# Is a needle size #2 best for socks?



## stef

Lots of you here have knit socks and I'd appreciate your help in choosing the correct needle size. Is #2 the best/universal size, or should I go smaller? I'd like to use the same needle to make mittens, if that would work. 

Also, I need a circular needle to do bulky knits. Would a #10 be the right one?

(I am slowly building up my supply of knitting needles and have to limit myself to a few at a time.  )

thanks very much 

stef


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## frazzlehead

As with most things knitting...

it depends.

Depends on the yarn. You can knit socks in bulky yarn, in which case you want bigger needles (I use 3.5 mm needles for big thick socks, sorry don't know US sizes). With sock yarn, I use about a 2.75 mm needle but I knit loosely. All depends on your gauge, like everything else in knitland!

ETA for a general purpose circ to use on yarn that is about as heavy as Cascade Eco or lopi, I use a 4.5 to 5 mm needle. If you look at the ball band for the yarn you have in mind (or a yarn similar to it) you should see a recommended needle size. If you can't test it out beforehand, then go with that - though keep in mind that you may still not get gauge as every knitter's gauge is different.


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## gone-a-milkin

I knit lots of socks. The size 2's are the ones I use the very most. 
Next often is size 1's. 
If I could only have one set (ha,ha) I would get 2's.


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## Tommyice

I usually knit on size 3 and most often I'm using a Patons Kroy sock yarn.


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## stef

Thanks 'guys'. ** 

What do you think of the size 10 for bulky? You're right in saying we have different gauges, but for right now I have to choose something to get me started. 

stef

p.s. another question...are you a perfectionist? Like...how many times will you unravel something until you get it right? *LOL*


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## Marchwind

Size 10 sound about right for bulky.

Not much of a perfectionist, at least not as much as I used to be. But I do hate ripping and if I can fix something without ripping I will. I have things I've ripped back many, times 6 maybe, before I got it right.


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## Ana Bluebird

I am currently using size 2 on socks, but I usually use 3's and I can tell you 3's are a lot easier. The little bit of size increase helps my poor old hands to keep from cramping up and my eyes can see them better. Of course, this yarn called for 2's so I'll not be buying any more of it. They will be very nice socks if I ever get them done. 

And when I first started knitting (just a few years ago---I was a crocheter), I would NEVER rip out, but I got a book on fixing mistakes and practiced up, now I know I really don't have to start over when I make a mistake. It has made knitting much more enjoyable.


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## MullersLaneFarm

I like using size 00 & 1 for socks.

Frogging items? If I can't fix it on the needles AND the mistake is obvious, then a frogging we will go. You can always stitch a 'life line' through your work every 5-10 rows so if you do make a mistake, you can frog back to the life line.

A life line is nothing more than a piece of scrap yarn threaded through your stitches. If you frog back to the life line, it holds your stitches and you simply slip the stitches back on your needles.


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## AverageJo

What a cool idea, Cyndi!! I might just have to do this with intriquite lace patterns so I know where I am!! LOL...


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## Lythrum

I use size 2's also, I tried 3's and the stitches were too loose for the yarn I have been using. The hats and scarves that I knitted this winter with bulky yarn were on circular 10.5 needles. 

How willing I am to go back and do-over something depends on how far back the mistake is when I catch it, and if I am making it for someone else. I am much more likely to leave in a mistake on something I am making for myself. I think knitting has been good for my perfectionism...there is a point where I think the effort to go back and fix it isn't worth the effort to fix it, for a mistake that most likely I am the only one that would notice.


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## MullersLaneFarm

Katherine, when you use a life line on lace, you'll put it in on the row with the most regular knit/purl stitches instead of the row with the yarn overs.


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## stef

Wind in Her Hair said:


> #2 gives you a nice "hosiery-like" dense sock fabric - socks knit on #6s are more like wearing corduroy socks - you can FEEL the individual row or column of knitting beneath your feet -not unpleasing if the yarn is nice but not the same feel as socks knit on smaller needles and smaller yarns.
> 
> I wear all flavors of handknit socks - even those I knit on size 10.5 needles. The bigger the yarn and needle the less likely it will be to fit in your shoes though - I wear everything from snow pack boots and hiking boots and those hideously over-wide Crocs* duck feet-looking shoes. (*My husband calls them my "anti-rape shoes" because yes, they are THAT ugly.:teehee
> 
> and no - I am FAR from a perfectionist
> 
> however a wise knitter once told me that* if the idea of ripping out your knitting and starting over makes you want to stick needles in your eyes or gives you a panic attack *- its possible that knitting is not for you! I have learned for more by REKNITTING than I ever have by doing it perfectly the first time.
> 
> :grin:


LOL...actually, I enjoy knitting very, very much, so much that ripping out and starting over is doesn't drive me crazy...only my friends, who can't understand this urge to 'get it right'. 

I have hardly begun to scratch the surface of all there is to learn...and it beckons me on!  

I sure appreciate everyone's willingness to share their knowledge and experience. Even when you're answering the same question for the 100th time!


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## romysbaskets

I do prefer 2's with sock yarn but I like 3's with my own thin two ply which is a little thicker then sock yarn. First I crocheted many pairs of socks. Then I decided for durability and for the effect I wanted, knitting would be better. I am glad I crocheted so much before turning back to knitting. It allowed me to "see" the knit/pearls/ etc in a different way that allows me to easily pick up dropped stitches which I have heard is a problem with socks with a crochet hook.


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## wr

Most of mine are on 2.0 or 2.25 mm needles, which would be 0 & 1 in the US but most of my socks are made of pretty fine yarn.


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## tjlmama

I use size 3's with sock yarn but I'm a tight gage knitter


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## Maura

I think you need to get a skein of sock yarn and start knitting. Knit a tube, four needles. Start with a size 3 needle. Knit at least five inches and take a look at it. Very likely the last three rows are different from the first three, either looser or tighter. This is why you make a larger gauge sample when you are a beginner. So, if the size 3 needles are creating a fabric that is too loose, move to size 2 needles and knit four inches on those. Don&#8217;t worry about having too many needles, that&#8217;s not really possible. The next time you knit socks your gauge may change if you use a different brand.


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## romysbaskets

The fine sock yarns I have in remnants can be knit with a 2 but I think a 1 would be better for the thinnest ones. One ball of wild horse sock yarn will make knee highs but is very thin and I think I will use 1's for that. It is lovely muted purples that variegate. The brushed alpaca lace weight yarn I have would need a 1 or less as I knit a pair of ankle socks with a 2, the knit is looser then I like. I think the yarn thickness is tested best by knitting some rows and looking like suggested above.


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