Introducing the world of craft’s latest grunge band.

meri 2012.09.19

Another sock is on the needles. This one is being made for Shamala, and is being knit in Mountain Colors Crazyfoot, in the Mountain Tango colorway.

In case you’ve noticed them, why yes, those are incredibly tiny knitting needles. They are, in fact, what inspired the title of the post. Introducing the craft world’s latest grunge band: Nine Inch Needles!

[Pausing to let people flee the room and/or throw things at me, as they deem appropriate.]

The photo above is right as the leg was being finished, before starting the heel flap. I work my socks on a combination of a single (small) circular, and a pair of (longer) circulars. I usually use 12″ circs for the single needle portion of the sock. However, since my recipient is tiny, I figured this was a good opportunity to try out Hiya Hiya’s 9″ needles. The photo below shows exactly how small these needles are.

I’d talked with Stacey Trock about the needles before, and I have to agree with her assessment. There are two main things to keep in mind when working with these needles. First, there’s no way you’re getting all your fingers on these needles. If you can knit like you’re a very dainty person drinking tea (pinky in the air), then you’ll be ok. Second, if you like having your working stitches squished up on your left-hand needle, ready to leap into your next stitch (as opposed to having them stretched out in an orderly fashion), then you should be ok. If either of these things are false, though, you’re gonna have a bad time.

All in all, I like them. They definitely took some getting used to, even as someone who has extensive experience with 12″ needles. But, I think they’re worth the learning curve.