A couple of NFOs

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A little dress for a little mermaid

The little guys are nearly done! I’m so excited! Above the image is the little dress for the mermaid.

My focus was toys this weekend and nothing else. Super Why has passed on to my husband. He’s much better at cutting out felt pieces and sewing them on. I’m much more confident in his skills than in mine. I can’t wait to see how he turns out!

I also finally got started on the mermaid. I have to admit, I’m really surprised at how quickly she knit up. The body is complete, as is her top. I want to add a dress so that she could be a mermaid princess, so I’m going to improvise a bit.  I was hoping to finish her on Sunday, but I ripped out the dress. It took a little longer to figure out what I wanted. I want a detachable skirt that flares out and ruffles every which way.

She’s now done, and I’m so excited to share her with you! It’ll have to wait a couple of weeks until she’s been gifted, but I’m so happy with how she’s turned out. I even embroidered on her face. Ok, I didn’t do a great job, but it worked just fine. I think she’s a cutie.

I have a question for you all. I’m toying around with the idea of getting wooden dpns. I’m really struggling making hats on my metal dpns. Stitches are just slipping right off the ends, and that’s with fingering weight. With worsted weight, forget about it. I just don’t stand a chance. I’ve tried magic loop, but it’s just not for me. I prefer dons (I know, I’m crazy).

Anyway, the question is this: For those of you who have used wooden dpns, what brand do you suggest? I’m thinking about the Harmony needles from Knit Picks. I really like the Knit Picks products in general, but I’m open to other suggestions.

29 thoughts on “A couple of NFOs”

  1. Your project looks very pretty. Have you tried frilly scarf yarn as decoration on skirts etc? Very quick and effective.
    I LOVE KnitPro needles. I live them a lot. They are smooth, lovely to hold, just the right amount of slippiness and just lively to look at. They have recently brought out ergonomic square (!) needles. I saw them at a fair. Very intriguing but I have not tried those. Apparently they are for loose knitters. Good luck with your choice.

  2. I prefer dpns too! I feel like my stitches are more even. I use tatsumi, they were not expensive I got the whole set of dpns on amazon for like 20. I have had no problems with them. No snags or anything. They are bamboo. I have a set of rosewood straight needles and didn’t really notice a difference with my stitches between the 2 types of wood. Can’t wait to see your mermaid. I have been wanting to needle felt one.

  4. My husband got me a set of the Knit Picks Harmony needles and I have to say I adore them. Perfect slip to let your project slide along, but perfect stick to keep slippy yarn on. 🙂

  5. I love love love love love love love (could go on for days) love bamboo dpns. I have a couple brands that I love. Clover is great for 10 1/2 and under (it has a little more friction) and I love ChiaoGoo for my fatties (11 and up) because they hold the yarn well and feel smooth in the hands. I pretty much only knit with bamboo. The yarn looks nicest on bamboo and if you are like me you love to admire your work every 5 mins..or every two rows. heheh…(“JUST KNIT MELODY!!!” ~Dear sweet husband after the 10th time of “Isnt it pretty?”) and I feel like I can bust out a hat or a sleeve super fast on these guys. Hope it helps!!

  6. I have had problems with bamboo dpns producing splinters, but received a full set of KnitPro Symfonie sock needs for my birthday and they are brilliant. There a six in each size, so there is a spare if you break or lose one too,

  8. I’m a fan of Clover needles as well! The more I use them, the better they get. I haven’t experienced any splintering with these, but one set picked up the color of my yarn just a little. I sort of like it because they’re a little blue now. I think that’s a bigger issue with the yarn than the needles. Anyway, like you, I prefer dpns and had the same slipping problem when I first started with aluminum needles. When I came across bamboo I fell in love.

    Also, I’m so looking forward to the little mermaid! I’m loving these little toys!

  9. I love my harmony dpns. However, for extra “grabbing” power, I like clover bamboo dpns. They are still easy to work with, but they hold stitches in place like champs!

  10. I have a set of 4″ Harmony Wood DPNs and I love them. I got them to do the fingers on a pair of gloves for my Mom at Christmas last year and I have used them a lot since. I am going to get the 6″ set for socks. I also just used the Harmony Wood cable needle (yes, I am only just now getting to the cables on the Bosc scarf…..) and it worked great. I also have DPNs in bamboo and metal but I like the Harmony best.

    Dana

  11. I also prefer dpns and always go for wood over metal, metal is just too slippery for me. I can’t recommend a brand however cause I often go with just whatever the LYS has in stock, I’m not very picky. I do like the clover bamboo needles, and I have noticed that some of the older wooden dpns I have have quite dull, rounded tips, so you probably want to keep an eye out for that, it was driving me crazy on the last project I used them on because I knit quite tightly.

    If you find wood is still too slippery you can always try plastic *gasp*, I know lots of people don’t like plastic needles for some reason but I find them quite helpful with really slippery yarns.

  12. Yes, I’d get the Harmony ones from Knit Picks. I have their interchangeable Sunstruck set and I love how the wood feels and the fact that the tips are so sharp — much the easiest thing for lace or yarn that splits a lot. In fact if I didn’t use the magic loop method I’d probably already have the DPN set!

  14. I love my KnitPro (or KnitPicks in the US) dpns set. I tried the bamboo Clover ones for sock knitting, but found them a bit too grabby and not very point-y – not good if you’re a tight knitter like myself.

  15. I like using bamboo dpns, the stitches seem to stay on more. however don’t leave them lying around – my brother sat on one of mine, lucking I had a spare!

  17. I used circular needles for one of my Downton Abbey Knit Along guantlets, and dpns for my second one. I LOVED the look of my second one. The yarn was just so much more evenly knitted. It’s probably not enough that anyone but me would notice though. I used the slippery metal ones too and had a couple of heart stopping moments when I dropped stitches. I am definitely interested in your reader’s opinions as well! I think something with a little more friction is a requirement (at least for me!)

  18. Love that color. Can’t wait to see the finished mermaid. My girls love mermaids. Maybe I’ll try to knit some for them. I don’t like dpn’s…straight needles should work right?

    • I love this pattern. It’s so quick and easy. There’s probably a way to convert the pattern. I’m no good at conversions, at least not yet. If you find out how (or already know how), let me know! 🙂

  19. You do a beautiful job! I tried crocheting once, and no matter how hard I try I always end up with extra rows so I have a triangle shaped blanket! haha

  21. I am into dpns all the way. I’ve tried all the other ways and always come back to dpns. I use wood (except for my teeny sizes because they get broken too easily so I use metal for the teenies). My favs are Chiao Goo, Clover, and Brittany. I haven’t had any issues with splintering (except when a kid sits on my knitting bag and breaks them in half – then they splinter 🙂 ).

  23. I use Clover bamboo dpns as well as Knit Pro (I think that’s the European version of Knit Pick) Harmony dpns. Both are far ‘grippier’ than metal dpns (I wouldn’t be able to knit socks otherwise!) but the Clover bamboo are bendier and I find them a bit alarming when I’m manipulating certain stitches – I keep expecting them to break (that happened with Prym bamboo needles which I no longer buy). I love the Knit Pro but the darker colours make them unsuitable with certain yarn.

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