Darning needles are one of the essential knitting accessories that every knitter, new as well as seasoned experts must own. For darning the seams or edges, making the proper finish of a project, weaving in yarn ends or repairing mistakes, the darning needles are used for many purposes. Often referred to as tapestry or wool or finishing needles, the darning needles are the unsung heroes of the knitting world. Such is the multipurpose use that even in the olden days every woman and man used to carry one on themselves at all times.
Choosing the right darning needle is very important for its significant purpose in knitting as well as other yarn crafts. Also like knitters are different, every needle is different. The darning needles come in different materials and lengths with different kinds of tips and different-sized holes for the yarn to pass through. The Mindful Collection offers high-density laminated wood darning needles in the teal shade as well as bent-tipped plastic needles in each Mindful knitting needle set. If you have explored the range of stainless steel knitting needles, you are well aware of the fact that the entire range focuses on the meditative aspects of the craft. Each of the accessories is designed on the same theme of mindfulness. The mindful darning needles are a great choice for all knitters.
Here are a few facts about the Mindful Darning Needles
Needle Tips
The Mindful Collection offers darning needles in both types of round straight tips as well as bent tips.
The round straight tip of the darning needles is great for going through different kinds of yarn without damaging the stitches or the yarn fibre. As the knitted fabric is permeable in comparison to other fabrics, the tip doesn’t need to be sharp. In fact, blunt tips or rounded ones let you work through stitches without slicing through individual strands of yarn.
Bent-tipped darning needles are also very helpful when you’re seaming two pieces together. They navigate very clearly without snagging any stitches.
Even when weaving in ends such as in colourwork or lace patterns, the blunt tips can comfortably slice through part of a yarn making the tail a part of the final fabric.
Many times darning involves “plucking” individual stitches and pulling the needle underneath them so the blunt edge can work smoothly without any damage. For this same reason, they are also ideal for duplicate stitches on a finished knitted fabric.
Even when you’re doing tricks that involve more of an up-down or side-to-side motion, like seaming two sides together with mattress stitch, a bent-tipped darning needle may be more comfortable for you.
Needle Size
The general rule of thumb is to use darning needles a size smaller than the knitting needle. The trick is not too small size, in fact, a snug fit is good. You don’t want the yarn too slip through the big eye or force too thick of yarn through too small of an eye.
If the yarn slips through, you will be taking much more time to complete the simple task and be frustrated. And, if the yarn is too thick, the abrasion of the wood needle will gradually cause the yarn to wear thin and break taking more time to rectify the error and lose precious yarn in the process. Even if you’re darning a small end or you’re seaming an entire sleeve, you don’t want to lose your end halfway through.
If you’re unsure that a darning needle is a right match for your fabric, we have an easy way to check. Simply hold the darning needle over your fabric, or slide it horizontally through one stitch. If the needle is as wide as a stitch is tall, you should switch to a smaller needle. Ideally, you don’t want it to be any more than half as wide as the stitch is tall.
The More the Merrier
Like knitting needles and stitch markers, you can never have too many darning needles. You need to have them in different sizes. When it comes to darning needles, the Mindful Collection offers 2 big and 2 small darning needles in a wooden case.
Uses of the Darning Needles
Now coming to the use of darning needles. Whether it is a pair of socks or a wide blanket, you’ll always be needing the darning needle.
Weave in yarn ends - Every knitting project will have at least two yarn ends to weave in while there will be many when you use different yarns. With a darning needle, you can weave every end no matter the knitted stitches. Just thread the yarn tails and go through the knitted stitches as invisibly as possible.
Repair Holes - There will be knitting patterns where you come across mistakenly made holes. Here too, the darning needles can cover up holes from the opposite side of the knitted fabric.
Duplicate Stitches - Sometimes when you need to add beauty to a simple knitted fabric, duplicate stitches are of great help. Thread yarn in a different shade on a darning needle and go through the stitches to make interesting designs, alphabets and more.
So, with this guide on everything you need to know about darning needles get ready to create some wonderful projects.
Happy knitting!
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