Hi! Thanks for stopping by! I am way too excited to share this DIY post with you! I am a self taught knitter and I only know, like, two stitches…literally. I figured I could learn a few more stitches and patterns over time, but I’m satisfied with the look of a standard knit/purl stitch. So I have a bit of a confession. I am extremely obsessed with “extreme” knitting and all it has to offer! Here’s the kicker: from what I’ve researched on the web, the yarn can be extremely expensive by itself (we’re talking *hundreds* of dollars).
The needles aren’t *as* expensive, but price tagged high enough for me to want to figure out a way to make them myself. Kick 2: I am very frugal. I’d seen crafty folk making small knitting needles out of chopsticks so I just had to come up with a way to get my hands on those giant babies to start making a chunky blanket just in time for winter.
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Enough yapping, Ash, just tell me how you made those giant needles for dirt cheap!
I have been obsessed with the hardware store since my first three projects involving wood. So back to the hardware store I went! I was looking for a large dowel-like pole, even a wooden flag pole, but even those were out of my budget. As I walked around the store, I found a wooden closet pole for only $4.99! Guess what? That’s almost *all* you need to make these babies! I wanted my needles to have end caps/stoppers so that my stitches won’t slip as I switch sides. I found some little baseboard squares for $1 a piece and that’s all I needed. My dad had some long wood screws and a sander and I got to work!
Here’s what you need to make your own extreme knitting needles:
So if you already have screws, saw, and a sander, all you will need is the closet rod, a couple of stoppers, and a two screws! You can get fancy if you’d like with stain/paint and wax paper for a smoother finish, but I opted for the challenge of making the most frugal pair of needles possible. Also: most hardware stores will cut your wood for free, so take advantage of all of your resources! I had the hardware store cut my pole right in half to give me two even 36” dowels.
Then I took them home and used an electric sand belt to sharpen the ends. First I put the stoppers on using a drill. I marked the center of the pole and the stopper, used a drill to make a pilot hole, then screwed the small square right now. Using the sander, steadily holding the dowel at approximately a 45 degree angle, I continually turned the dowel around and around until all of the sides were even and the tip looked almost like a sharpened pencil. Repeat for the second needle.
You should have two beautifully hand crafted extreme knitting needles! I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you! Check out the chunky knit blanket I made and don’t forget to subscribe for more great DIY posts!