Ponderings about magic loop and interchangeable circular needles, and Sock Madness!

Long time since last post. Right now I'm in a race to knit socks called Sock Madness. It's my first time and I'm surprised I've qualified through 2 rounds, though the first round was only the qualifying round so everyone got two weeks to knit a pair of socks. Luckily I'm placed in the slowest team, that's certainly where I belong.

I had an idea about a blog post so here I am. It's somewhat a collection of thoughts about the pros and cons of using magic loop, knitting socks / other items two at a time and (interchangeable) circular needles. It's also somewhat difficult to differentiate what advantage is truly in which category, which I think might be the reason for "excess enthusiasm".

Since I started knitting, I've read a lot about different techniques and which needles are best. I don't know how new or old the idea of knitting basically everything with circular needles is, but it's certainly something that is an "advanced" thing here. Even if we are/were taught to knit at school, the basic tools were double pointed needles (dpns) for socks and mittens and the like, and straight needles for knitting bigger items like sweaters (seamed of course). I never used a circular needle when I was taught to knit at school. I think the consensus then was that circular needles were supposed to be the correct size to work, and thus limited in their usefulness. 

That was of course before magic loop. I don't know how long the history of magic loop is, but it feels like it is becoming THE method of knitting. There are knitters who don't like magic loop and those who love it and won't knit any other way. 

But first the advantages of using circular needle in general, because you can't do magic loop without a circular needle. I'm using knitting socks as the general example because that's always the first thing that comes into my mind.

• Carefreeness. You can knit items large and small in the round without having to worry as much about needles sliding off, especially if you don't knit tightly. I think this is also why I personally can knit a bit more loosely compared to dpns, because I don't have to worry about the needle that's in a vertical position falling down to the floor. Putting down your work or carrying it with you in a bag is also quite easy since just pulling the stitches to lie on the cable part of the circular is usually enough for the stitches stay on and you don't have to pick up stitches before you continue.
• Ergonomy. If you knit larger (wider) pieces with lots of stitches, first of all you might not be able to find a straight needle long enough to accommodate all your stitches, but more importantly, using a circular needle means that a majority of the knitting project will be resting on the cable (on your lap) rather than weighing down the ends of the needle, so it's less muscle work. This advantage is largely dependent on the way you knit, I would imagine. If you hardly lift or move your (straight) needle to create stitches, then it of course you wouldn't necessarily feel the weight either. I don't know. I don't own straight needles. 
• Versatility. A circular needle long enough can do the job of dpns and straight needles, while obviously also working as a circular needle. You can knit flat or in the round. It's like a 3-in-1 thing, so it also saves you money. 
• You can easily knit several separate things at the same time. Like sleeves, or front + back pieces of a sweater. I suppose you could even do every piece of a sweater at the same time, but it might be difficult to keep track of rows. for each piece.
• With a long circular you can do magic loop.

To me, these are the possible advantages of magic loop 

• To pick up from the previous bullet point: You can use a long circular needle for knitting small items in the round and you don't have to experience the porcupine thing with dpns. There are now tiny 8"-9" circular needles for knitting small items, but based on many reviews I've come to the conclusion that 1) the jury's still out there since the technique is a bit different as the needles are much much shorter than regular tips, 2) they're quite limited in usefulness since it's difficult to do things beyond basic knitting in the round, and for example for heels you have to switch to something else unless it's an afterthought heel. 
• Ladders. There are only two possible positions to get ladders where as with dpns you have 3 or 4. (Caveat: see the next list of disadvantages).
• Less fiddly? I personally feel it's much easier to deal with a small amount of stitches (e.g. when finishing toe decreases in a cuff-down sock) using a magic loop then with dpns, because you have more room to work one half of the stitches when the other half is resting on the thin cable. 
• Multitasking. You can knit multiple things in the round at the same time. The most common approach is to knit paired items at the same time, like socks and mittens. Some people even do multiple pairs at the same time.

The possible disadvantages of magic loop: 

• Speed. Can be slower to work with than dpns, especially if you're very comfortable with dpns. If you're doing just one sock, then using magic loop can feel like you're spending half of your time just pulling the cable back and forth as you switch sides. And you probably are.
• Ladders. According to this blog post by TECHknitter it's actually easier to get ladders with magic loop. I've noticed that some people do have a problem with huge ladders when using magic loop. Personally I don't have this problem. I have to admit that I also don't really have a problem with ladders when using dpns either (I always rotate the "ladder positions" naturally since I forget to switch to the free dpn and keep knitting with the same dpn). It's also basic science that the more corners you have, the less torsion (not sure if that's a correct term) is occurring at each corner. 
• Quality of needle. You don't want to do magic loop with a circular that has an obvious join between the cable and the needle. As you constantly need to push the other half of the stitches back on top of the needle, a snagging join will be annoying. I don't necessarily mean that expensive needles = good needles, as I've had many bad joins in the more expensive needles they sell around here. Magic loop also isn't a very delicate method, so the join will need to be able to handle some pulling. I again have had at least one cable come off the tip because the glued join just couldn't take it. It must have been a faulty piece since that happened with the first pair of socks knit with that needle.
• Type of cable. The type of suitable cable is actually quite specific, or at least if you want THE perfect cable for this job. You really need a good flexible and thin cable for magic looping. I think the ladder issue can be at least much worse if you have a very stiff cable that wants to "open up" constantly. You don't want a cable that will take offense at being folded in two (causing a permanent fold/crease), but I don't think that's a common problem. It can be annoying if your cable has a memory and wants to curl while doing magic loop, but dipping the cable in hot water usually straightens the cable. But I do think that most good quality knitting needles have cables that are well suited for magic loop.
• What's the point? I think the main advantage of magic loop is the many-at-a-time aspect. If you are a proficient dpn knitter, I don't think there's much advantage to using magic loop, speed-wise, to knit one sock at a time. Comfort-wise maybe. I personally don't have anything against dpns, I've been taught to knit in the round with dpns so I can do it. I've just found circulars much more comfortable and relaxing.

Advantages of doing things two (or more) at a time: 

• No second sock syndrome. I'm very guilty of this if I do one at a time. The thought of repeating something you just finished is just... tiresome.
• Identical pieces. You remember what you just did with your right sock so you can repeat that with the left sock. Also your tension will be more or less the same for both socks, so no more "this week was so stressful that my left sock doesn't fit" syndrome. I think it's also easier to hibernate a project and then come back to it and find the socks at the same stage, rather than having one sock at point X and then trying to finish that + figure out how to replicate the other sock (not that I'd know anything about that... *glances at the UFO box*). Even if you don't remember what you did, you can figure out how to continue.
• Speed. For me personally it always feels faster to do two things at a time because when I'm finished I'm finished. And also repetition means I remember better what I just did. For example if there's a chart that I'm repeating, then I don't necessarily have to look at the chart when I'm doing the same thing for the 3rd or 4th time in a row. If I only did one repeat at a time, I would look at the chart constantly because I don't have a super good memory with things like this.
• Not a synonym for magic loop. The common approach to do two things at a time is to use a circular needle (or straights for knitting flat), and many times magic loop. But another approach is to have two sets of dpns and do one section of one sock and then repeat that section with the other sock. I actually like the two at a time separately approach and feel like maybe I should try it more.

Disadvantages of doing two (or more) at a time: 

• Uncertainty and higher risk. I'm not an expert sock knitter. I don't have in my mind the perfect toe or heel and I never really know for sure when to start them. The pattern might say one thing but then you need to take into account your own gauge and things like that. So if you start doing like toe decreases at the same time, and then find out that the sock is a bit too short, you would also need to fix two socks instead of just one. If you knit one sock first you only have one sock to fix and you can knit the other one without adjustments.
  
• [If you do 2-at-a-time magic loop] Mistakes vol. 1: If you make a mistake, it it's quite likely that you've repeated that error on the other sock. For example you knit the wrong row of a chart. That means twice as many stitches to tink/unravel and reknit.
• [If you do 2-at-a-time magic loop] Mistakes vol. 2: Noticing an error in just one sock after you've finished the round on both socks means that you either A) have to figure out how to fix the mistake on the next round (which isn't that bad and usually it's doable) or B) have to tink the just finished round on both socks even if the other ones' fine, or C) you have to move the other sock on spare needles, fix the mistake and then add the other sock back again and it always requires some thought to have them oriented correctly, or D) just live with the mistake if you can. Personally I always feel like tinking or moving the other sock to spare needles is way too much work and too time consuming, so I either try to fix the mistake by dropping stitches or I just ignore the mistake. It's not just a "two-at-a-time" thing, I do generally avoid any unraveling of my knitting. If the mistake happened several rows ago, I will just live with it.
• Simple things get complicated. Patterns often tell you to transfer stitches from one needle to the other. When knitting socks two at a time you can only easily transfer certain stitches, but stitches in certain locations can't be transferred because the other sock is in the way. The solution is to put those stitches on a stitch holder/locking stitch marker/dpn/cable needle, work the other sock and then reposition the stitches once you arrive at the other side of the first sock. It's not difficult, but it's obviously very complicated if you have to do that just to be able to do a k2tog.
• Speed. Obviously it's faster to knit just one sock rather than two socks, but the question is of the time to finish the whole pair. Some feel that it's faster to finish a pair by knitting one at a time, because with the other sock you already know what you're doing and what works so you don't need to look at the instructions all the time. 
• [If you do 2-at-a-time separately] Equipment. I don't own two sets of dpns so that's why I rarely use this approach. And also because I don't like dpns as much. It's actually not that time consuming to switch the just worked sock to smaller dpns and start working the other sock with the correct size. You can always start knitting from the smaller dpns to transition to larger correct size, so you would only need to transfer one sock completely. 

And finally, all of the above can be done either fixed or interchangeable circular needles. So what's the advantage of using interchangeable circular needles? The key part is of course the "interchangeability", which I think contains a lot of aspects, and many are as much about the detachable cable versus the tip itself.

• Many-in-one: You can buy tips and then different lengths of cables to have the right length for your current project. You can even combine several cables to get an extra long cable.
• Switching projects is easy. You can use the same tips simultaneously in multiple projects. Just unscrew the tips off the cables, screw the caps on and when you feel like working on that project again, you can attach the tips back and continue knitting. No need to transfer the whole project to waste yarn. You just need extra cables. 
• Cable = waste yarn. Similar to previous point. You can pick up stitches (for example for the sleeve) on a cable and then when you're ready to work the picked up stitches, you can just attach the tip and start knitting.
• Mixed sizes. In the round only one needle tip will be the working needle that determines the size of the stitches. Having the other needle a size or two smaller will mean that the stitches are easier to get and move on that needle and also working decreases and such should be slightly easier. Some people also get more even result when they use a smaller tip to purl back when they're working flat. 
• Nice and compact to store and organize. I made myself an interchangeable needle case where the tips are in one neat row and each "pocket" is labeled for the size. I can quickly find the size I'm looking for and it doesn't require opening plastic packages. The case can be rolled and I don't feel like the tips will easily break in the case. I also have a cd case for storing the cables, with labels to see the correct size, but storing fixed circular needles isn't nearly as nice and neat. The tips don't stay well in the soft plastic cd case pockets because the cable wants to uncoil. I'm afraid the tips will break because they're sitting diagonally in the pockets.

Disadvantages or caveats of interchangeable needles: 

• Limited size range. Until now interchangeables haven't really been available below 3 mm. Chiaogoo's ICs have started from 2.75 mm and they have just released mini sizes that go bleow that. But that's only if you like the brand. To my knowledge there aren't wooden interchangeables that would go below 3 mm, even though they can be found as fixed circulars. 
• One size does not fit all. Shortest cables require shorter needles (regular needle tip length is usually around 5" and shorter ones are around 4"). Also some brands like Chiaogoo have separate cables for smaller and larger needles, and they've just released a mini set that has cables you can't use with the small or large needles. The cable itself is the same in different sizes I think, but the connector piece is different size. So you either need different set of cables or an adapter (also recently released). Most interchangeable cables are brand specific and won't work with tips from other brands, but there are some brands that can be switched around (such as KnitPro and Drops). 
• Fixed and interchangeable cables aren't identical. In case of my needles (KnitPro), I've noticed that the interchangeable cable is a bit thicker and stiffer than the fixed cable, so the fixed cable is actually slightly nicer for magic loop. Since KnitPro doesn't have IC needles below 3.00 mm, I have 2.5 mm fixed circulars, and I can feel the difference. I'm not sure if this holds true for the fixed circular needles that are in the same size range as ICs.
• Problems with joins. The cable is attached to the tip connector and the tip connector attaches to the tip. That's two extra joins in one circular. Sometimes the join between the cable and the tip isn't completely seamless. There is always an error margin on the threads in manufacturing and not all tips will screw nicely to all cables. Sometimes the tips start to unscrew from the cable and the yarn starts getting caught in the gap (can be difficult to get a stitch off the gap if your knitting is tight), and it can be tricky to screw the tip back on while the needle is in the project. Be sure to use the tightening tools that come with your circulars (unless it's some kind of click system). I have rarely had a tip come loose if I've tightened it properly, but if you do it only by hand, it will start to untwist.
• Is there really a benefit? Different lengths in most cases only add a little bit of convenience. You can do most of the (basic) stuff with a long enough fixed circular. To be able to use the exact correct length to knit in the round without magic looping has been in my case so rare that I end up using magic loop anyways, and then it doesn't really matter if there's an extra 4" of cable since it needs to be long enough to comfortably do magic loop. 

These are just my opinions and what relates to my limited experience in knitting. I haven't knit huge shawls or tablecloths to need loooooong cables. Maybe what I attempted to say is that though some things are associated to certain techniques, they are actually separate things. Such as, if you take away all the advantages of using circular needles, what's the advantage of using interchangeable needles? And is it really worth it to get ICs if you already have fixed? Maybe not. Since I didn't have any needles when I started knitting, I bought ICs because I wasn't sure what sizes I would need. And usually there's no disadvantage to actually using them, besides availability in sizes (though I just noticed the difference in stiffness between IC and fixed KnitPro cable). Also knitting socks cuff down or toe up isn't linked to whether you use magic loop or not, or how many socks you are knitting at the same time. Of course that's obvious, but at the same time I often associate "toe up = magic loop". Or "magic loop = toe up". Also the way a sock is constructed (which heel/toe) isn't linked to what needles you're using. In the end you're still only using the tip of a needle to create a stitch and everything between/around the two tips is your choice.

It's a long post no one will ever read but just felt like writing about this. :)