Flat and circular knitting are just different styles of making a project. It is the path that your knitting needles take to complete a project. For instance, say you need to clear a round field full of grass. You can take your lawnmower and either go back and forth or you can start from the exterior circumference and go in a round. Both of these methods will get the task done. Choosing the style of knitting depends on the project as well as the knitter.
To make things easier and smoother, we’ll discuss both flat and circular knitting.
What is Flat Knitting?
In flat knitting, you knit back and forth on single-pointed needles or circular needles. Flat knitting is preferred for flat patterns- mostly dishcloths, scarf, etc., but it does not mean that you cannot make a sweater with straight needles. You will have to knit them separately and seam them later.
You start with a slip knot, then cast on stitches (as mentioned in a pattern or your own design’s calculation. Knit all the cast-on stitches across a row on one needle, and when you reach the end of the row, all the knitted stitches are on the other right-hand needle. To knit the next row, you’ll turn the work, move the needle with all the stitches to your left hand, and repeat the process again.
Knitting flat with circular needles is particularly amazing for knitting blankets, shawls, afghans, etc. With interchangeable circular needles, you get the versatility of different needle tips with different cable lengths. Also, if you need to cast a large number of stitches, you can easily shift the stitches to the cables keeping your hands free from extra bulk and stitches.
What is Circular Knitting?
Circular knitting is knitting in a continuous round which creates a circular tube. The seamless knitting style is particularly best for socks, hats, sleeves, fingers of mittens, etc. For knitting seamlessly, the options are circular needles or double-pointed needles (DPNs). Before circular knitting needles were invented a century earlier, double-pointed needles were the only method to knit small circumferences. The set of five needles works together to create a circumference as well as knitting the stitches with the extra needle. Working in the round avoids having to sew up the seams of the project. In this type of knitting, you always knit around and around without turning your work and can mark the beginning of each round with a stitch marker.
Circular needles are basically straight needle tips with a cable joining the two needles from one end. Usually, the needle lengths range from 25 cm to 150 cm from one end to another end. The interchangeable knitting needle sets are a knitter’s treasure as here you get to choose the needle sizes and cable sizes independently. Fixed circular needles are handy for projects such as socks and mittens.
To be clear, knitting in the round is not just restricted to using circular needles. For knitting socks, you need to knit a small circumference and the best option is the double-pointed needles.
Knitting is creative and in all a craft of Mindfulness. Whether you knit flat or circular with any knitting needle, enjoy every stitch. With the stainless steel needles of the Mindful Collection, you will have an enjoyable crafting experience along with inspiration from the unique words imprinted on the needle tips.
