I have seen quite a few people searching for knitting barber cords lately, and I was wondering to myself, ‘what exactly are they?’ And what a novel idea! This is what I found.
What Are Knitting Barber Cords?
Knitting barber cords are actually hollow cables that knitters can use as stitch holders. The cords are made of silicone and normally come in a set of three cables (1* 150 cm, 2* 75 cm) in a tin box. So that is two shorter cords and one longer cord.
The cords go onto knitting needles up to 6mm in size.
There are 14 colors available at the time of writing this article -: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, light green, green, light blue, blue, violet, mauve, fuchsia, pink, and white
Each color is normally sold separately.
To use the cords, the end of the cable is pressed onto the tip of the knitting needle, and in this way the knitter can gently slip the stitches to the cable to be held.
To replace the stitches onto the needle, the knitter simply puts the needle back onto the cord and gently slides the stitches back onto the needle.
How Can A Knitter Use These Silicone Cords?
The cords are basically knitting stitch holders and can be used with ease in a number of ways:
- To hold stitches when knitting a garment where you have to knit one side of the shoulder and then the other.
- When you need to use a needle for a new project and you are still busy with something else. Simply slip the stitches onto the knitting barber cord.
- Can be used for the ends of sleeves if you need to try on a garment for size, as seen the the video below.
These silicone cords are handmade and designed in Vasa, Finland by Jojo Stolpe (The Knitting Barber) and will definitely become your new best friend! They are so much more convenient and faster to use than conventional stitch holders. If you want to purchase some knitting barber cords for your kit, you will have to go to the Knitting Barber website directly.
I know exactly what you are talking about. I have used them since I was about 8 or 10. I have a knitting cord as well, But mine are actually permanent with the needles and not separate. The site is informative and the product is very easy to use once you know what it is and for. Very sleek post with video content.
I know that I had a rubber cord once that served the same purpose, but I find the stitches tend to stick to the rubber and don’t slide nicely. I think the silicon will work a lot better.
I used to knit…a lot. Bu I had never heard of knitting barber cords. At first I thought you were talking about the needles. But these cords would definitely come in handy, and I do see where they would become my new best friend. I haven’t thought about picking up on my knitting again, seems I stay pretty busy. Now if I would have a grandchild coming, I know I would!
Yes a grandchild will definitely get those knitting creative juices flowing again. There are just so many cute things to knit for babies.
Wonderful post! Knitting is a very relaxing hobby that shows us just how amazing our two hands can be with some knitting needles and some yarn. I never knitted before, but after reading your post and watching videos, I’m eager to try it out.
It’s really amazing to know that knitting provides warmth to so many people with the power of our own two hands. Before I buy barber cords though I would like to get into the knitting part first.