Needle Review: Quills
Sunday 25th May 2014
Quill needles were originally manufactured in New Zealand by a family-owned company, but I believe that they are now part of the US-based Bryspun company, though Quills do appear to still be made in New Zealand. I assume therefore that UK suppliers are importing them from NZ.
I started buying my Quill needles about seven years ago, and this was about the time that the New Zealand manufacturing was going over to Bryspun I think. I saw some in a yarn store where I was teaching, and was interested in their milky white colour. I bought a pair and have now got quite a nice collection.
They are made of plastic, but the plastic is casein-based plastic. This is a milk-based protein, that has been used in plastic manufacture for many years.
These are the DPNs. I mainly use my short single point Quills though, for swatching or for small projects. I think of them as very workman-like tools. They are also very light for transporting, but not lethally sharp.
They are not beautiful, but they are really satisfying to use. The milk-protein based plastic is warm to the handle and also quickly further warms up to your hand temperature.
They are quite flexible, more than wooden needles, and are very light weight. I think they would be kind to sore, arthritic hands. The plastic has a slight grip to the stitches, about the same as, or maybe a little more than, some wooden needles. The tips are well defined, but not actually sharp. I like really sharp points, but in fact, I find these are good for knitting yarns that tend to split the ply as you work. Less good for Kidsilk Haze which seems to ‘grip’ as the stitch goes over the tip.
When I first used them, I was put off by the bendy feel. But I now think it’s a bonus for me, as a harsh and ‘clashy’ knitter.
The ‘best bits’:
- warm
- flexible
- very light
- smooth but not slippy
- grips the stitches
- inexpensive – the DPNs (set of 5) and short single point pairs retail for under £4
- great for hands that are sore, or for children as they are nowhere near as bendy as the so-called child-friendly super-bendy plastic needles (almost unusable in my view), but they are still light and flexible for small hands
Drawbacks:
- supply is patchy and limited in the UK but I did find some UK websites with Quills at under £4 for single point pairs – Google will reveal this to you
- the smaller sizes that I favour are harder to find
- for heavy projects, they may feel too bendy, but I have only ever used DPNs and short single point needles
- they will really bend if they get too hot, e.g., if left in front of the open fire, as I did with one pair and though still just about usable, they are really deformed (I may use them for the Halloween Workshop), and I dare not re-heat them to bend them back. Possibly, this will never be an issue for you…
Quills get 7 out of 10, and it would be 8 if I could get the smaller sizes more readily.
I like the sound of these…they sound like they might be kinder to my hands/nerves/sanity due to my white-knuckle-death-grip knitting style!!
I did think of you…but they don’t seem to do a circ which I know you prefer. You’re welcome to trial a pair of mine though.
Karbonz (Knit Pro) does offer a carbon-based circ option. Not as ‘soft’ as Quill, but much softer than metal, not sure about wood.
I wondered if your troubles would naturally subside once FIsle was out of the way? Stranding/floating/2 colour carrying can be tense-making. Hence why I rarely do it :)XX
Thank you – that’s a kind offer. I thought all would be better once I’d moved on from FI, but sadly no. I think the death grip is to blame: doing cables now & snapped my cable needle in half mid row, despite it all being straightforward…