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The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 14th 06, 07:52 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,

What size is that needle? Hard to tell.

I really do not care. I knit swatches with different sized needles and then
use the needles that produced the fabric that I liked. If you want to do
better, get a micrometer and measure the actual diameter of your needles.
The traditional needle gauges with holes in them make errors in needle
naming easy.

Consider US # 1 needles. The holes in the "Boye" standard knitting needle
gauge and the "Susan Bates Knit Checker" have holes for that are just larger
than 2.50 mm in diameter so that the Boye and Susan Bates # 1 needles are
just under 2.50 mm in diameter and *just* fit in that gauge hole. However,
in the Knitter's Companion, there is a cardboard needle gauge that the hole
for #1 that is 2.25 mm in diameter, but the text in Knitter's Companion says
that US #1 is the same as 2 mm?!! Then, when I look at the needle size chart
in Mary Thomas/ Dover reprint, the diameter of the spots she provides in her
needle size chart do not match up with the diameters given in the text.
Moreover, my AddiTurbo needle sold to me as a US #1 is about 2.51 mm in
diameter, thus does not fit in the gauge holes for #1 needles. It is hard
to tell that it is just a little bit over and so and it must be a # 2?? : )

Skipping to the chase here.

Measuring my Susan Bates Knit Check (aluminum knitting needle gauge), the
sizes of the holes are as follows:
1 - 2.50 mm
0 - 2.25 mm
00 - 1.85 mm
000 - 1.50 mm

However, the sizes of the handmade steel needles that I use a
1 - 2.32 mm
0 - 2.00 mm
00 - 1.65 mm
000 - 1.20 mm
Which is about what you will get if you make your own steel needles from
music rod available in the American market. However, precise metric sized
spring steel rod is available on the world market.

Of course, you could make those size needles and rename them After all,
what I call a #1 is only 0.07 mm larger than SB's "0" but 0.18 mm smaller
than what SB calls #1, so by actual size it is much closer to being a "0"
than a "1". But, it fits in the "1" hole and not the '0" hole, so for me,
for now, it remains a "1". This why I say that hole based gauges introduce
real errors in needle naming.

The really bad news is that last night, I did gauge swatches on the cashmere
yarn that has been sitting like a lump in the middle of the stash, and this
morning at the breakfast table my wife said that the swatch from the 1.2 mm
needles is the best fabric. It is a lovely fabric, but that is a lot of
knitting. Maybe she would like matching hat and gloves rather than a
sweater.

Aaron


Ads
  #2  
Old June 15th 06, 12:45 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,

wrote:
What size is that needle? Hard to tell.

I really do not care. I knit swatches with different sized needles
and then use the needles that produced the fabric that I liked. If
you want to do better, get a micrometer and measure the actual
diameter of your needles. The traditional needle gauges with holes in
them make errors in needle naming easy.

Consider US # 1 needles. The holes in the "Boye" standard knitting
needle gauge and the "Susan Bates Knit Checker" have holes for that
are just larger than 2.50 mm in diameter so that the Boye and Susan
Bates # 1 needles are just under 2.50 mm in diameter and *just* fit
in that gauge hole. However, in the Knitter's Companion, there is a
cardboard needle gauge that the hole for #1 that is 2.25 mm in
diameter, but the text in Knitter's Companion says that US #1 is the
same as 2 mm?!! Then, when I look at the needle size chart in Mary
Thomas/ Dover reprint, the diameter of the spots she provides in her
needle size chart do not match up with the diameters given in the
text. Moreover, my AddiTurbo needle sold to me as a US #1 is about
2.51 mm in diameter, thus does not fit in the gauge holes for #1
needles. It is hard to tell that it is just a little bit over and so
and it must be a # 2?? : )

Skipping to the chase here.

Measuring my Susan Bates Knit Check (aluminum knitting needle gauge),
the sizes of the holes are as follows:
1 - 2.50 mm
0 - 2.25 mm
00 - 1.85 mm
000 - 1.50 mm

However, the sizes of the handmade steel needles that I use a
1 - 2.32 mm
0 - 2.00 mm
00 - 1.65 mm
000 - 1.20 mm
Which is about what you will get if you make your own steel needles
from music rod available in the American market. However, precise
metric sized spring steel rod is available on the world market.

Of course, you could make those size needles and rename them After
all, what I call a #1 is only 0.07 mm larger than SB's "0" but 0.18
mm smaller than what SB calls #1, so by actual size it is much closer
to being a "0" than a "1". But, it fits in the "1" hole and not the
'0" hole, so for me, for now, it remains a "1". This why I say that
hole based gauges introduce real errors in needle naming.

The really bad news is that last night, I did gauge swatches on the
cashmere yarn that has been sitting like a lump in the middle of the
stash, and this morning at the breakfast table my wife said that the
swatch from the 1.2 mm needles is the best fabric. It is a lovely
fabric, but that is a lot of knitting. Maybe she would like matching
hat and gloves rather than a sweater.


Well, the sweater would definitely prove how much you love her. g

Higs,
Katherine


  #3  
Old June 15th 06, 02:01 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,

"Katherine" wrote in message
...
wrote:
What size is that needle? Hard to tell.

I really do not care. I knit swatches with different sized needles
and then use the needles that produced the fabric that I liked. If
you want to do better, get a micrometer and measure the actual
diameter of your needles. The traditional needle gauges with holes in
them make errors in needle naming easy.

Consider US # 1 needles. The holes in the "Boye" standard knitting
needle gauge and the "Susan Bates Knit Checker" have holes for that
are just larger than 2.50 mm in diameter so that the Boye and Susan
Bates # 1 needles are just under 2.50 mm in diameter and *just* fit
in that gauge hole. However, in the Knitter's Companion, there is a
cardboard needle gauge that the hole for #1 that is 2.25 mm in
diameter, but the text in Knitter's Companion says that US #1 is the
same as 2 mm?!! Then, when I look at the needle size chart in Mary
Thomas/ Dover reprint, the diameter of the spots she provides in her
needle size chart do not match up with the diameters given in the
text. Moreover, my AddiTurbo needle sold to me as a US #1 is about
2.51 mm in diameter, thus does not fit in the gauge holes for #1
needles. It is hard to tell that it is just a little bit over and so
and it must be a # 2?? : )

Skipping to the chase here.

Measuring my Susan Bates Knit Check (aluminum knitting needle gauge),
the sizes of the holes are as follows:
1 - 2.50 mm
0 - 2.25 mm
00 - 1.85 mm
000 - 1.50 mm

However, the sizes of the handmade steel needles that I use a
1 - 2.32 mm
0 - 2.00 mm
00 - 1.65 mm
000 - 1.20 mm
Which is about what you will get if you make your own steel needles
from music rod available in the American market. However, precise
metric sized spring steel rod is available on the world market.

Of course, you could make those size needles and rename them After
all, what I call a #1 is only 0.07 mm larger than SB's "0" but 0.18
mm smaller than what SB calls #1, so by actual size it is much closer
to being a "0" than a "1". But, it fits in the "1" hole and not the
'0" hole, so for me, for now, it remains a "1". This why I say that
hole based gauges introduce real errors in needle naming.

The really bad news is that last night, I did gauge swatches on the
cashmere yarn that has been sitting like a lump in the middle of the
stash, and this morning at the breakfast table my wife said that the
swatch from the 1.2 mm needles is the best fabric. It is a lovely
fabric, but that is a lot of knitting. Maybe she would like matching
hat and gloves rather than a sweater.


Well, the sweater would definitely prove how much you love her. g

Higs,
Katherine

Ya, But there is this hat that she has been wanting (Aran Pattern XIV in
Thompson), for three years, and only last December did I figure out how to
size it for her, and then it turned out that the yarn (real camel) that I
had put aside for it would not work, and then I got to working on a gansey,
so I do owe her a hat or two. And , I must design and make a new knitting
sheath for 1.2 mm needles.

Aaron


  #5  
Old June 15th 06, 04:39 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,

Cool! How do you make your own needls? What tools do you use, and
what made you decide to do that in the first place?

wrote:
What size is that needle? Hard to tell.

I really do not care. I knit swatches with different sized needles and then
use the needles that produced the fabric that I liked. If you want to do
better, get a micrometer and measure the actual diameter of your needles.
The traditional needle gauges with holes in them make errors in needle
naming easy.

Consider US # 1 needles. The holes in the "Boye" standard knitting needle
gauge and the "Susan Bates Knit Checker" have holes for that are just larger
than 2.50 mm in diameter so that the Boye and Susan Bates # 1 needles are
just under 2.50 mm in diameter and *just* fit in that gauge hole. However,
in the Knitter's Companion, there is a cardboard needle gauge that the hole
for #1 that is 2.25 mm in diameter, but the text in Knitter's Companion says
that US #1 is the same as 2 mm?!! Then, when I look at the needle size chart
in Mary Thomas/ Dover reprint, the diameter of the spots she provides in her
needle size chart do not match up with the diameters given in the text.
Moreover, my AddiTurbo needle sold to me as a US #1 is about 2.51 mm in
diameter, thus does not fit in the gauge holes for #1 needles. It is hard
to tell that it is just a little bit over and so and it must be a # 2?? : )

Skipping to the chase here.

Measuring my Susan Bates Knit Check (aluminum knitting needle gauge), the
sizes of the holes are as follows:
1 - 2.50 mm
0 - 2.25 mm
00 - 1.85 mm
000 - 1.50 mm

However, the sizes of the handmade steel needles that I use a
1 - 2.32 mm
0 - 2.00 mm
00 - 1.65 mm
000 - 1.20 mm
Which is about what you will get if you make your own steel needles from
music rod available in the American market. However, precise metric sized
spring steel rod is available on the world market.

Of course, you could make those size needles and rename them After all,
what I call a #1 is only 0.07 mm larger than SB's "0" but 0.18 mm smaller
than what SB calls #1, so by actual size it is much closer to being a "0"
than a "1". But, it fits in the "1" hole and not the '0" hole, so for me,
for now, it remains a "1". This why I say that hole based gauges introduce
real errors in needle naming.

The really bad news is that last night, I did gauge swatches on the cashmere
yarn that has been sitting like a lump in the middle of the stash, and this
morning at the breakfast table my wife said that the swatch from the 1.2 mm
needles is the best fabric. It is a lovely fabric, but that is a lot of
knitting. Maybe she would like matching hat and gloves rather than a
sweater.

Aaron


  #6  
Old June 15th 06, 06:11 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,

Somewhere in the archives of this group is a detailed description of my
needle making. I think there is also something on my blog -
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.

I started making wooden needles because I wanted to understand how tip shape
affected my knitting - Why buy commercial needles if you are just grind the
heck out them? Wooden dowel is cheap and easy to find - unfortunately the
kinds of woods that are used for cheap dowel these days do not make *great*
knitting needles. However, with a pen knife and a bit of sand paper, very
functional knitting needles can be made. (Once you have learned the
technique, you can get more suitable woods and make some really fine
knitting needles. (And, once you have confidence, you can buy a set of
commercial wooden or bamboo needles and use them as blanks to make needles
that really suit your knitting style and that really work with the yarns
that you like.) I harvest dogwood twigs in the spring, split them, whittle
them to shape, and make fine knitting DPN with a minimal investment in time
and materials. I feel that those dogwood needles are as good as the best
(or most expensive) commercial wooden needles. I believe that dogwood is
the very best wood for knitting needles. This puts me in the minority as
*rosewood* is the official religion in this group.

I am interested in traditional knitting methods that used long steel
needles. Such long steel needles did not seem to be commercially available.
After some experimentation, I settled on using a small, electric bench
grinder to form the tips by rotating commercial "music rod" against the
grinding wheel with my screw gun. Music rod or piano wire is available
inexpensively in most hardware stores. This process produces a DPN blank.
These were tools that I felt many "handy" households were likely to own and
which produced a good needle. The blank is then hand polished with emery
paper and crocus cloth. The result are quite satisfactory for using with a
knitting sheath to produce traditional fisherman's ganseys such as described
in Gladys Thompson's and Mary Thomas's books. The needles are 2 to 3 mm in
diameter and 12 to 18 inches long. My handmade needles have a much lower
level of polish than the commercial cast and plated needles that are
available in 10 inch lengths. Thus, my needles are less slippery and I find
them easier to use. Also, 10 inch needles are also much harder to join
with without twisting when you are working with cast-ons of more than 220
stitches.

Knitting with a knitting sheath allows much faster knitting than knitting
with SPN or cable needles. Knitting with a knitting sheath and spring steel
needles uses the spring of the needle to perform half of the knitting
motion, reducing joint rotation and stress on the hand and wrists. The
sheath frees the right hand to focus on tension control, and supports the
work. Knitting with a knitting sheath and long steel needles has
dramatically improved the quality of my knitting, increased the speed of my
knitting, and reduced the stress on my hands and wrists.

On the other hand, knitting in the round with long DPN is very dangerous.
These are the knitting needles that your mother warned you about. When
knitting in the round, long sharp needles poke out from your lap - you do
not want a child running up to you while you are knitting with long DPN.
One needle is poking up just below the knitter's eye level. Bend over to
look more closely at your knitting and you could get a knitting needle in
the eye - wear eye protection when knitting in the round with long DPN.
Moreover, long DPN can poke and scratch furniture.

Aaron
"lanfear32" wrote in message
oups.com...
Cool! How do you make your own needls? What tools do you use, and
what made you decide to do that in the first place?

wrote:
What size is that needle? Hard to tell.

I really do not care. I knit swatches with different sized needles and

then
use the needles that produced the fabric that I liked. If you want to

do
better, get a micrometer and measure the actual diameter of your

needles.
The traditional needle gauges with holes in them make errors in needle
naming easy.

Consider US # 1 needles. The holes in the "Boye" standard knitting

needle
gauge and the "Susan Bates Knit Checker" have holes for that are just

larger
than 2.50 mm in diameter so that the Boye and Susan Bates # 1 needles

are
just under 2.50 mm in diameter and *just* fit in that gauge hole.

However,
in the Knitter's Companion, there is a cardboard needle gauge that the

hole
for #1 that is 2.25 mm in diameter, but the text in Knitter's Companion

says
that US #1 is the same as 2 mm?!! Then, when I look at the needle size

chart
in Mary Thomas/ Dover reprint, the diameter of the spots she provides in

her
needle size chart do not match up with the diameters given in the text.
Moreover, my AddiTurbo needle sold to me as a US #1 is about 2.51 mm in
diameter, thus does not fit in the gauge holes for #1 needles. It is

hard
to tell that it is just a little bit over and so and it must be a # 2??

: )

Skipping to the chase here.

Measuring my Susan Bates Knit Check (aluminum knitting needle gauge),

the
sizes of the holes are as follows:
1 - 2.50 mm
0 - 2.25 mm
00 - 1.85 mm
000 - 1.50 mm

However, the sizes of the handmade steel needles that I use a
1 - 2.32 mm
0 - 2.00 mm
00 - 1.65 mm
000 - 1.20 mm
Which is about what you will get if you make your own steel needles from
music rod available in the American market. However, precise metric

sized
spring steel rod is available on the world market.

Of course, you could make those size needles and rename them After all,
what I call a #1 is only 0.07 mm larger than SB's "0" but 0.18 mm

smaller
than what SB calls #1, so by actual size it is much closer to being a

"0"
than a "1". But, it fits in the "1" hole and not the '0" hole, so for

me,
for now, it remains a "1". This why I say that hole based gauges

introduce
real errors in needle naming.

The really bad news is that last night, I did gauge swatches on the

cashmere
yarn that has been sitting like a lump in the middle of the stash, and

this
morning at the breakfast table my wife said that the swatch from the 1.2

mm
needles is the best fabric. It is a lovely fabric, but that is a lot of
knitting. Maybe she would like matching hat and gloves rather than a
sweater.

Aaron




  #7  
Old June 15th 06, 06:52 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Aaron! The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0, (was: The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,)

On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 17:11:59 GMT, spun a fine yarn

Somewhere in the archives of this group is a detailed description of my
needle making. I think there is also something on my blog -
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.

I started making wooden needles because I wanted to understand how tip shape
affected my knitting - Why buy commercial needles if you are just grind the
heck out them? Wooden dowel is cheap and easy to find - unfortunately the
kinds of woods that are used for cheap dowel these days do not make *great*
knitting needles. However, with a pen knife and a bit of sand paper, very
functional knitting needles can be made. (Once you have learned the
technique, you can get more suitable woods and make some really fine
knitting needles. (And, once you have confidence, you can buy a set of
commercial wooden or bamboo needles and use them as blanks to make needles
that really suit your knitting style and that really work with the yarns
that you like.) I harvest dogwood twigs in the spring, split them, whittle
them to shape, and make fine knitting DPN with a minimal investment in time
and materials. I feel that those dogwood needles are as good as the best
(or most expensive) commercial wooden needles. I believe that dogwood is
the very best wood for knitting needles. This puts me in the minority as
*rosewood* is the official religion in this group.

I am interested in traditional knitting methods that used long steel
needles. Such long steel needles did not seem to be commercially available.
After some experimentation, I settled on using a small, electric bench
grinder to form the tips by rotating commercial "music rod" against the
grinding wheel with my screw gun. Music rod or piano wire is available
inexpensively in most hardware stores. This process produces a DPN blank.
These were tools that I felt many "handy" households were likely to own and
which produced a good needle. The blank is then hand polished with emery
paper and crocus cloth. The result are quite satisfactory for using with a
knitting sheath to produce traditional fisherman's ganseys such as described
in Gladys Thompson's and Mary Thomas's books. The needles are 2 to 3 mm in
diameter and 12 to 18 inches long. My handmade needles have a much lower
level of polish than the commercial cast and plated needles that are
available in 10 inch lengths. Thus, my needles are less slippery and I find
them easier to use. Also, 10 inch needles are also much harder to join
with without twisting when you are working with cast-ons of more than 220
stitches.

Knitting with a knitting sheath allows much faster knitting than knitting
with SPN or cable needles. Knitting with a knitting sheath and spring steel
needles uses the spring of the needle to perform half of the knitting
motion, reducing joint rotation and stress on the hand and wrists. The
sheath frees the right hand to focus on tension control, and supports the
work. Knitting with a knitting sheath and long steel needles has
dramatically improved the quality of my knitting, increased the speed of my
knitting, and reduced the stress on my hands and wrists.

On the other hand, knitting in the round with long DPN is very dangerous.
These are the knitting needles that your mother warned you about. When
knitting in the round, long sharp needles poke out from your lap - you do
not want a child running up to you while you are knitting with long DPN.
One needle is poking up just below the knitter's eye level. Bend over to
look more closely at your knitting and you could get a knitting needle in
the eye - wear eye protection when knitting in the round with long DPN.
Moreover, long DPN can poke and scratch furniture.

Aaron


---

Aaron!
You're not a minority... rosewood is nice, but I'd agree that dogwood
would make gorgeous needles, and if I could find some dogwood, I'd
give it a try.
HINT HINT, If you'd make me a set, I'd gladly pay! (but, they have to
be SHORT, which is another subject)
(go to my blog @ http://noreensknitche.weblogs.us/ - then click on
connect in the right side-rar and emal me!)
Noreen
who only snuck in to check on one little thing and ended up
posting....
yeesh!



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http://www.lulu.com/content/292418
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Virus Database (VPS): 0624-2, 06/15/2006
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  #9  
Old June 15th 06, 09:11 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Aaron! The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0, (was: The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,)

In article , YarnWright
wrote:


who only snuck in to check on one little thing and ended up
posting....
yeesh!


Sneeky woman..LOL

Els

--
Ja for Jazz and cobra loose the rrrrrrrr
  #10  
Old June 15th 06, 09:36 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default The Gross Errors of a Needle Maker: 000, 00, 0,

I beg to differ; there is no official needle preference here. Personally, I
have never used a rosewood needle and don't care if I never do.

--
Jan in MN

wrote ...
This puts me in the minority as
*rosewood* is the official religion in this group.



 




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