My previous sock knitting experiences have all used a 23cm (9 inch) circular needles, but I knew there would come a day when I would have to branch out and try other techniques. Now that I have completed one sock with double-pointed needles (DPNs) and one sock with magic loop, I feel like I can finally make a fair comparison.

• Appropriate weight yarn
• The same gauge needles in both DPN and circular form

Any Pattern Worked in the Round by Anybody

Please remember that every knitter is different and will have their own opinions on their favourite sock knitting method! This is just my own two cents. For my comparison, I made the Kitty Ankle Socks by Geena at Inorgaknit. I promise I will have a full blog post on these socks soon (mostly because I love this pattern to death), but this week I just want to talk about the two different sock knitting methods.

I used 2.25mm DPNs and Chiaogoo 60cm circulars for these socks, and what I found was that I am a magic loop knitter, through and through. With DPNs, I found it hard to keep the yarn tight between needles, and I kept getting ladders despite my best efforts. I know that you are supposed to switch the location of the needle change every few rows to help prevent ladders, but it just made my ladder shift a few stitches with each change (see image below). With magic loop, I did not notice any laddering where I was splitting the yarn between the two needles. I’m not completely sure what led to this difference, but I think it might be because with magic loop the previous stitch rests on the wire instead of needles. As a result, I could pull the yarn tighter for the next stitch, which reduced the gapping and ladders between stitches. My friends have also informed me that the ladders would probably never be noticed by a non-knitter/crocheter, but I know they’re there, and it bothers me.

I also found that I was more worried about dropped stitches with DPNs, especially if I wasn’t working on the project. With magic loop, I would just slide my yarn off the needles toward the wire portion, and I didn’t have to worry about losing any stray stitches.

I’d be curious to hear what your own thoughts are! Do you prefer DPNs, the magic loop, or short circulars? Are you one of the people who prefers to do two socks at a time to prevent second sock syndrome? I still have to try that out, but I think it’s a smart idea.

Until next time, happy knitting!