I’m a huge wood or carbon needle advocate. As a loose knitter, I very rarely knit with metal. I knit on the tip of the needle and metal tend to increase my natural tendency. With metal needles, I’m often compelled to downsize my needle size at least by two if I want to match the pattern gauge. So that’s a big fat nope for me. The only thing I knit with metal needle is Estonian lace because who would turn away from sharp and pointy needles when nupps and gathered stitch are in game?
This is actually the only metal set I own. I purchased it a few years ago while I was test knitting a shawl pattern. I started with my trusty Knitpro/Knitpride Symfonie Wood needles but I had to face it, there’s no way I can knit that with not-so-pointy-anymore needles. I went to my beloved LYS (Lil Weasel) and they convinced me to buy a pair of Hiya-Hiya Sharp. I do not regret my choice at all. Not even a minute. It’s perfect for gathered stitch and nupps which are the core of Estonian lace.
Designing lace = adding a LOT of lifelines!
I presented you these yarns in a previous article. Three weeks have passed since then and I’m already down to the neck in pattern writing and sample knitting. This cowl pattern will be included in my upcoming Cables and Estonian Lace Shawls class (registration and information here)… I know… It might sound weird to design a cowl for a shawl class but it allows me to get every technique we will learn in the class in one single pattern: provisional cast-on, three-needle-bind-off, icord built-in edge, cables and all the different Estonian lace stitches as the famous nupp. Learning new techniques can be a bit intimidating sometimes and a cowl is a quick and easy knit to start with as you don’t have to worry about missing a shaping element, win-win!
I’m so in love with both the lace and cables I’ve designed for this cowl that I’m thinking to turn it into an e-book: this cowl, an asymmetrical shawl and two hats!
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