Knit Picks Options Interchangeable Caspian Circular Knitting Needle Set

Product Information

The ChiaoGoo twist red lace cable is the only coated steel wire cable and the heaviest of the lot. It still only weighs a couple of grams, but as we are looking and minor differences between the different interchangeable knitting needle sets to begin with, I felt like mentioning this. On the plus side, this cable has zero memory effect and it basically never curls up. It’s a bit harder to capture knitting ease, and I’m afraid my assessment is not entirely objective. I was a bit hesitant to include a paragraph, but then I figured my readers will be smart enough to take my verdict with a grain of salt. Some knitters, like me, are hyper-sensitive. Knitting produces sounds, and those largely depend on the needles you are using. Knitter’s Pride has the shortest tapered tip, the longest end, and the best transitions without “kinks”. I always felt this allowed for pretty seamless and fast knitting as your project will easily slide along. That being said, if you frequently knit with big needle sizes (like these 5.5/6.0 mm needles), the longer tapered end ChiaoGoo and addi offers, can be a nice advantage for lace patterns.

Thanks to our smooth connections and the included cable key, you’ll never have to worry about losing your work off a loose needle. Addi only provides a largish cable extender instead you can use it as a makeshift stopper as well. So, actually, that is kind of smart, though the extender is a bit too long to use for actual cable extending in my opinion. ( Note: Cable extenders for Knitter’s Pride and ChiaoGoo can be bought separately but are usually not part of the small sets.) The HiyaHiya cables are pretty similar to the addi cables but even thinner yet. They are also very flexible. There is a strong memory effect, but they are equally well suited for magic loop in my opinion. I always feel the cable is a tiny bit too flimsy, and I do believe HiyaHiya has the worst connection to the cables. Bending characteristics HiyaHiya interchangeable knitting needles do have screws at the other end as well, but you get a rubber patch as well. In addition, you get quite a lot of extenders . I really love the concept of their needle extenders. You can easily turn a 5″ needle into a 6″ needle, etc. So, how cool is that? (these adapters are only part of the large sets and not the small sets, but can be bought separately). Their regular cable adaptors don’t have a hole for the pins, though – unlike the ChiaoGoo adapters. Cable stoppers: ChiaoGoo, Knitter’s Pride, addi When you turn to lace, or you are an English knitter/thrower, then things can look quite different. Here, you might actually enjoy the bonus friction, as it prevents your needles from sliding out of those stitches. Knitting noisesChiaoGoo is probably the best set to invest for knitters who like to knit with very small needle sizes and durable cables (though I personally do prefer the fixed carbon needles by Knitter’s pride, but that’s a different story as these tiny sizes are not available as an interchangeable set; the big ones are). There’s nothing worse than your knitting needles coming undone while you are knitting. In all fairness, I do have to say that addi owns that field. Both my ChiaoGoo, HiyaHiya, and my Knitter’s Pride cables have come undone in the past. Usually, I noticed it before the point of no return because stitches have gotten caught in the gap. Still, there’s no denying how annoying that is, especially as it’s hard to rescue this situation mid-row. I blame it on the fact that these systems make it very hard to really screw it tight.

Looking for a set with multiple options? Have a look here How Are They Different From Circular Needles? That being said, ChiaoGoo clearly offers the broadest range of knitting needles. HiyaHiya is pretty similar, and one could say their needle extenders make it even more versatile (though CG offers them as well), but their small system only goes down to 2mm, while CG goes down to US OOO / 1.5mm. You can buy smaller and bigger needles for Knitter’s Pride and addi as well. But it does have to be mentioned that none of them go down to 2.75 mm / US 2 needles or lower. This means knitting feels a bit harder and slower, but in reality, it somehow isn’t (I recorded a video of me knitting with all 4 brands and counted the stitches I could knit in 20 secs). Still, the sharp tips mean you are more likely to split the yarn if you are going fast. That being said, I feel HiyaHiya is a tiny bit smoother and easier to knit than ChiaoGoo. My dad always told me “buy cheap stuff, and you’ll buy twice”. While there are certainly exceptions, I found that adage to be remarkably close to the truth. The last thing you want is a broken needle/cable on a live project.

I discovered your blog a few days ago when I wanted to revise Magic Loop knitting. I found your blog and was very impressed with the clarity of it. I have to admit, I prefer text tutorials to video, as I find them much clearer.

Both offer needle adaptors to make those small cables work for the bigger sizes. But a) this means buying these adaptors b) it doesn’t work the other way round (from big to small) and c) this means another join (read: weak link) in your needles. Price If somebody took away all my ChiaoGoos and handed me a gift certificate for the replacement of my choice, cost no object, I’d buy the same sets all over again, with the possible exception of the bamboo Spin set. I can’t remember when I last used the nylon cables (other than as stitch holders on a hibernating project), and I rarely use the bamboo needles, but then again sometimes you want a less slippery needle, so even those are useful. I have been knitting for around 54 years, having taught myself from Mary Thomas’s Knitting Patterns, a marvelous book which gives resources for designing motifs far more than any other book I have come across, as it describes the way various kinds of stitch are created, from knit and purl. through cables, to lace and faggot stitch. This book was published in 1934, her subsequent book, Mary Thomas’s Knitting Book, which I got at a later date was published in 1938, and tells about the history of knitting, gives many cast on techniques and information on designing garments. You can also lengthen the cable using cable extenders or even use the needle tips separately as regular straight needles. There’s just so much you can do with Interchangeable Knitting Needles. Made For All Kinds Of Projects Interchangeable knitting needles can only be engineered down to a size US 4 (3.5mm), so you’ll need to go with fixed circulars for those teeny tiny projects.The larger sets usually have 13 pairs of needles from US size 2 to 15, 4 cables, 2 cable connectors, 2 small and 2 big tip adaptors, and between 2 needle stoppers. Much like ChiaoGoo, the HiyaHiya sets usually come in a sewn fabric bag with 2 compartments.