I Tried Hobby Lobby’s $1.99 Knitting Needles

So you don’t have to. All jokes aside, these needles weren’t that bad. For someone who is just getting into knitting, or trying circular needles for the firs time, this is a helpful post. I was in a pinch and looking for a needle for a project to take with me to my parents. I pulled up to Joanns, and they were closed. Michaels had slightly less than no selection for knitting. So I tried the $1.99 knitting needles at Hobby Lobby.

The reason I needed new knitting needles was that something was causing my trusty KnitPicks needles to keep coming unthread. Every so often, I’d catch my knitting snagging only to find the interchangeable tip was coming away from the cable of the needle. I think I’ve just used these needles so much, or my cables are pretty old.

Pros and Cons of the Hobby Lobby $1.99 Knitting Needles

The Pros

I didn’t have the time to order a needle, and just wanted something quick. It was a quick trip to the store which is about 20 minutes from my house. They don’t have a huge selection so it was easy finding the needle.

This seemed like a pretty inexpensive option. Checking for cost effective on amazon, yielded some additional options in wood and metal but they are closer to $8. For a metal circular needle these are the most affordable.

They’re performance was pretty good. I was actually surprised at how unbothered I was. Initially I thought I was going to be annoyed while using these cheap knitting needles. The needles stayed smooth, didn’t warp. They held up well.

The combination of their low cost and relatively good performance also makes these a great travel needle. If you are worried about not being able to knit on a plane and don’t want to take your good needles, you’re only out two dollars if you need to pitch these.

The Cons:

There’s a bit of a bump where the needle joins the plastic cable. And over time that might get frustrating for someone who is used to knitting pretty fast or with tight tension. Other than that, they held up well and I made two hand towels with them.

The paint did chip off of the tips of the needles after knitting two hand towels. But this is really just cosmetic. It did not affect the performance of the needles at all. If you are all about aesthetics then this might bother you, but the rest of us will be just fine.

Would I recommend these needles to everyone? They’re not my favorite. I do not recommend them for all knitters. But these Hobby Lobby knitting needles lower the cost of entry for new knitters. People looking to fall in love with this fiber art might not want to shell out for more expensive needles, especially with the closing of Joanns.