What is the most common size knitting needle ???

[ChristineDoucet]

Hi
I am going to a quilting and knitting festival this weekend and I was thinking of picking up some nice knitting needles (if there were any for sale). I was just wondering, since I'm new at knitting, what is the most common size knitting needles pattern ask for ? I was thinking of buying one or two pairs and your feedback would be great !
Thanks

[suzeeq]

It depends what you want to knit and the thickness of the yarn.... socks are done with thin yarn and need very small needles, sizes 0 to 3, mittens; scarves, hats, sweaters are made with medium size yarn on sizes 6 to 10; and if you like chunky knitting or using 2 strands together you need size 11 or bigger. For just starting out sizes 8 and 10 will get you through most anything.

sue

[bip]

I agree, I find myself using my 8s, 9s, & 10s more than any others. If you are knitting scarves, I say go with the 10s otherwise those scarves seem to take forever (IMO, I am very impatient w/scarves and rarely do them). If you think you will be doing a lot of sweaters, I would pick up some 8s and 9s. I have noticed a lot of patterns have you cast on w/8s for a few rows, then swap out to 9s.

[Jax3303]

I knit a lot of socks, so I use my us 0's and 1's the most. I also knit a lot of baby items with worsted weight yarn and I typically use a 7 or 8 on those.

[Mirl56]

That is really a hard question to answer - it depends on what it is you like to knit. If you're buying them for me (LOL), please get me 1s 2s or 3s as I'm on a pretty serious sock binge lately. Seriously, what have you been knitting and what do you plan to knit in the near future?

[Silver]

Size 8 is a great middle of the road size. You can knit sport weight to worsted weight yarns on size 8s.

If you prefer quick knits with a thick yarn, also get a pair of 11s or 13s. If you prefer working with thinner yarns, grab a pair of 2s or 3s.

[Mommy22alyns]

My knitting teacher had us begin with 8's.

[suzeeq]

I still think 8s are small though.. a 10.5 is my mainstay. It makes nice firm stitches that you can see.

sue

[bip]

I agree that 8s are small. I was teaching some friends to knit, and I noticed that SNB recommends starting w/8s so I told them to get 8s. They decided to make scarves and I felt so awful for them, trying to finish a scarf on those little things. One of them got wise and made the scarf for a little kid.

[Jax3303]

from another's perspective.....8's are HUGE. They're what I use when I want something finished quickly. Anything larger than an 8 is just too freaking big for me to comfortably hold, which is making my niece's birthday gift take for-freaking-ever (size 10 1/2 's).