How to Make Knitting Needles

Interesting in picking up knitting with your child? Well skip the trip to the store to pick-up your brand new knitting needles -- if you have a pair of chopsticks lying around from a past take-out dinner, then you have DIY craft waiting to happen! Help your child craft her first pair of knitting needles with just a little sharpening, sanding and painting.

What You Need:

• Wooden chopsticks
• 2 clothespins
• Pencil sharpener
• Coarse sandpaper
• Wax paper
• Newspaper
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brush

What You Do:

1. Help your child sharpen the tips in a standard pencil sharpener. Be careful: the tips will likely be rough and splintery.
2. Have her sand down the tips of each chopstick with the coarse sandpaper.
3. When all the splintery edges have been removed, let her finish sanding the rest of the chopsticks as well.
4. Have her place newspaper on a flat surface.
5. Next, help your child place the thicker end of each chopstick into the pinching part of each clothespin.
6. Have her paint her chopsticks. Encourage her to be creative -- and to also keep the paint over the newspaper.
7. Allow the chopsticks to dry completely.
8. Then, help your child rub the sheet of wax paper over each chopstick. Now she's ready to become a knitting master!