When making my tangled yoke cardigan I used 2 circulars for knitting the arms in the round. After a while I realised I thoroughly enjoyed it. So the other day I picked up 2 40cm 2.25mm needles for my socks, and decided to give that a try to see if I could lessen the ladders, It was certainly an odd adjustment and at the moment I am progressing a little slower than on DPN's, but I know I'm just getting my rhythm.
My biggest issue was a few twists in the cables that caused the needles to flick up and twist and generally go the wrong way in get in the way! I knew I could not handle knitting with 2 circs if it was going to be like this. Then I remembered hearing on a podcast, (unfortunately I don't know which one) tha it is possible to straighten out kinks and twists in cables by boiling them.
So I filled a pot with just enough water, and brough it to the boil. Once it was boiling, I brought it down to a simmer and placed my circular needles in the water. You could see the kinks disappear almost immediately. However, I left them to simmer for about 15minutes, just to ensure the best result.
And the result? I am thrilled with them. They sit in the perfect position when I'm not using them, I don't have to twist the needles to straighten up the cables anymore, and they feel a bit more pliable too. Working with 2 40cm needles is still an adjustment, but with the needles behaving, I can feel my hands getting used to the feeling and my rhythm and speed increasing.
And all it took was a pot of boiling water to turn something from inefficient to fabulous!
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