A practical needle guide · Our picks
Straight, circular, wooden, metal… which knitting needles are actually best?
Here’s the slightly annoying answer: there isn’t one best knitting needle.
Knitters can have surprisingly strong opinions about them. One person will happily knit everything on circular needles; another would rather have their trusty straight needles prised from their hands. Some love slick metal tips. Some want warm, slightly grippier wood. Some collect interchangeable sets; others just buy the exact fixed circular they need for each project.
So this isn’t a ranking from good to bad. It’s a guide to what the different types are for, why knitters prefer them, and which ones are worth considering.
If you’re buying for yourself, it should help you work out what might suit the way you knit. If you’re buying as a gift, it should hopefully stop you having to nod thoughtfully at phrases like “4mm short tips with an 80cm cable” while understanding absolutely none of them.
Looking at an old pattern or a US needle number? Use the UK / US / metric needle conversion chart →
Before you buy the giant bargain set
Those enormous, very cheap sets containing what appears to be every knitting needle ever invented can look like astonishing value. They aren’t always.
Rough joins, badly finished tips, ridges that catch the yarn or awkward cables can turn a simple row of knitting into an unnecessary battle. For a beginner especially, that can make knitting feel much harder than it actually is.
Trying to learn knitting on a horrible cheap set can be a bit like trying to learn guitar on a plastic toy guitar.
If you’re starting out, buy one decent pair in the size you actually need. You can build from there once you know what you like.
These are the classic needles most people picture: two separate needles with a point at one end and a stopper at the other.
They’re used for knitting backwards and forwards in rows and are perfectly good for scarves, garment pieces, blankets made in sections and countless other projects.
Some knitters simply prefer the familiar feel of straights. The downside is that lots of stitches can become heavy because all the knitting sits on the needles themselves.
Good for: traditional flat knitting and knitters who simply prefer straights.
Circular needles have two tips joined by a flexible cable. Despite the name, they are not only for knitting in circles. You can knit backwards and forwards on them too.
The cable carries much of the weight, which can make circulars particularly useful for jumpers, blankets and projects with lots of stitches.
They’re also much easier to put in a project bag without accidentally fencing with the person sitting next to you.
A fixed circular has one pair of needle tips permanently attached to one cable. You choose the needle size and cable length needed for the project.
They’re normally bought individually rather than as one enormous boxed set, so many knitters gradually acquire a collection of favourite sizes and lengths.
Our KnitPro Symfonie pick below represents the fixed circular range, not one boxed set, so its price varies by size and length.
Interchangeables use separate needle tips and cables that screw or click together, letting you make the size and length of circular needle you need.
A good set can replace a large collection of fixed circulars, but the join matters: stitches should glide across it rather than catch every few seconds.
They’re a brilliant investment once you know you actually like knitting on circulars.
The material question
Neither is universally better. They simply feel different.
Wood tends to give the yarn a little more grip. That can feel reassuring if stitches have a habit of making a bid for freedom, and many knitters love the warmer, quieter feel.
Some knitters also simply prefer the look and feel of them. A beautiful wooden set can be a proper knitting gift rather than just equipment.
Metal tends to be smoother and faster. If you knit tightly, or enjoy having stitches glide easily along the needle, metal can be glorious.
Other knitters find that same slipperiness less appealing. If someone tells you they’re “a metal needle person”, believe them. Knitters have started arguments over less.
Double-pointed needles, usually shortened to DPNs, have points at both ends. They’re traditionally used for socks, sleeves, cuffs, hat crowns and other small circumferences.
The first time you see a sock surrounded by four or five needles it looks faintly alarming. It does, however, work.
Some knitters absolutely love DPNs. Others prefer small circulars or magic loop. Again: there is no single correct camp to join.
Short interchangeable tips are for situations where ordinary-length tips become awkward. They’re particularly useful for smaller circumferences where there simply isn’t room for two long tips plus a short cable.
They’re a specialist addition rather than something every beginner needs immediately, but for knitters who like small circulars they can be extremely useful.
Chunky and super-chunky yarns need much larger needles than the sizes included in many standard interchangeable sets.
If you regularly knit big, quick jumpers, chunky accessories or blankets, a proper set of larger tips makes considerably more sense than repeatedly buying another enormous pair.
12 useful options · No filler
The options below cover genuinely different knitting jobs: straights, fixed and interchangeable circulars, wood, metal, DPNs, short tips and larger chunky sizes. Start with the way you already like to knit, then choose the set or single needle that solves that job.
№ 01A complete straight-needle set for knitters who prefer the familiar, simple feel of traditional needles.
If straight needles are what feel natural in your hands, a proper set gives you useful size choices without forcing a switch to circulars.
№ 02A longer 12-inch straight-needle set covering eight sizes from 2.5mm to 6mm.
The longer needles give more room for stitches on wider flat pieces while keeping the familiar feel of traditional straight needles.
№ 03A compact wooden interchangeable set covering sizes 3mm to 6mm in the Indigo range.
Covers the core 3–6mm sizes in a compact wooden interchangeable system, useful if you want flexibility without buying a much larger set.
№ 04A premium interchangeable circular system for keen knitters who like smooth metal tips and flexible cables.
Best suited to knitters already committed to circulars: interchangeable tips and cables let one system cover many projects without buying a separate fixed circular each time.
№ 05A wooden interchangeable circular set with a warmer, slightly grippier feel than metal.
The wooden tips give a little more grip than slick metal, while the interchangeable cables let you change needle size and length without collecting a separate circular for every job.
№ 06A starter set of DPNs for socks, sleeves, cuffs, hat crowns and other small circumferences.
Useful for socks, cuffs, sleeves and other small circumferences when you prefer double-pointed needles to magic loop or tiny circulars.
№ 07Short interchangeable tips for smaller circular setups where standard-length tips become awkward.
They solve a specific knitting problem instead of duplicating a standard set. Once you need short tips, you really need short tips.
№ 08A broad 14-size metal interchangeable set covering 3mm to 12mm for knitters who want one system spanning everyday through larger needle sizes.
Its 3–12mm spread covers everyday knitting through much larger yarns in one metal interchangeable system.
№ 09Larger interchangeable tips for chunky and super-chunky yarns that fall outside many standard sets.
Useful for chunky and super-chunky projects because the larger interchangeable tips cover sizes that many standard sets stop before reaching.
№ 10A classic Addi interchangeable circular set for knitters who prefer smooth metal tips and the brand's click-together system.
A useful alternative to screw-together interchangeable systems, especially for knitters who already like Addi's smooth metal needles and click mechanism.
№ 11A luxury wooden interchangeable set for knitters who want their most-used tools to feel as lovely as the yarn.
If somebody spends hundreds of hours a year with needles in their hands, there is a perfectly good argument for owning really nice ones.
№ 12Individual wooden fixed circulars, chosen by needle size and cable length rather than bought as one boxed set.
Sometimes one good circular is exactly what you need. They are also a sensible way to try wooden circulars before investing in interchangeables.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy something through one, The Knitter’s Notions may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Recommendations are chosen because we think they’re genuinely useful.
Gift buying
Needles can make a genuinely excellent gift because a good set may be used for years. But they’re also personal.
If you can, find out three things:
If they already own interchangeables, check the brand before buying extra tips or cables: systems aren’t necessarily compatible.
And if you have absolutely no idea what any of this means, do not panic and buy the box containing the largest possible number of needles. A beautiful pair or set they will actually use beats 100 mystery needles every time.
See easier gifts for knitters →Starting out
Start with the project, not the needle collection. Choose something you actually want to knit and look at the needle size recommended by the pattern.
You do not need to own every needle size before you’ve knitted your first row.
Buy one decent pair, learn what you like, and let the collection grow naturally.
It will grow. They always do.
Already reached the “why do I own five 4mm needles?” stage?
See our knitting needle storage picks →