3 reasons to use larger needles with thick and thin yarn (2024)

FAQs

What does using bigger knitting needles do? ›

Using a larger needle size than suggested will give you looser, more open stitches, as well as making your finished piece larger. Using a smaller needle size will give you tighter, denser stitches, and your finished piece will end up being smaller.

So by knitting with bigger needles, you'll have larger loops on the needles of the finer segments of the yarn as well, which will allow easy passage of the puffy parts. A second advantage to knitting thick and thin yarn with larger needles is the strain on your hands.

A thin yarn and a large needle will create a thin fabric with big stitches and holes, like a spiderweb. Thick yarn and small needles will make a dense and stiff fabric that will be sturdy but uncomfortable and without drape.

The larger the needle, the more yarn used for the loop. This means more yarn will be needed for larger needles.

These larger sized needles are easier to handle. When starting out, many beginning knitters feel more secure with substantially sized needles in their hands. What is this? Another great benefit to knitting with larger needles is that your knitted piece will knit up faster!

Longer needles can also increase the chances of bruising, bleeding and pain. Short needles, being 4mm and 5mm pen needles, reduce the risk of injecting medication into your muscle.

Why Does Size Matter? The size of the needle affects the length of the stitches and thus your finished product. The concept of gauge, or how many stitches fit into 1 inch of knitting, relies heavily on the size of the needles.

The needle's width, known technically as the gauge, has a lot do with how uncomfortable it feels when it pierces your skin. Not surprisingly, the narrower the needle (which, ironically, means it has a larger gauge number), the less it hurts.

Long needles tend to increase the risk of injecting medication into the muscle and of causing pain, bruising, and bleeding. Short and small needles only go into the fatty tissue, reducing the risk of injecting medication into the muscle.

The larger needle creates gaps in the knitting that make the fabric more breathable but still warm and cozy. The smaller needle, on the other hand, creates the tighter rows in between that give the fabric a sort of structure.

What does a bigger crochet needle do? ›

Smaller hooks make finer and tighter crochet, while larger hooks produce a bulkier, more open weave. Patterns and yarn labels always suggest what size hook to use, but you may need to switch to a different size to achieve the correct gauge.

Bulky yarn (weight 5): Knitting needles: 5.5 to 8 mm, or sizes 9 to 11.

The weight of your yarn is the most important factor when it comes to choosing the right size knitting needle or crochet hook. In general, a basic rule of thumb is: the finer the yarn, the smaller the needle. Most patterns will specify the yarn that they used to make the project.

There are two main factors that make injections hurt: one is the thickness of the needle—the thicker the gauge of the needle, the bigger the hole, hence the bigger the pain; the other is the friction factor of the needle—even if a needle is fine, its saw-tooth design causes pain because it damages the skin. Japanese ...

Results: Twenty-one participants verbally reported the thinnest needle (27 gauge (G)) as least painful, compared to the intermediate (23 gauge; p = 0.013) and the thickest needle (21 gauge, p = 0.004).

21 Gauge Needles

21g needles are the most common gauge of needles used for routine blood draws and venipuncture.

Most needle companies show both sizes on the package. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind: the lighter the fabric the smaller the needle size and the heavier the fabric the larger the needle size. Many times the thread you will be using for your sewing project will also determine the type of needle you choose.

As a rule of thumb, the lower the number the thinner the needle shaft. 70/10 needles are made to sew fine, lightweight fabrics like chiffon, satin, and organza. Think fabrics for formal wear. 80/12 needles are appropriate to sew lightweight fabrics like lawn, faille, and georgette.

Usually, the thinner the gauge, the less the patient will feel the needles. However, thinner needles are also more flexible, and the acupuncturist must know exactly how to penetrate them into the body without bending the needle. Thicker needles usually derive a stronger stimulation during the healing process.

The gauge size of a needle indicates what the diameter of the lumen (opening) is. The higher the gauge, the smaller the diameter. For example, a 30 gauge needle has a narrower lumen than a 25 gauge needle. Different companies use different measurements for gauges, so it is important to specify inner diameter.

Do needle sizes go up or down? ›

If you have more stitches per inch, go up a needle size. If you have fewer stitches per inch, go up a needle size. Continue going up or down needle sizes until you get gauge.

Colourwork yarns don't have to be the same brand or type

From left to right, they are a worsted-weight single ply yarn, a sport weight 3-ply, and a DK weight superwash 2-ply. Although they have different qualities, but when combined made a beautiful finished knit!

Under clinical conditions, pain perception is not affected by different clinically available needle gauges. Many dentists prefer using smaller gauge (27- or 30-gauge) needles for anesthesia injection, believing that needles with a smaller diameter result in less injection pain than wider diameter needles.

Needle size and tension are intimately connected as the loop that creates the new stitch is formed around the needle. When you knit on smaller (thinner) needles the stitches also get smaller, and the tension gets tighter/higher.

How Small Is Small Enough? Reducing needle size reduces pain and generally increases patient acceptance. The increasing popularity of the short, 31-gauge pen needle is a notable example.

Results: Twenty-one participants verbally reported the thinnest needle (27 gauge (G)) as least painful, compared to the intermediate (23 gauge; p = 0.013) and the thickest needle (21 gauge, p = 0.004).

The gauge size of a needle indicates what the diameter of the lumen (opening) is. The higher the gauge, the smaller the diameter. For example, a 30 gauge needle has a narrower lumen than a 25 gauge needle.

When the quality and consistency of the material increased, it became possible to draw thinner wire with still higher gauge numbers. This explains why most gauges have higher gauge numbers for smaller sizes. When steam and waterpower became available for drawing, it became possible to start with thicker wires.

The bigger and duller the needle, the more likely it will hurt. Some shots are administered by sticking a needle through a rubber tube to draw out the medicine before the needle is used in the skin, which can dull the needle and be more painful, Stewart said.

Needle breakage is more likely to occur when short needles are used (as they are more likely to be inserted to the hub) and also with narrower needles (30 gauge instead of 27 or 25). It can be associated with sudden movement of the patient or changing direction of the needle when inserted into the tissues.