Editing Knitting needle (section)

===Circular needles===

[[File:Circular knitting needles.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Circular knitting needles in different lengths, materials and sizes, including plastic, aluminum, steel and nickel-plated brass.]]

The first US patent for a circular needle was issued in 1918, although in Europe they may have been used a little earlier.  Circulars are composed of two pointed, straight tips connected by a flexible cable and may be used for both knitting flat or knitting in the round.  The two tapered ends, typically 4–5 inches (10.5–13&nbsp;cm) long, are rigid, allowing for easy knitting, and are connected by the flexible strand (usually made of nylon or coated wire).  The tips may be permanently connected to the cable and made in overall lengths from {{convert|9|in|cm}} to {{convert|60|in|cm}} or composed of cables and interchangeable tips. This allows various lengths and diameters to be combined into many different sizes of needles, allowing for a great variety of needs to be met by a relatively few component pieces.  The ability to work from either end of one needle is convenient in several types of knitting, such as [[slip-stitch knitting|slip-stitch]] versions of [[double knitting]].

In using circulars to knit flat pieces of fabric the two ends are used just as two separate needles would be.  The knitter holds one tip in each hand and knits straight across the width of the fabric, turns the work, and knits or purls back the other way.  Using circular needles has some advantages, for example, the weight of the fabric is more evenly distributed, therefore less taxing, on the arms and wrists of the knitter and, the length of the cable may be longer than would be practical with rigid needles since the cable and fabric rest in the lap of the knitter rather than extending straight out past the arms.

The lack of a purl row in stockinette stitch, since in the round (commonly referred to as ITR) knitting is all done using the knit stitch, is often perceived to be one of the greatest benefits of ITR.  Knitting ITR with circulars is done in a spiral, the same way as using double-pointed needles (usually called DPNs). Additionally, circulars eliminate the need to continually switch from one needle to the next, and there is no possibility of stitches falling off the back end of the needles, as may happen when using DPNs.  Much larger tubes may be knit ITR, too, helping items to be completed more quickly.  Construction of garments such as sweaters may be greatly simplified when knitting ITR, since the finishing steps of sewing a back, two fronts, and two sleeves of a sweater together may be almost entirely eliminated in neck down ITR knitting.

Knitting educator and authority [[Elizabeth Zimmermann]] helped popularize knitting ITR specifically with circular needles.

[[File:Magic loop.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The Magic Loop method may be used to produce narrow tubular items such as socks.]] Numerous techniques have been devised for the production of narrow tubular knitting on circular needles. One common method is to use two needles in place of the four or five double-pointed needles traditionally used, while a newer technique is to use one circular needle that is significantly longer than the circumference of the item being knitted. This technique is known as Magic Loop and has recently become a popular method of producing tubular knitting, as only one needle is required.<ref>Morgan-Oakes, Melissa. ''Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks''. Storey Publishing LLC, 2010. {{ISBN|1-60342-533-0}}.</ref>