Obviously the most essential part of knitting is knitting needles. These come in a variety of material and can be made from aluminum, plastic, wood and sometimes of other materials as well. Some collectors' items can also be found when you get knitting needles made of gold, silver or when you have precious gems studded at the end of the needles. Irrespective of any material that you use, the knitting needles of a specific number will knit in the same manner and the manner in which the stitch comes out basically depends on the manner in which you knit. At the same time, it is recommended that beginners use knitting needles made of bamboo or wood in order to prevent the stitches from slipping off. Experienced knitters prefer to use plastic or aluminum since they are smooth and the stitches can be cast of quickly and smoothly.

The sizes that knitting needles come in starts with size 0. These are extremely thin and small and are tougher to work with. Therefore it is recommended that you do not start with these at any cost. The largest size is 50 and these are extremely thick and large. The use of these extreme sizes is rare and more often than not one operates between sizes 8 and 14.

All knitting patterns detail out the size of the needles that you need to use so this is one aspect that you do not have to worry about. However, you do need to know that the lighter the gauge of the yarn the smaller the size of the knitting needles that will be best for the project. Sometimes one also needs to change the size of the needles boing used in the middle of a project based on the design.