Review: KnitPicks Nickel Options Interchangeable Short Circular Set

The Interchangeable Knitting Needles Designed for Hats and Small Projects

Recently I’ve been on a hat knitting tear. I love quick projects, especially when you need to build up knitting momentum. Hats are some of my most popular patterns as well. It makes sense as I have just a few of them for sale here and there. My current wooden KnitPicks needles have been used and abused, so I decided it was time to get myself a new set. I was set to buy a few choice fixed short circulars, but then KnitPicks hit me with this Nickel Options Interchangeable Short Circular Set. This was it!

Whats So Great About Interchangeable Needle Sets?

Earlier in my knitting journey I wasn’t sold on interchangeable needle sets. It wasn’t until more recently that I decided to give them a try. The benefit of these sets is that you have one set of needles, with a wide variety of cables, that you can switch out for different projects. Most sets often come with some sort of screw on caps for the cables so that you can safely store projects when you wish to work on something different, or need to put some stitches on hold for a bit.

Interchangeable sets look more costly at first, but when you compare these with the cost of multiple needles in different sizes and lengths, they become more economical. You also avoid the spaghetti of a tangled mess of multiple circular needles if you don’t have a convenient method of storing them.

This is now my third set of interchangeable circular needles: I have one longer set of needles (the needles themselves are longer as are the cables and designed more for projects like shawls), one set of Addi that I was gifted, and this set here.

Review of the Nickel Options Interchangeable Short Circular Set

It just so happens that now two of my interchangeable needle sets are nickel plated. I love the smooth surface of the needle, the way they stitches glide over them, and the strength of a metal needle. I’m not a purely metal needle person, I do have loads of wooden needles and I do like them. Right now though my preference is the nickel. Another reason I like the nickel is that they don’t wear down over time the same way wooden needles do. This is especially true if you have tighter tension.

Just like their longer cousins, this set is easy to use. They screw in easily, offer a key to tighten the needles, provide caps for easy storage, and even a bridge for making a longer cable.

The downside:

Two downsides to this set, and this is just my personal feelings rather than actual downsides.

Number one:

And this goes for other sets as well, I wish there was a card or more instructions on how to use the set. When I got my first set I was a bit lost and had to google everything. Once you do it one time you have it and its really easy to understand, but for that first time it was a bit daunting,.

Number two:

Since these needles are so slick and glide so well, it would be nice if the set offered a rubber grip to help tighten the needles down. The first time I tried these one of my needles was coming unscrewed. This is easily remedied if you have a rubber jar grip.