Interchangeable Needle Set Review and Comparison + Ramblings

      Today I'm going to be reviewing the "Knitters Pride "Trendz" Interchangeable-Deluxe Set". I bought this set not too long ago from Hobby Lobby and let me tell you it was far from what I expected it to be!

  First of all let me just say that I am so excited about finally having a set of interchangeable needles with flexible cords! Believe it or not I was completely unaware that this style of flexi-cables not only exist but are readily available and fairly inexpensive.


  Before we get to the review allow me to tell you a story about my previous experiences with sets like these to jusy to give you an idea of how ignorant I truly was to the brilliant advances made in the world of interchangeable needles in the past 40 years. Now I know what you're thinking and you're right I am still in my early 20's but don't worry, what I'm saying will make sense very soon.

  Up until now the only needles I'd used to knit in the round were Clover brand "Takumi" bamboo needles (Which tend to have stiffer cables), bamboo double pointed needles  (which I bought generic online and used for almost everything) or either of the other two interchangeable sets that I own:

    The oldest one looks to be from the 1970's and came with no manual nor are there any labels on the container indicating the brand.

The outside of the case is embellished with a piece of multi colored woven fabric

The inside has yellow pegs which once held the accessories in places

AND! It's carpeted! Now I don't know about you but I am a firm believer in carpeting everything, homes, vans, and even my interchangeable needle containers. Am I right? No? Just me?... Well alrighty then!

        The other, which I assume based on the original instruction manuals copyright date and the yellowing of the paper, came from the 1980's. I'm also guessing that the case is made out of leather but this was purchased before I went Vegan and disposing of it would not only be pointless but also wasteful and counterproductive, the damage was done before I was born.

    Now if you know anything about me you'd know that I HATE to spend money. I also avoid spending too much time dwelling on the things that I don't have or (think) I can't afford. With that being said I'm sure you can image that after learning about interchangeable needle sets I assumed I could never dish out the money for one so I put them out of my mind.

   Just under a year after finding out that they exist my Mom bought the two sets pictured above for me from a thrift shop. I didn't tell her that I wanted or needed them. She just saw them and figured that I'd like them and she was right. I immediately became obsessed and began looking for patterns worked in the round so that I could use them the way I'd watched other knitters use them for so long. To my dismay I discovered that the cables were too stiff to work on anything other that flat pieces or large sweaters, which I had to cast on using double pointed needles then work until I had increased enough to loosen up the tension and prevent distortion.

  Rather than doing my research and figuring out why it seemed that everyone else but me was able to knit a pair of socks or mittens simultaneously, hats of all sizes, lace stitch sweaters without distorting the tension of the fabric, and beautiful pairs of gloves using circular needles, I assumed that they either had more patience or more experience than I did and I went right back to my double pointed needles. That was around 5 years ago.

More recently and completely out of nowhere my obsession with circular needles came back but this time I had begun to notice some key differences between the sets that I owned and the sets owned by prominent members of the YouTube and Knitting blog communities:

For one, their cables were far more flexible than mine were. (This was about as far as I could bend the old ones without feeling that they would snap on me, this was me using quite a bit of force)

And unlike my sets the newer ones didn't seem to need any special adapters to connect the larger needles to the cables.

The newer ones also seemed to include two end caps per cable as well as one cord key per cable. The set that I assume came from the 70's was missing all of its non-needle accessories but the 80's one which is a full set (minus the pieces that are currently in use) only came with two.

After learning more about interchangeable sets I decided to buy a brand new one. I actually planned to buy a pair of circular needles with the new (to me) style of flexi-cables to test out then acquire a full set over time but after comparing prices I realized that it would be far cheaper and more practical to just buy a set using a coupon. My set was originally $30 at Hobby Lobby but I got it 40% off. Yay!

      This set happened to be the only one left in stock so I grabbed it (Notice how much further I can bend this cable).

I was a little put off by the fact that the needles were Acrylic but I figured that I could always try and see if the needles from my older sets would fit and if not I could always return it.

I was disappointed to find that they didn't fit but oddly surprised at how much I enjoyed the Acrylic needles. I'd imagined that they'd be flimsy and uncomfortable to knit with like most of the Acrylic knitting needles that I'd worked with in the past but they are actually quite strong and not at all sticky which is great for someone like me who loves a quick knit project.

At this point I've only knit a swatch but I'm excited to cast on a pair of socks or a hat on these babies. My next few projects will undoubtedly be for all of the new babies my family and friends are expecting this year and small knits are the perfect way to test out my new extra flexible set. I cannot wait!!!

The Set Includes: 

• 3.5mm (US 4) Needle Tips
• 3.75mm (US 5) Needle Tips
• 4.0mm (US 6) Needle Tips
• 4.5mm (US 7) Needle Tips
• 5mm (US 8) Needle Tips
• 5.5mm (US 9) Needle Tips
• 6mm (US 10) Needle Tips
• 6.5mm (US 10 1/2) Needle Tips
• 8mm (US 11) Needle Tips
• 4 Cords
• 8 End Caps
• 4 Cord Keys

   

  Rating: 9/10

  Difficulty of Assembly/Use: 1/10

 Thoughts: I am pleasantly surprised with this set as I said before. It is easy to use, requires less small easily lost parts than older sets, and the needles are smooth and sleek for quick knitting. The needles are translucent yet not full of bubbles (which I cannot stand to look at) and are slightly flexible but not so much that they get in the way of your knitting or cause trouble when trying to decrease.

  Likelihood to Recommend: 7/10 (Only because I know many members of the knitting                        community and especially those invested enough to purchase a set like this may still prefer stainless steel, nickel plated, or bamboo needle sets)

                   Did I mention how excited to work with these needles?! 

 P.S. Follow me on Instagram, Ravelry and Pinterest for photos of my upcoming projects,  current projects, and finished pieces! Also here's another link to the set in case you missed the one up top.