a few questions/randoms

[Captain Catnip]

I've had stupid thumb pain since I started knitting more than I was before. I wake up in the morning and my thumb is sometimes locked in place, and after knitting for a while it REALLY hurts. I was putting off going to the Dr, but anti-inflammatories don't seem to be helping at all so I guess I'll have to do something about it. Anyone deal with this before?


I finally figured out how to knit with DPNs. I've tried a few times, and still haven't officially made anything, but I have figured out how to join them and knit a few rounds on them as practice. The DPNs I have, though, are super super super cheap and awful. I'm afraid they'll snap + they aren't pointy at all so it's hard to get under the yarn with such a blunt tip. Are there any DPN sets you'd all recommend? I have the KP Dreamz circulars and love how they feel when using them, and plan on getting the Dreamz straight needles, too. Right now I use the circulars as straights when necessary. I found a set of the straights on ravelry second hand I am hoping are still available.  

Do I need DPNs in bigger sizes? I'm only seeing the Dreamz coming in sock sizes. Do they make a set with bigger sizes? 

[sproctopus]

Knitpicks makes really beautiful needles-- highly recommend.

It sounds like you may be holding your yarn strange or uncomfortably while knitting? My carpal tunnel got really awful when I was an active knitter.

[Cicero]

Just FYI-Knit Picks' Cyber Monday sale starts this Monday, the 14th. They might have a discount on needles.

[mrs.jacinthe]

I was getting thumb pain for a while when I was a new knitter because I knit continental and I was using my thumb to kind of pinch the yarn for more tension. When I changed the way I hold yarn and relaxed my hands in general (no need for a death grip on the needles), the pain went away.

[Captain Catnip]

Cicero, Thank you! I'll check there definitely. Their wooden needles are comparable to the KP Dreamz right?


mrs.jacinthe, I didn't think I was holding weird, but I may be. I'll have to find some left handed videos to see what I'm doing differently...

[Captain Catnip]

I think I knit too tight for the needles I have. I just ordered one set of ChiaoGoo from amazon in size 5 (I have a few socks patterns that call for that) that are steel to see how they go. Guess I'll just have to try a few different kinds of DPNs to see which I like best first.

[reinedumonde]

Nov 16, 2016 23:37:24 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

I think I knit too tight for the needles I have. I just ordered one set of ChiaoGoo from amazon in size 5 (I have a few socks patterns that call for that) that are steel to see how they go. Guess I'll just have to try a few different kinds of DPNs to see which I like best first.

I've found this to be really common for newer knitters.  Once you get more used to the rhythm of knitting, you'll find that you don't need to grip things as tightly or pull the yarn quite as hard.  Take stretch breaks every so often.  Maybe once every hour or half-hour, stop knitting and stretch your hands as big as you can get them for several seconds.  I've found stretching has helped me a lot with any wrist pain.

I wonder if you might like knitting with metal needles.  They might help if you think you're knitting too tightly.  I would second the recommendation for Knitpicks needles - they've got some nice, sharp metal ones, too.