Two Needles, one wire: A crappy rundown of interchangeable needles.

...see what I did there? o.o 

Who ever said that there could only be one key for each lock clearly didn’t understand interchangeables -

If you haven’t put this sucker on your list then you better do it now. Interchangeable needles are an investment, nay a cost saving saving grace for all of your future bad bitch/or bloke knitting needs. 

But just like our first best friends, the straight and the circular needles there are a lot of different materials that we must consider. Good god, who knew that we had to think about all of this stuff right? Well let me add another layer-brands. They matter and I’ll discuss why in another post. 

So let’s back up, let’s talk about the main differences in the needles material. Just like our other needles you’ll see drift wood, bamboo, metal, carbon fiber, plastic etc. 

Almost all of the major brands that you’ll find (Addi, Hiya Hiya, chiaogoo, LYKE, Knitters Pride) will have two materials metal and wood. But knitter’s pride and LYKE need some clout so they like to get fancy and they have dived head first into the realm of alternative materials such as carbon fiber and driftwood. These brands are becoming more popular, however if you ask knitter's on a social media platform you will often find knitters who swear by the Addis or chiaogoos. This is why Knitter's Pride and LYKE have some catching up to do. 

Now let’s look at the other component of our future BFFS that will potentially convince you to handover your stash of coins that you’ve been saving all year, the wire. 

If you’ve ever purchased a cable needle from amazon or perhaps from joanns (not including the clovers) you KNOW how tough the plastic can be. It’s so tough that some knitters literally have to warm that sucker up before use! Now I don’t know about you but I do not want to try to course correct the natural curve of a plastic when it obviously wants to live it’s life as a curly piece of plastic pretending to be a cable needle. It was born that way, let it be ya’ll. 

But I digress. The cable needle wire is one of the most sacred components, next to the joiner (the metal joint where you screw in your needle), in your interchangeable needle set. 

I will discuss the difference in HIYA HIYA and Chiaogoo since they are the most sought after item during the holidays and during any flash sale. 

Chiaogoo TWIST Interchangeable Needles  - or as my autocorrect has dictated, "Chicago" (machines...are they truly smarter?) 

Chiaogoo TWISTs  have a wire that has a memory as wonderful as my husband's when he goes grocery shopping, in other words it's memory free. You can use this puppy for magic loop without having to worry about it kinking...although let's face it we all hold our breath because we are STILL concerned. This memory free wire is actually composed of multiple strands of surgical steel that is then coated with red nylon to make it easier for slipping stitches. It is both easy to work with and you don't have to worry about your yarn catching. It is important to note that there are Chiaogoo interchangeable sets that do not have this wire, instead they simply have the nylon wire sans the metal wire (this includes the bamboo set). 

Next up are the HIYA HIYA Interchangeable needles - 

The interchangeable wires are plastic - there are no other specs on the website regarding the materials. However, don't let the word "plastic" fool you. These wires can also be used for the magic loop and you don't have worry about kinking as well. The joins are flush with the plastic and this is a plus. The colors of the wire can vary, but the material doesn't change. Overall the plastic wire is light weight and it's pretty flexible. 

I haven't had the pleasure of trying out Addis just yet, however this will change eventually! 

If you used the other brands of interchangeable please enlighten us. :)