How To Make Your Own Knitting Needles

There are so many instances where I have traveled or went on a vacation somewhere and wished I had bought my knitting needles. Well I currently live in Germany  but I am on a extended vacation in Oregon. To make a long story short I had this urge to knit but no needles. I didn't want to go out to the store and buy another pair of knitting needles when I had about 50 different types at home. I once heard of people making their own knitting needles but I never put much thought or effort into making a pair until I became desperate. 

Making your own knitting needles is relatively easy. The process begins by searching for that perfect pair of twigs that you can form into needles. My grandparents recently trimmed the tree limbs of their silver maples. Since the branches had been recently trimmed the wood was still fairly fresh and NOT dry, so I chose a pair of twigs that I liked. Dry wood cracks and breaks easily so that is why it is important to choose a more fresh wood. The second part of the process, is removing of the bark from the stick. Since I was impatient I just roughly sanded over the bark and bumps on the stick with an emery board (sand paper can work as well). Once everything was fairly smooth, I then took a pencil sharpener to form a tip. For double pointed needles form a tip on each end. Once you have formed the tips it is important to take the sand paper or emery board and smooth out ALL rough edges. Then if you would like your needles to last longer take the time to treat the wood. Adding a clear nail polish will help protect the wood from chipping and prevent snags. 

When I first started knitting with my homemade knitting needles, I  used a finer and more soft yarn. I discovered that the yarn easily snagged. I am sure that this could be fixed if you treated the wood, or actually took all the bark off. Then I tried an acrylic yarn like Red Heart Super Saver and it didn't even snag, and the knitting process was easy. 

Making your own knitting needles is one way to cut back on craft costs. However for some projects where gauging is important homemade needles may not be ideal. These are unique and you can add character by gluing ac-corns at the ends, buttons, and thimbles. If you mastered the art of making knitting needles out of sticks then you can make special gifts for friends and family.

My way of making knitting needles may not work for everyone. I see much room for improvement. This is one of those types of projects where you can make it unique and your own. 

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