How did you learn to use dpn's?

[mojo11]

I find this thread fascinating. I'd always gotten the feeling that Magic Loop was somehow disdained in the knitting community at large, because I almost never see it referenced in patterns. But it seems it's much more popular than I thought.

Is there a bias toward DPNs in published patterns, or am I just not reading enough of them? Or are the ones I'm seeing just too old to know from ML?

Questions for the ages, I tell ya.

[Lizars1735]

I find this thread fascinating. I'd always gotten the feeling that Magic Loop was somehow disdained in the knitting community at large, because I almost never see it referenced in patterns. But it seems it's much more popular than I thought.

Is there a bias toward DPNs in published patterns, or am I just not reading enough of them? Or are the ones I'm seeing just too old to know from ML?

Questions for the ages, I tell ya.

Interesting point. And one I never thought about until you just mentioned it. Most small diameter circular patterns I've seen are for dpns. But I have the book Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch, and there are instructions for both dpn and 2 circs, but not magic loop specifically. I suppose that 2 circs and magic loop are pretty much interchangeable as far as patterns are concerned.

[fatoldladyinpjs]

I find this thread fascinating. I'd always gotten the feeling that Magic Loop was somehow disdained in the knitting community at large, because I almost never see it referenced in patterns. But it seems it's much more popular than I thought.

Is there a bias toward DPNs in published patterns, or am I just not reading enough of them? Or are the ones I'm seeing just too old to know from ML?

Questions for the ages, I tell ya.

I'm another one that only uses magic loop. My opinion is that the patterns require certain size circulars and then switch to double points (like for hats) so they can sell you more needles. More needles, more money for the pattern/yarn/needle company. Double points to finish the top of the hat are unnecessary. I use single or traveling loop to do the main body of the hat and switch to magic loop for the decreases. And circulars are attached. No more chasing needles across the floor and digging them out of the sofa.

[Jan in CA]

I don't agree with that except maybe in the case of patterns from a company that makes them. The majority of patterns I see are just from knitters like all of us.. What needle to use is personal preference.

[suzeeq]

Pattern companies don't make needles, so that's not a really strong arguement. It's pretty simple really. Needles with really flexible cords are fairly recent, maybe the last 5 years. The Magic Loop booklet which popularized the method was published only 10 years ago, even though some of us had been doing it years before that. We just never thought about printing a book about it.

Dpns have been around forever and were what you used to make socks and hats with, shorter needles have only become readily available in the last 10 years too. So ML is a more recent method of knitting and not a lot of older knitters or patterns will use it, only newer ones. And it is a very personsal preference, both by designers and knitters. Some hate ML and love dpns, some the other way, so there's no real conspiracy by anyone.

[sakura-panda]

It is probably easier to adapt a pattern from DPN to Magic Loop than it is to go the other way so that DPN is just a standard. But maybe not; that's just my guess.

I learned magic loop first and after three projects I decided I would never knit in the round again. I decided to try again and I am currently working on a project using 5 DPNs; I'm tolerating it. It's not fun for me, but I am less unhappy than I had been with magic loop.

It's all personal preference. I always thought I might like the two circular needle method, but I have not tried it.

[Ingrid]

I also recommend trying dpns on an established piece like the top of a hat. They start out stable and don't want to flop around the way they do when you first start out.

I prefer them over magic loop in most cases because it's basically just knitting--no fussing around.

I like knitting sleeves on two circs, though, when they're attached to the sweater--just have to flip the sleeves rather than twirling the whole sweater.

[GrumpyGramma]

Pattern companies don't make needles, so that's not a really strong arguement. It's pretty simple really. Needles with really flexible cords are fairly recent, maybe the last 5 years. The Magic Loop booklet which popularized the method was published only 10 years ago, even though some of us had been doing it years before that. We just never thought about printing a book about it.

Dpns have been around forever and were what you used to make socks and hats with, shorter needles have only become readily available in the last 10 years too. So ML is a more recent method of knitting and not a lot of older knitters or patterns will use it, only newer ones. And it is a very personsal preference, both by designers and knitters. Some hate ML and love dpns, some the other way, so there's no real conspiracy by anyone.

Darn it, no conspiracy. Good grief.

I think that a lot of people don't have interchangeable sets and do have dpns in the same size as their fixed circulars. For them switching to dpn would make sense. The little I have done with dpn makes me think it's no big deal once you get used to it. There have been a lot of lovely knitted pieces produced on dpn. It was only when I saw how quickly the price of buying different sizes of needles was adding up, along with reading about the sets of needles with different cable lengths here, that I even considered buying an entire set.

Variety is the spice of life.

[suzeeq]

I think that a lot of people don't have interchangeable sets and do have dpns in the same size as their fixed circulars.

Oh yeah, I forgot about interchangeables for 2 circ knitting. They haven't been as affordable and readily available very long either. I do have multiple circs in the sizes I use a lot, half the time they're holding a WIP though, but can use them if I need 2 the same size.

Variety is the spice of life.

Oui, vive le difference!!

[cheley]

It helped that I already knew how to knit in the round on fixed circulars. After that, I learned how to knit socks using the 4 DPN method (three needles holding stitches and one working needle), because it seemed less overwhelming and I used Silver's Sock Class. and sport weight yarn. I got it right on the first try.

If DPNs aren't really your thing, you could learn Magic Loop, which uses only one pair of long (32" or longer) circular needles. Once I learned ML, I never used DPNs again.

Yes, I highly recommend Silver's...great video