I don’t like Magic Loop. There, I’ve said it.
Before you wonderful knitters reply to share your love of this knitting-in-the-round technique, I know. I know. You love it…for so many reasons.
It’s not as fiddly as using DPNs. One never has to worry about dropping a needle. Perhaps I’m just not doing it properly or maybe haven’t given it enough time.
But I have — at least, I’ve given it as much time as I’m going to. As my children will attest, I’m a big advocate of not giving up, of accepting the challenge of something new, of not permitting the misguided belief that perfection is a goal get in the way of actual doing. “Done is good” is one of my mantras.
The good folks at Modern Daily Knitting offered a fabulous “Ask Patty” tutorial on avoiding common mistakes with magic loop knitting. Go ahead and check it out; definitely worth your time. I found it very helpful but didn’t end up loving the technique any more.
I came to this realization while making the Slip Stash Hat by Carolyn Little for her LYS, Knit on Pearl in Jackson, WY. Slipped stitches are a clever and simple way to add variety to your colored knitting while only knitting with one yarn per round — no carrying another yarn behind your work as in stranded knitting.
I love how the hat looks; I’m just not enjoying the process. And I’m a BIG fan of process.
Now that I’ve decided to move to another technique, the question is: do I switch to four double-pointed needles (DPNs) or to a single, 16″ cable needle?
Comments and advice always welcome!
Saltwater Hill Knits 
I agree – do not like magic loop at all! I use two 24″ circulars to make socks. For a hat, I would probably use dpns
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Magic loop is not for me, either. I love that circular needles allow me to do big knits without dropping stitches, but I don’t like how stiff they are. I dislike how moving the cable to move the loop stretches the knitting. I’d much rather use DPNs when I can.
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I’ve been using dpns for about 50 years. I tried magic loop. I found it fiddly and it took longer. I tried 2 circulars. I kept losing track. I tried the 9 inch circular. Nope. Not for me. Many years ago, I realized that knitting an extra stitch or two from the next needle took care of the ladders and I seldom dropped a needle.
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“Fiddly” is exactly the word I used to describe magic loop to a friend. Of course, I realize that loads of people find DPNs fiddly. It just depends what feels right and comfortable. As my mama would say, “it’s easy if you know how.” Thanks for reading!
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