Stainless Steel Knitting Needles – Complete Buying Guide & Reviews

By Jodie Morgan

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Stainless Knitting Needles are great for speeding up your knitting as the surface is slick, and the yarn glides effortlessly.

They’re sturdy, durable, and built to last.

I highly recommend trying these needles if you haven’t yet. Many knitters who experience hand pain have found these more comfortable than aluminum. 

Stainless Steel Needles My Guide  - image of a knitted shawl, yarn and stainless steel knitting needle.

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There’s hardly any risk of them becoming scratch, dented, or bent. They’re fabulous for delicate knitting, which requires a smaller needle size. 

Better than plastic, wood, and bamboo in smaller sizes, these all too often break.

There is a range of excellent brands on the market. More on the best stainless steel knitting needles below.

I reviewed and updated this post on 8 September 2022

Table Of Contents

Stainless Steel Circular Knitting Needles

Hiya Hiya Stainless Steel Circular Knitting Needles

Hiya Hiya Circular Knitting Needles

The needle tips are hollow high-quality stainless steel, cables are flexible plastic and the points are tapered and sharp.

Hiya Hiya needles are slightly sharper than ChiaGoo Red Lace needles.

The cord on these circulars isn’t as popular with knitters as the ChiaoGoo version. Speed Knitters value these needles for, you guessed it, their speed!

They come in a range of sizes and lengths.

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Chiaogoo Red Lace Stainless Steel Circular Knitting Needles

Red Lace Chiaogoo Needles with my Hermoine Socks Project

I love knitting with my Chiagoo Red Lace Stainless Steel Circular Knitting Needles.

I’ve used Size US 1 (2.25mm) for my hand-knitted socks.

Chiaogoo Red Lace Stainless Steel Circular Needles with my Slip Knit Love Shawl

For my first mosaic shawl I used Chiaogoo circulars in US 4 (3.5mm) & US 5 (3.75mm).

These needles are lightweight and slick. The yarn doesn’t snag, and the flexible nylon covered multi-strand stainless steel cable is lovely.

Knitters adore the red nylon coated stainless wire cables. They are thin, flexible and durable.

It doesn’t kink or stayed coiled after taking it out of storage. I keep mine in their original packaging in my knitting bag.

The section where the cable is attached to the needle is smooth and I’ve had no problems with yarn or stitches snagging.

There are various lengths and sizes available. For more details visit my full review of ChiaoGoo needles.

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Stainless Steel Interchangeable Knitting Needles

ChiaoGoo Twist Tip Interchangeable Complete Set, 4-Inch

ChiaoGoo Twist Tip Interchangeable Complete Set, 4-Inch

ChiaoGoo sells three types of sets:

  • Small – containing 7 sizes – US 2 (2.75mm), US 3 (3.25mm), US 4 (3.55mm) , US 5 (3.75mm), US 6 (4mm), US 7 (4.5mm), US 8 (5mm).
  • Large – containing 6 sizes – US 9 (5.5mm), US 10 (6mm), US 10.5 (6.5mm), US 11 (8mm), US 13 (9mm), and US 15 (10mm).
  • Complete set featured in this article containing 13 sizes overall.

This set includes: 4″ (10 cm), surgical-grade, stainless steel metal lace tips, and three cable lengths: 8″ (20 cm), 14″ (35 cm), and 22″ (55 cm) cables to make 16″ (40 cm), 22″ (56 cm), and 30″ (76 cm) circulars.

Twist red cables consist of a multi-strand, steel cord coated with red nylon and memory-free, so no kinks!

The needle tips feature a lifeline hole making adding a lifeline as simple as knitting across the row. These are very popular for lace knitting. 

Pros

  • Tips are smooth and fast
  • They have a longer taper than the HiyaHiya tips and are slightly sharper
  • The cables are memory free, so they don’t kink

Cons

  • Some knitters don’t like the ‘zing’ sound when knitting with the needle tips. I personally don’t mind this sound.
  • You can’t use the small size needle tip cables with the large size needle tip cables

Read my full review for the ChiaoGoo Interchangeable needle set.

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Hiya Hiya Interchangeable Sharp Steel Knitting Needle Set

Hiya Hiya Interchangeable Sharp Steel Knitting Needle Set

Premium stainless steel knitting needles set includes 13 pairs of 4” (10cm) sharp tips US sizes 2-15.

(2.75mm, 3.25mm, 3.5mm, 3.75mm, 4mm, 4.5mm, 5mm, 5,5mm, 6mm, 6.5mm, 8mm, 9mm, 10mm)

Includes 4 cables in 16″, 24″, 32″ and 42″ lengths 

Includes tightening grip, small cable connectors, tip adaptor, small and large panda stoppers, small and large single point adapters, snips, darning needles, and safety pins and a brocade case.

Pros

  •     Stitches slide smoothly over the needle
  •     Smooth connections, yarn doesn’t snag at the joins
  •     Flexible Swivel Cables

Cons

  • May need to use waxed paper on first use to stop yarns sticking
  • If you are a knitter that moves the points with your finger, you may have to protect your fingertip somehow.
  • You can’t use the small size needle tip cables with the large size needle tip cables.

Read my full Hiya Hiya Needle Set review.

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Stainless Steel Double Pointed Needles

Chiaogoo Stainless Steel Double Pointed Needles

Both ChiaoGoo and Hiya Hiya brands are available in DPNS. There are a variety of sizes and lengths.

Chiaogoo have 6″ (15cm) and 8″ (20cm) in sizes US 0 – 11 (2mm – 8mm)

Made of surgical stainless steel, these needles have precisely machined and perfectly tapered tips. They have a smooth, satin-sheen finish with the size permanently laser imprinted on each needle.

While lightweight and durable, these are also solid and 100% recyclable!

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Hiya Hiya also have sharp stainless steel double pointed needles in lengths 6″ (15cm) and 8″ (20cm) in sizes US 0 – 10 (2mm-6mm).

They come in a set of 5. They have a smooth surface with sharp tips, perfect for increasing and decreasing.

Hiya Hiya Stainless Steel Double Pointed Needles Check Price on Amazon

Stainless Steel Straight Knitting Needles

Single Point needles made of this material are harder to find.

Pony makes a 35cm (13.7 inches) version called Elan that I came across during my research. 

Larger online retailers don’t seem to stock them. You could try finding them second hand on sites like eBay. 

Where To Buy Stainless Steel Knitting Needles

Many online stores stock these needles like Amazon and Etsy.

Yarn stores that have online services will also offer stainless steel knitting needles.

Physical Local Yarn Stores are sure to have them. 

I hope you’ve found this guide helpful and I’d love to hear about your own experiences or favorites.

A lovely reader shared this about her experience of ChiaGoo Interchangeables and Hiya Hiya Interchangeable Set.

“When I was looking for a set of IC needles, I tried HiyaHiya, KnitPro and ChiaoGoo to compare. CG came out on top, with excellent no-memory cables and tips that weren’t too pointy.”

Leave a comment below or get in touch with me here.

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Stainless Steel Needles

About The Author

Jodie Morgan From Knit Like Granny

Jodie Morgan (Author & Founder)

jodie@knitlikegranny.com | Lives In: Regional Australia

Author: Jodie Morgan is a passionate knitter and blogger with 40+ years of experience currently living in regional Australia. Taught by her mother and wonderful grandmother “Mama”, she fell in love with crafting from a young age. When she’s not knitting, you’ll find her enjoying a cup of coffee with cream, or sharing helpful resources and tips with the online knitting community. Get to know Jodie and the team on our meet the team page.

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