Sustainable Knitting:
Bamboo knitting needles are a great choice for beginning knitters and any other knitters who like a warm, organic feel to their knitting needles. Bamboo needles give a similar feel to wooden needles, but they are often cheaper, easier to find and available in a wider variety of sizes.
About Bamboo:
Bamboo is technically a grass that started out in Asia and India and is now grown in many parts of the world. It is a spreading grass, meaning that if you plant just a little of it, bamboo will spread underground and can take over as much area as you give it.
What is an unpleasant trait for gardeners is actually a wonderful advantage for those who want to make things like knitting needles out of bamboo. It is an extremely renewable resource and thus can be used for all sorts of products, from chopsticks to fencing, pipes to clothing. One of the most popular new uses for bamboo is bamboo yarn.
Making Bamboo Needles:
Bamboo knitting needles are made from the wood of the bamboo grass. The bamboo is harvested, dried in the sun, cut to knitting needle sized lengths, shaped to the right width, cured and sanded. Then the tapered end is worked by hand or machine to make the point end.
Usually another round of sanding happens and the other end of the needle is attached. Needles are checked for gauge before they are shipped to stores.
Qualities of Bamboo Needles:
Bamboo needles have a warm and earthy feel. They feel good in your hands and warm slightly to the touch.
Bamboo is known for its strength and flexibility, and those characteristics remain in bamboo knitting needles. Because of this, they are relatively difficult to break. They are quite comfortable to use and are good for beginners because they are not as slick as metal or plastic needles.
Bamboo needles are also easier to use and tend not to split yarn as easily as some other types of knitting needles. They are very lightweight and smooth, helping more experienced knitters knit quickly without mistakes.
Cost of Bamboo Needles:
You can purchase straight, double-pointed and circular needles in bamboo from a variety of manufacturers. They usually run between $5 and $15, depending on the size of the needle and who makes it.
By comparison, wooden knitting needles start around $15 and go up from there, and some handmade needles can be quite expensive.
