Personally after trying this method out, I kind of prefer using double pointed needles. I do it find it a chore to move the stitches onto and off the needles each time I knit half the circle. On the other hand, I do have friends who find the magic loop method better than using double pointed needles. I guess it is a matter of personal preference. On the plus side, once you master this technique, a set of circular needles can be a very good investment. This is because the circular needles can also be used to knit flat panels, big circles as well as small circles unlike the double pointed needles. This means if you ever need to get new needles of a certain size, you just need to get circular needles and it can be used for all sorts of projects instead of buying different sorts of needles. In short, the circular needles can be a multi-functional knitting tool once you learn how to maximum its use.
Here’s how you knit with the magic loop:
First you cast all the stitches onto one needle.
Then you push all these stitches to the center of the cable and then put half the row of stitches onto one needle and the half onto the other needle. You will now have 1 cable loop between the row of stitches. (If you are having a tough time moving the stitches from needle to cable and back to the needle again, you are not alone. It’s normal.)
Once you have achieved this part, you may start knitting the stitches on the left needle onto the right needle. By doing this, you would have finished knitting half the circle.
Next push the unknitted part of the circle from the cable to the needle. And then push the knitted part of the circle from the needle to the cable and knit.
And there you have it. You have just knitted a full circle using the magic loop. Keep doing that as you knit each round.
This is how the project looks as one half of the row is being knitted onto the other needle.
If you find the photos confusing, here is a drawn out picture of how it should look like when the cables are not getting the way and in a confusing angle.
It can be pretty daunting to move stitches back and forth but once you get the hang of it, it will become a piece of cake. (and chocolate cake yummy!)If you want to learn how to knit with double pointed needles, check out my blog on my second fingerless mittens written about 2 weeks back. I’ll probably write the steps again in another blog.
I hope you found this blog useful. If you’re interested in getting a book on how to knit by some professionals, you check out these links if you like:
Happy knitting folks!
