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How to Make a Beautiful, Unique Pair of Knitting Needles

make knitting needlesGot knitting friends and want to create the perfect gift for them? Why not try making a completely unique set of knitting needles?

What sort of gift can you make for a knitter?

This can be a tricky quandary. As knitters, we’re used to knitting gifts for everyone in our lives. But when we have friends and families who themselves are knitters, it gets a little dicey. You might not want to knit them something they could easily make for themselves.

If you still want to flex your creative muscles without knitting, here’s a great solution. Make them their very own set of knitting needles!

Read on for a fun, inexpensive, and truly heartfelt way to honor the knitters in your life.

Yes, You Can Make Knitting Needles!

Here’s what you’ll need to make knitting needles:

You can find all of these at a craft store, or you can easily order online at Amazon. The links below are affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking, I may make a small commission. Thanks for supporting Knitting for Charity!

-Wooden chopsticks or skewers

Oven-bake clay for bead making

Strong glue

Sandpaper

Acrylic paint

Sponge brush

-(Optional) Clear acrylic sealer (I suggest picking a glossy one)

Steps:

  1. Carefully sand the chopsticks until they’re smooth and easy to handle. Pay special attention to the tips, which should be rounded and not too pointy. Take a look at the needles you own to get an idea what the tips should look like.
  2. You can leave the wood as is, or you can paint it with acrylic paint. Since you’ve sanded off the wood’s finish, the paint should stick perfectly.
  3. If you desire, spray the wood (outside!) with clear acrylic sealer. This produces a nice glossy coating.
  4. Now, use the clay to create shapes for the top of the needles. You can stick to simple baubles or get really creative, crafting balls of yarn or people’s names.
  5. Press the flat end of the chopstick into the shapes to create a hole, then bake the clay according to the package directions. The result should be a hard shape that fits perfectly on the edge of your “needles.”
  6. Use acrylic paint to decorate the shapes (unless you purchased clay with a pretty coloring already!), then glue them onto the edges of the chopsticks.

*Note: If you’ve used an acrylic sealer, do NOT try out these new needles until the sealer is completely dry. It should not feel at all tacky. Ask me how I know this…

What a fun way to make knitting needles that are beautiful and unique. Wouldn’t you love to receive a set of needles like these? They’re a joy to make and to give!

For more fun ways to make knitting needles, check out this article. Yes, You Can Make Your Own Knitting Needles!

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