Green Knitting: Needles

By: wyldrose Mood: disappointed Date: 09/26/2007 12:24:37 Music: None

One of my most important hobbies is knitting. I knit on the bus, in meetings, in class, while watching DVDs. As part of making my lifestyle more sustainable, I've been considering the different aspects of my knitting arsenal in order to make conscious choices when replenishing/expanding them.

The items I've been thinking about the last couple of days are the needles. The initial push on this front is actually pretty easy. While there are plastic needles, both aluminum and organically processed bamboo are also widely available (and preferred by most knitters). The sticking point is the circular needles. These are two metal/bamboo needles connected by a nylon cord. They're used for knitting in the round (making a tube rather than a flat piece) and for really big flat pieces. A case in point, one of my upcoming projects is a lace shawl which will have a final row length of 116". I won't need a needle quite that long (lace is very squishable), but I will need more than straight needles can handle (they usually top out at 14").

Part of me says I'm being silly. There's only a small amount of nylon in each needle and they last for years. Another part of me, though, points out that I'm selecting a petroleum-derived product as a luxury purchase. Well, I've still got some time to think about it. I wonder if there's any place at all in time that might carry second-hand needles . . .