Kollage Squares, How Do I Love Thee?
Let me count the ways.
1. I love your copper color.
2. I love the weight of your metal.
3. I love your supple cables.
4. I love how you grip my stitches.
5. I love how you feel in my hands.
6. I love that you make no metallic noise.
7. I love that you have your size stamped on every shaft.
8. I love the way your circ shaft tapers to the cable.
9. I love everything about your design.
10. I love every square inch of your square shape.
11. I love your points.
A square knitting needle! Who would have thought? I have been testing these needles for the last week. I moved from skepticism to conversion. I love these needles. Did I already point this out?
These needles are beautifully and thoughtfully designed. They are lightweight and the cables on the circs seem to have no memory at all. And, for some reason they have changed my needle grip. I can’t explain it, but I hold these needles with a much lighter touch which both relaxes my hands and increases my knitting speed.
According to the sales literature from Kollage, round knitting needles turn as we knit. Maybe this is why I grasp a round shaft more tightly. The square needle does not turn.
I love to knit hats and sleeves in the round, but on these larger pieces, I really don’t like using dpns or a 16″ needle. Using the one long circ method with these needles for hats and sleeves is wonderful. The cable is so soft on a US Size 8, that when I have it folded for a sleeve, I barely know it is there. It does not cause any pressure on my hands at all.
For socks, I always loved dpns. I love the rhythm. It just makes me feel good. However, over the past few years, I have been knitting socks on one long circ because it is faster. I am back to 5 dpns. I actually timed myself using the square dpns against the time it took me to knit the same amount with a long circ. I am just as fast on the square dpns.
The true test came when I made a large swatch of 4 x 4 ribbing. Would I have the same column of loose knit stitches at the end of the 4 knits. The answer is no. For some reason the “squareness” facilitates stitch uniformity which means a constant gauge throughout.
These needles are truly something new in knitting.
Carole……….you’ve already made me a believer! You are a very convincing writer! Many thanks for you great ongoing work!
David
I love what you say about these needles but I would love to see a more close up picture if you don’t mind. Neither you or the sellers site provides one.
Welcome to my world! I have used nothing but square needles for more than a year. I have carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and arthritis in my right thumb. I had stopped knitting for several years, because it hurt too much. Then I read about the straight squares and figured I had nothing to lose by trying them. It was love at first knit.
Of course, once I discovered how great the straights were, I immediately started trying to circularize them. I took a pair to my local hardware store, and had them cut down, then joined them with a length of plastic tubing. Not a great solution, but better than nothing. . .
Then the ladies at my LYS (who had been conveying my love of squares to the Kollage rep) gave me a prototype for the circulars. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE! As you say, the color, the feel, the cord. . .I’m used to petting yarn; now I want to pet my needles too!
Life is good.
I tried the dps at Sts E and loved them but didn’t try a rib swatch. My ribbing usually has loose sts after the knits. No more going back and tightening st-by-st. Also, with the square needles, my grip wasn’t as tight as with the regular dps. I think Kollage has something here!
I agree with David. You are a very convincing writer! I’ve just ordered the 5″ dpns. I’ve been having a lot of pain in my hands and I’m hoping these will help. I’ll be really interested in a larger selection of sizes as well. Also, is there any chance they’ll be coming out with an interchangeable needle/cable set for the circulars? I would love to try the circulars, but the expense of buying them separately is a bit daunting.
Marianne
I bought a size 0 40″ circular and while I love the knitting needle part of it, the cable is too limp to make shoving the needle back through the stitches possible. I have to pull the cable back through and it is so small that I am afraid it will break. They would be perfect if the cable was a tad stiffer.
I too just bought the size 1 40″ circular and am having trouble using the magic loop method. The needles feel great, the cable is great, but are very difficult to pull back through. Has anyone come up with a solution to this?
Carol, I agree with you about the grip. I tried these last year (straights) and did not like them, but this year at MD S & W I bought a circular and I really enjoy knitting with it. I agree with pbird, though, that the cable is a little too soft. My work (I am using Hempathy, not a heavy cotton) droops off the needle just after the join, so I have to lift and push to get my work up onto the needle for knitting. I think a touch more stiffness would be perfect. And I so love the color. ; )