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This DIY project idea came to me when I went out pricing new double pointed knitting needles at the stores and online, and to my amazement some top of the line bamboo and metal sets were in the $100 dollar range. I thought to myself, there is no way I'm going to spend that amount of money when I could totally make them for way cheaper if not for free.
The first question was, what type of materials could I use?
Bamboo skewers for BBQing
Bamboo Chopsticks from a Chinese Restaurant
Bamboo Chopsticks from a Chinese Restaurant
Wooden dowels from a Hardware store
Metal wire found while out on a hike or bought at a store
Next, I needed to figure out how thick of a diameter each needle had to be. Since there is a wide range of sizes, I did a quick google search to give me a chart (here) to see the sizes in millimeters (mm). It would be easier to just buy a gauge if you don't already have one on hand, but my quest for this project was making these things from scratch and tools I had around the house, or could find as someone else's trash. With the chart I could now use my tape measure that has centimeters on it to get a very rough measurement that corresponds with the millimeter size. If you don't have a tape measure/ruler with centimeters you'll have to convert your inches into centimeters and go from there.
While searching around the house for materials I stumbled across some bamboo skewers. They were about 3mm in diameter, which is equivalent to a US size 2. They also already had a point on one end, which could be used for regular knitting straight from the package if absolutely needed, but by making a point on the other end it becomes a double pointed needle, that I find more versatile (mainly for socks). So really my quest for a suitable DIY knitting needle could have been over without much adventure at all, but of course there are a lot more sizes of needles to make out there, so why not try to make a whole set if possible.
So next I thought I'd try the same technique with some Bamboo Chopsticks, this also gave me a great reason to go eat some Chinese food with my girlfriend. They have a thicker diameter (close to a US size 6), so they will likely be more durable than the skewers, and plus it helps minimize what would otherwise be trash into a useful tool, for those that like to think 'green'.
Tools used:
Bamboo Chopsticks
Pocket Knife/Flint tool
Cement - To get the rough shape for the ends
Nail file - To fine tune the shape of the ends
When you have everything whittled/grinded to your liking, test them out with some old yarn first, if the tend to snag you may want use some sandpaper/nail file to smooth the needles out. It is also recommend to put on a finishing of some sort, I seen a Youtube video that rubbed wax paper to achieve this. Tell me what worked best for you. ^_^
Finished product in use:
I have also collected some metal wiring, while out on walks, that I would like to experiment with in the future, so stay tuned...
Next, I needed to figure out how thick of a diameter each needle had to be. Since there is a wide range of sizes, I did a quick google search to give me a chart (here) to see the sizes in millimeters (mm). It would be easier to just buy a gauge if you don't already have one on hand, but my quest for this project was making these things from scratch and tools I had around the house, or could find as someone else's trash. With the chart I could now use my tape measure that has centimeters on it to get a very rough measurement that corresponds with the millimeter size. If you don't have a tape measure/ruler with centimeters you'll have to convert your inches into centimeters and go from there.
While searching around the house for materials I stumbled across some bamboo skewers. They were about 3mm in diameter, which is equivalent to a US size 2. They also already had a point on one end, which could be used for regular knitting straight from the package if absolutely needed, but by making a point on the other end it becomes a double pointed needle, that I find more versatile (mainly for socks). So really my quest for a suitable DIY knitting needle could have been over without much adventure at all, but of course there are a lot more sizes of needles to make out there, so why not try to make a whole set if possible.
So next I thought I'd try the same technique with some Bamboo Chopsticks, this also gave me a great reason to go eat some Chinese food with my girlfriend. They have a thicker diameter (close to a US size 6), so they will likely be more durable than the skewers, and plus it helps minimize what would otherwise be trash into a useful tool, for those that like to think 'green'.
Tools used:
Bamboo Chopsticks
Pocket Knife/Flint tool
Cement - To get the rough shape for the ends
Nail file - To fine tune the shape of the ends
When you have everything whittled/grinded to your liking, test them out with some old yarn first, if the tend to snag you may want use some sandpaper/nail file to smooth the needles out. It is also recommend to put on a finishing of some sort, I seen a Youtube video that rubbed wax paper to achieve this. Tell me what worked best for you. ^_^
Finished product in use:
I have also collected some metal wiring, while out on walks, that I would like to experiment with in the future, so stay tuned...
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