Uncurling Round Knitting Needles - 30 August 2025

I visited a small charity shop some time ago when I was looking for 5.5mm round knitting needles. I was surprised I was able to find them at only 50p or around 5 Steem. It was a bargain as this kind of needle can retail for at least ten times that price on Amazon. The only huge problem with this pair of needles was how difficult it became to use them. As you can see in the photo below they were very tightly curled:

As they came in their original package I was able to see that the needles had come as a free gift in a magazine called Simply Knitting.

I decided to try a hack I'd seen in passing on You Tube on how to 'relax the coil'.

The first step was to find a big enough bowl to place the plastic cable safely. I then poured boiling water and submerged the plastic section. It didn’t take long and the plastic uncurled very easily as you can see in the photo below:

The cable needle quickly became usable again. I was very pleased with the result and will actually try this method on other annoying curled needles I own.

I include the tutorial I watched in case it’s of interest.

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The process is very brief and to the point. I haven’t noticed any issues since I submerged the plastic cable into the very hot water.

Thank you for reading !