Yes, You Can Make Your Own Knitting Needles!

Need knitting needles but are short on cash? You can create your own knitting needles!

How many pairs (or sets) of knitting needles are enough?

When I began knitting in 2007, I had precisely 3 pairs of needles to my name. One pair came in the Klutz knitting book that taught me to knit. A friend gave me the other two.

(Technically, she gave me all three pairs, because she gave me the knitting book, too.)

The knitting book came with a wooden set of US Size 7 needles. One was red, and the other was blue.

Please don’t ask if I know where those needles are now. 🙈

The other two pairs were metal, and I think one was size 7 and the other, size 8. They were all straight needles.

Back then, of course, that was all I needed. I was a beginner. I didn’t know about circular needles or double-pointed needles; I didn’t know how to knit in the round. I didn’t even know knitting in the round was A Thing One Could Do.

I wasn’t yet aware that if I knitted different thicknesses of yarn than what my friend gave me, I would need different sizes of needles.

What I did learn was that the knitting needles I had then were not enough to do all the knitting I would soon wish to do.

It Adds Up Fast 😱

I also learned that as I grew more experienced, my taste in needles changed.

At first, I preferred metal straight needles. (Probably because I knitted with acrylic and cotton yarn, and nothing else.)

When I first I got hooked on circular knitting, I collected so many sets of DPNs. (And I have a bin overflowing with DPNs to prove this.)

Then I learned about Magic Loop knitting, and then all I wanted was circular needles.

And then I got particular about circular needles, too. I wanted a flexible cable. Oh, and metal ends with pointy tips. No, wait. I wanted wooden needles with sorta pointy tips but not too pointy.

The point [pun intended 😉] of all this? Let’s put it this way: I would not want to see the grand total of all the money I’ve spent on knitting needles over the years!

There’s no getting around it: knitting needles are indispensable to a knitter’s craft. And even if you buy used needles or the least-expensive brands, you still may spend a decent amount of money to cover all the sizes and types you need.

One Solution: DIY

Did you know you can make your own knitting needles and/or improve the ones you have?

I never would have considered this an option. To me, making your own knitting needles was something Extremely Crafty People did. 🤓

But a surprising number of tutorials are available online to help you do that. You can create straight needles, double-pointed needles (DPNs), even circular needles. And if you happen to own the Boye Needlemaster Interchangeable Circular Needle Set, you can make new cables!

Get Crafty, Save Money

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How to Make a Beautiful, Unique Pair of Knitting Needles: Let’s start with a tutorial you’ll find right here on Knitting for Charity! I tried this myself and was delighted by the result, which you can see to the right.

Make Your Own Knitting Needles: This video tutorial is thorough and detailed. She shows you the entire process step by step. You can create both straight needles and DPNs this way.

Lightsaber Knitting Needles: Feeling ambitious and adventurous? Have a knitting friend who’s a Star Wars buff — or want needles to help you see a bit better when you’re knitting in the evening? Check out this amazing guide to glow-in-the-dark knitting needles!

DIY Rainbow Knitting Needles: Do you miss Knit Picks’ beautiful Rainbow Wood needles? (I do, though I admit their Caspian, Majestic, and Radiant needles are equally gorgeous.) This tutorial will have you making beautiful, multi-colored wooden needles. You can even involve children in the fun!

For more fun with needles, check out this delightful article from All Free Knitting: 24 Absurdly Clever Knitting Needle Alternatives!

Create Your Own Boye Needlemaster Interchangeable Cables: The Boye Needlemaster Interchangeable set is, sadly, no longer widely available, although you may be able to find a set on eBay or Etsy (or in a garage sale or thrift shop). If you have a set, or find a set, you may delighted by the great range of needle tip sizes but not as much by the cables.

Fortunately, this clever knitter made her own years ago, with stellar results, and shared this tutorial for all to enjoy!

Make Your Own Circular Needles: Let’s say you don’t have the Boye Needlemaster set. In fact, let’s say you have no circular needles at all. A dire situation indeed… but here’s some DIY hope in the form of a tutorial to help you create an entire pair of circular needles. Not just the cable! 💃

Looking through these tutorials encourages me to give this needle-making business a shot. If nothing else, think of what great gifts homemade knitting needles would be for knitting friends.

And best of all, once you’ve purchased the basic materials, you can create needles again and again!