The first time I ever used an interchangeable circular needle, it was in a class situation. For reasons I no longer recall, the kind woman next to me loaned me one of hers, quickly showing me how to use the little turnkey to attach the tips to the cord as she slid it all towards me. “Stick this little key through the holes in the end of the cord, and that way you can hang onto it better as you’re screwing on the tip.” And ta da, instant tutorial! That’s how you use interchangeable needles with threaded cords and tips.
I never quite realized this isn’t knowledge we’re born with — that it had been handed down to me — until we started selling the breathtaking Lykke interchangeable needle sets and getting emails from customers having trouble attaching tips to cords. Since sets don’t include instructions for whatever reason, I thought I’d take a minute to go over the contents of the Lykke set:
- Needle tips, of course
- An assortment of cords in varying lengths, which you can combine with whichever size tips you’re using to make exactly the size and length of needle you need in any given situation
- Keys, turnkeys, doohickeys, whatever they’re technically called — as noted above, you insert one through the holes in the end of the cord anytime you’re screwing or unscrewing components, giving you leverage and torque (There are four in case you lose any. I always keep at least one in my stitch marker pouch)
- Connectors, those tiny little silver tubes, which allow you to daisy-chain cords together to make even longer cords
- And stoppers, for when you need to leave live stitches on a cord (i.e. as a stitch holder) while using the needle tips elsewhere — just unscrew the needle tip (again, using the key for stability) and screw on the stopper
It’s natural and desirable for the threading to be tight — you want a nice solid join — and with every set I’ve had, I’ve found it’s sometimes necessary to back off and start again (like screwing a lid on a jar and having it very slightly crooked) or flip a cord around and try a needle on the other end. The key should facilitate getting everything screwed together nice and tight and smooth. That said, if you find you have a needle or cord that simply won’t cooperate, even when following these instructions, get in touch with Lykke and they’ll be happy to help!
We have Lykke sets in the shop right now, but I also want to let you know we have individual circs coming very soon! If you’re not quite ready to invest.
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