We have been very fortunate to have a guest speaker today!! Audrey, a dear friend, inspiring crafter, and world-class relcaimer, has agreed to share her knowledge and skill in creating her own knitting needles!!
If you've ever wanted to give this fun craft a try, it is truly worth it, and with Audrey's instructions, completely doable for anyone at any crafting experience level!
Here are Audrey's wonderful instructions!
To make my DPN’s: I used
common household bamboo skewers. Sharpened both ends in a pencil sharpener,
sanded the shaft and points until smooth, and then polished them with
a white crayon and a sheet of notebook paper.
Materials:
Dowel rods or skewers (chopsticks
could work too)
Sandpaper: 100 grit – 400
grit (3-4 different grits)
Plain paper
White crayon or wax
Knob or button to top the needles. (In a pinch
a rubber band)
Pencil Sharpener
Choose Your Weapon
When choosing your dowel rod
you may find it helpful to have some sort of measuring device. In this
way, you can get exactly the size you want. I did not measure mine at
all, so whenever asked, “What size needle is that?" I told people
“skewer”. Please learn from my mistakes. It will make me feel better.
If you purchase your dowel
rod from a large chain store, they can cut it to your specified length.
I used kitchen scissors, and had to deal with splintering.
Getting to the Point
Once you have your rods cut,
you will run them in a pencil sharpener. Do the same to both ends for
double pointed needles, just one end for standard needles.
True Grit
Next is the sandpaper. In this
step, you will sand the needles using progressively finer (higher #)
grits. By doing this you will get the rid of the splinters and burs
in the wood. Be sure to sand the shaft and the point, paying special
attention to the tip. The tip and the point receive the most activity
when knitting and it would be a shame if your yarn kept being snagged.
I found out how frustrating it could be to have to go back and sand
each of my DPN’s. I have already made all the mistakes for you.
The Debate
This part is optional. I have
seen some who do not polish their needles, yet I cannot tell you which
way is best. If you choose to polish your needles, here’s how. Rub
the entire surface of the wood with a white crayon. Then use a sheet
of paper to smooth the needle, just the same as when you were sanding
the wood. Once again, pay careful attention to the point and tip.
The End
This is the last step, unless
you have made DPN’s. This must be my favorite part. Finding that special
something, that tells the world “This is custom!” Make your needles
as unique as you want them to be. Glue a river stone, glass bead, or
drawer pull to the end. Shove on a plastic toy or pencil eraser. Let
impatiens rule your life and twist a rubber band to it. I have done
that.
Congratulations
You now own, custom, one of
a kind, original, not to be found in stores anywhere, hand crafted knitting
needles.
When I asked Audrey to share a bit about herself with you all, here is what she said!
Name: Audrey
Husbands Name: Brian
Age: 36
Occupation: Stay at home mom/Homeschool mother
Hobbies: Knitting, crocheting, cooking, gardening, and sewing
Number of Teeth: 28
Allergies: Cats, mold and people who don't cover properly
Favorite Food: Sushi
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Movie: The Wizard of Oz
Favorite Animal: Cat
Favorite Candy: Chocolate peanut butter cups
Her husband was able to add a bit more about her, so that you all can see a piece of the amazing gal that she is.
Audrey
grew up in Brooklyn and Coney Island NY. As an adult her family moved
to Hillside NJ where she attended Kean College. She earned a BS in
business management with a minor in technology. She met her husband,
Brian, in college and got married in 1995.
In college
she worked for Adolph Gotcho as an assistant purchasing agent and later
moved onto working for American Products as a purchasing agent and
expeditor. She additionally held jobs as a sales rep in a sporting
goods store, as a teacher’s assistant in a grammar school, as a worker
in a laundry mat, offered a job making costumes for the renaissance
festival and co-owner of an organized recreational camping business.
For most
of her married life she has been a full time home builder (mom). Audrey
began homeschooling her children in Kindergarten and continues to
homeschool them today. The managerial skills she learned in college and
her business life greatly help her run the home school.
Being a
housewife and a homeschool mom she has taught herself how to hand sew,
machine sew, crochet, knit, become computer savvy, repair almost
everything broken in the home, cook like a short order chef, learned
how to cut corners and save money, and much more.
THANK YOU Audrey!! :) We surely do appreciate your contribution to the group!
(a few tips after trying this with the tutorial!! You can find pre-cut dowels in some craft stores, so you may not have to cut them yourself! You could also use candle wax or beeswax to finish off your needles if you would like to do that instead!)
Ladies (*and gents*), be sure to leave her a comment if you found this to be fun, informational, interesting, or any other number of adjectives! :) Thanks
Recent Comments