12-inch-long dpns??

I stopped by my LYS today to pick up a set of US size 6 dpns, and the only ones on their wall display were 12 inches long!  I mean, is there really anyone who would rather use 12-inch-long dpns than, say, a 24 or 32 inch circular needle?  Someone who works as a security guard and can use them as weapons in a pinch, perhaps? 

Luckily, a helpful saleslady found a set of normal-length Brittany birch dpns tucked into a basket on the floor.  I know I had a set of #6s, but they seem to have disappeared, and I need to complete a sample of a special edition of Beaufort I'm creating for sale at a certain LYS (not the one I just visited); the owner requested a version using a thinner yarn.  I feel somewhat awkward about offering a pattern for sale that is gratis on the web, but I am rewriting for a different gauge, in a larger range of sizes, and I plan to use a new photograph, and reformat the whole thing to make it more suitable for display in a bricks'n'mortar store (and more portable for the on-the-go knitter).

After I got home, I realized that I had a pair of metal 14-inch-long dpns that look to be about a US size 8.  I have no memory of ever having used them for anything, and why do I only have two?  Did I use the others to stake tomatoes or hang curtains?   Hmmm.

P.S.  Thanks for the well-wishes concerning the sailing accident; the victim is mending, and gives his assurances that that particular mishap will never happen again!

    

Comments

[Kristen]

Yes, why on earth would anyone use those huge DPN's? I use smaller ones for socks and mittens, but have tossed out all straight needles. Circulars are so much easier to work with even for flat knitting.

[Cathy]

I'm still fond of my straights but I don't think I would ever use long dpns... circulars are too easy.

[Nubiancraftster]

WOW!!! Those are some big mama DPNs. I was pretty ticked when I had to buy 7" DPNs but 12"...might as well just use a straight needle

[Angela Wu]

When I learned to knit as a young child in China, I remember the type of needles I used was 12 or 14 inch long dpns (they considered this as the normal type in those years in China). I saw my nanny using 4 12 inch dpns to knit round sweaters, and three dpns to knit a large flat fabric. But now I see many Chinese ppl started using circulars.

[Angela]

Ah, maybe that's where I got those big 14 inchers; my grandmother is Chinese and is a prolific knitter--or was, until her stroke.

[Gloria Jean]

I have been looking for long dpn's as I am trying to learn to use a knitting belt such as is used in Shetland. Please see Hazel Tindall, aka The World's Fastest Knitter using a belt and two long dpn's.