered this trick, check out our blog on adding a lifeline to your knitting.
Range of Circular Knitting Needles – Fixed & Interchangeable
It’s not just about the knitting needles but also the cables. The cables give extra length to spread out the stitches that allow knitters to clearly view their work. The difference between fixed circulars and interchangeable ones is in one needle type the cable is fixed while the other one is a system. Different sizes of needles can be attached to different cable lengths. In fact, many knitters recommend an interchangeable circular knitting needle set for all knitting needs. One kit can support knitting socks to heavy-weight blankets and pretty much everything.
Besides the above benefits, with circular knitting needles, you can both knit back and forth as well as in the round with the same tools. As a matter of fact, colourwork knitting often works on a pattern of stocking stitches (stockinette). When working with circular knitting needles in the round eliminates the need to purl stitches. As you go round and round you do not have to purl. Many colourwork knitters are relieved by this fact. The purl stitch takes more time and the fabric looks uneven. It is quick and smooth to go knitting in rounds.
Most of us knitters prefer a set of needles or brands over others for the natural ease of working with it. The Mindful Collection carries a complete assortment of knitting needles- single-point, double-pointed, fixed and interchangeable crafted from stainless steel. For your colourwork knitting, you can choose individual sizes or even purchase knitting needle sets that contain multiple sizes plus accessories. Needle sets are often the best and most economical way to buy interchangeable circular needles since they include a variety of sizes but also added helpful accessories that, if bought separately, would cost more.
Till then, happy knitting! Get started with colourwork patterns and more. With circular knitting needles, you can start with a scarf or socks or pretty much anything. You can also refer to our guide on knitting a blanket on circular knitting needles are try your first colourwork pattern. Just make sure you have the right cable length to accommodate the stitches of the project.
For more information on knitting needles, tricks, and techniques follow our blog.
