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Interchangeable knitting needle sets – what to pick

It all started with a 30th birthday party and an amazon gift voucher. And ended with a certain visa card slightly grunting. And me anxiously waiting for the mail woman.

What I ordered (among others): the Boye interchangeable needle set. Seems like a simple enough thing to do, but believe you me, it wasn’t. For some reason, most companies who sell this item do not ship it to Belgium. Eventually, after some frustrated curses, I found that lesleycrafts did, and that they were actually cheaper than the componies that shun Belgium. Finally, some justice!

Of course, the mail woman came when I wasn’t at home. So I had to wait a whole day longer before I could finally get my hands on this set. And when I finally did, the FedEx envelope it was in was taunting me. It told me to quickly tear the strip to open it, but forgot to mention that there was pretty strong sellotape all over it. I had to use my keys to dive into it. I know, I could have waited until I was back home. After all, it’s only a five-minute walk from the post office. But where’s the fun in that?

I managed to get the envelope open along the way, only to discover that the whole thing was still encased in hard plastic packaging. Fortunately I was nearly home at that point.

Now, there are different sorts of sets out there. As you may remember, I already owned the Denise set. So what follows is a comparison between Denise and Boye.

Denise interchangeable knitting needles

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  • It’s in a hard case and looks a bit like a book, so you can easily store it between your knitting booksInterchangeable knitting needles Denise
  • The cables are thick and sturdy, what makes it ideal for bigger projects in bulkier yarn
  • All cables and needles have their own place and fit nicely by clicking them back in the box. This gives you a nice overview of needles and lenghtsInterchangeable knitting needles Denise
  • In the manual that comes with it, you have an overview of where everything belongs.Very handyInterchangeable knitting needles Denise
  • All needles have their number size engraved in them, so you always know if you have the right size
  • The needles and cables are made out of plastic. I prefer plastic to metal, it feels warmer and does not make as much noise
  • It’s pink!
  • It’s very easy to attach the cable to your needle, you only need to make a quarter turn. But I find this more of a disadvantage than an advantage, since the needles may detach while knitting. And you don’t want your knitting to run off in the middle of a project.
  • The thickness of the cables is handy for bulkier yarn, but it’s a lot less handy for smaller projects. I’ve tried knitting a sock using the magic loop, but it’s just not possible with these cables.

Boye interchangeable knitting needles

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  • It’s a compact set, in a soft case. It doesn’t take up a lot of spaceInterchangeable knitting needles Boye
  • To connect the needle to the cable, you really have to screw it on. And if you’re still not confident, you can even use the included lever to secure it even more
  • The cables are really thin, and a lot more flexible than the ones in the Denise set. I’m definitely going to try magic loop on these. Although I will probably feel guilty towards my dpns
  • So colourful, I could eat them!Interchangeable knitting needles Boye
  • Because the case is so compact, it’s not organized as nicely as the Denise set is. It’s a bit messy like that. All cables are stuffed together, and some stuff is hidden underneath the needles.
  • It’s an aluminium set. That means I’ll be ticking away
  • The needles don’t have their size engraved in them. So if you’re working on different projects and you’ve removed more than one set of needles, you’ll have to figure out for yourself what size they were again and where they should go
  • It contains these patches, but I have no idea what they are for. If someone knows what they do, please let me knowInterchangeable knitting needles

That’s my view on them for now. I still have to decide which set will be my favourite. After all, I haven’t used the Boye set yet. Maybe that’s the only reason why I have more negative points for them here.

Interchangeable knitting needlesInterchangeable knitting needles
Do any of you have interchangeable sets? What do you think about them? Do you agree with my points of view, or do you have a complete different mindset about them? Do any of you have a wooden or a bamboo interchangeable set? I know they exist as well, but hey, I’m on a budget, and I guess two sets is more than enough already (for now).  Any experience on those? If so, let me know what you think about them. I might just need to buy another set after all 😉

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