DPN's or Circulars for Hat?

[Croshay]

I'm making a hat (84 sts) on dpn's and it's about to drive me bonkers because the stitches keep falling off the ends of the needles.  This is only the 2nd time I've made a hat in the round, thereby avoiding a seam up the back.  Would this be easier (or even feasible) on circular needles?  I haven't done that before.  It seems like circular needles would be too long for something as small as a hat, but I don't really know.  I hope someone with more experience can point me in the right direction.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Gingerbread Girl]

There are shorter circulars that are ideal for making hats. I generally use 16 inch circulars and it works well; it depends on the size hat you are making of course. For "top down" hats I start them on DPNs and once there are too many stitches to fit comfortably on those I just switch over to circulars. For brim-up hats I start on circulars, and once there are too few stitches to work comfortably switch over to DPNs. 

[magiccrochetfan]

I agree with Gingerbread Girl. In fact i am making a hat right now using a 16" needle.

 

You can use a longer needle to do "magic loop" or "traveling loop" http://www.knitdenise.com/pages/knitting-tutorials

But both of these are pretty fiddly for something as small as a hat.

 

Also, you could try longer double points, as another alternative.

[Granny Square]

Bamboo DPNs are grippier than metal, they don't fall out (for me) like the metal ones.  I bought some Brand X (Stitchberry) needles thru Amazon with a bunch of sizes (0-15) for $20 (dirt cheap! that's about what 2 sets cost at big box stores); so far I've warped a couple of them slightly (death grip?), but otherwise no problems.  They were also in sets of 5, not 4, which is nice (you can spread your hat stitches on more needles, less  crowding and less chance of falling off), and they're an inch longer than the metal Boyes I'd been using.

 

I have Boye circs, which have stiff cords that are OK for bigger stuff but impossible for travelling or magic loop; I've only tried the 'loop" techniques very briefly and went back to DPNs. 

[mattenylou]

Would it help if you added another dpn? are you using 4? 84 stitches on 4 needles is pushing the limit, I'd add another, even if I had to fudge a bit and use one from a set a size larger or smaller. That smaller/larger needle will keep moving around and it'll never show where it was used.

 

Do you have a circular needle the same size that you could slide half the stitches on to?? that may do the trick, and use 2-3 dpn's to complete the circle.

 

I really like making hats on 2 identical short circulars, I can make them so quickly doing it this way, too, saves a lot of time fussing around with the needles.

[Tampa Doll]

I am with mattenylou.  I would use 2 circular needles.  It makes it much easier and faster than the dpn's , of course the dpns drive me crazy, to short. But if you do go that way, I would go with the bamboo.

 

These are the ones I have.  eknittingneedles 

[CLLinda]

I like using the 16 inch circulars for hats.  Knitpicks has quite a few different ones and they only cost between 5 and 8 bucks each.  They are very nice to work with and they have purple cords.  Just something to check out.

 

Another thing might be to use needle protectors on each end so the needles can't fall out when on another group of stitches.

 

Good luck.

[thumbelina29]

Have you heard of interchangable circular needles? A lady at a craft fair introduced me to them & I love them. They come with individual tips that screw onto various lengths of cables, smaller sizes for hats or bigger for jumpers, cardigans or afghans. I've been using them for around 7 months now & don't see myself going back to straight needles or double pointed ones

[Hui Lian]

I love the magic loop method and use it for circular knitting of all sizes. A long cord would allow you to make items of all types, be it flat or circular. I bought a set of interchangeables from Knitpicks and love the needles.