Can’t get any easier than this, the 15-minute circular needle holder.
Nothing against sewing, I do have plans to make a placemat dpn holder ala the Grumperina method but I like this one for something a little different. Circular needles are inserted through the center holes in craft supply wooden spools and dangle by their cords.
Stuff you need
Wooden spools (mine were Large Barrel, 3/16″ x 7/8″; 1/4″ hole, 20 pcs from a craft store- the larger the hole the better)
Approx 1 1/2 – 2 yards floral wire (I believe mine was 28 gauge)
Permanent markers (I used a silver paint pen and a sharpie)
Scraps of yarn or fabric
Glue (hot glue gun was weapon of choice for me)
Note on the spools – mine have 1/4″ hole which fits up to a US size 10 needle. This was adequate for me, but if you require ones for larger sizes you can drill or use a needle file to enlarge the opening, or look for a larger diameter spool.
What to do with it
First, label all your spools with the appropriate needle size. For my end spools I wound a piece of scrap yarn around the spool and secured it with a dot of glue. A piece of fabric cut to size would also look nice. You could obviously embellish these however you like. I went with simplicity (also known as “easy”). Next cut a length of wire about 1 1/2 – 2 yards long, I just kinda eyeballed it. Thread wire though first spool and hold in half so both lengths of wire are equal. Following the diagram below, weave the wire in and out of each spool.
Then, once the last spool is wired on, twist the remaining two wire lengths around each other and fold into a hook shape. Trim ends and load up with all those unruly needles.
Brilliant!
I will be up until midnight or whenever I finish making this. I love it! Did I mention I don’t even knit? A fabulous present, though, for knitters I love.
This is pretty cool! Me thinks I can run with this one.
I LOVE this, what a great idea! Can you fit more than one needle in each spool?
What an amazing idea! Not only you design great patterns but now this, I just love it! :)
This is a great idea! Would it be okay with you if I posted it at Craftacular.com? You’d be credited, of course, and it’d link back to your site.
Ditto Kelly – Brilliant!
Wonderful! I’ve been wanting a better solution for circulars. This is it.
Awesome! That’s a great idea.
you are just too darn creative!!! that is great!
Brilliant indeed! I am going to advertise this tutorial on my blog. And then I’m going to collect some spools!
Oh my god, I love it! I’m totally stealing the idea!
That’s genius.
GREAT idea!
I love it.
Very clever! I’ve been also thinking about circulars holder recently, must be this time of the year… *^v^*
Hey, just to answer a few questions I’m getting – Yes! you can fit several needles through one spool. Depending on how thick your cables are, you may need to just drill out the whole a little larger if you have a lot of one size though.
Also, the empty spools can be purchased at any craft store, no need to save up empties if you don’t already have them.
Well, this is sheer brilliance! And I have a ton of those dern antique wooden spools gathering dust.
this is pretty awesome. :)
Now that is completely ingenious. And it’s adorable too! Must make.
That circular needle holder is the best!!!!!!
Thanks so much for a wonderful design! I just made one myself. You can see my interpretation on my blog.
what a wonderful idea and it looks great!
You’re a genius!!
Genius!! Now to fit it into the decor of my bedroom!!
This rocks! Thanks!
Peace……………..
Aren’t you the clever one?
P
Really, a great idea. It also avoids the problem of the cable getting that wonderful curl again.
This is fab! I am linking ok?
Your idea is full of WIN, and I now know what to do with those spools left to me with my mother’s sewing stash!
This is such a good idea! I get so tired of hearing people say casually, “Oh, if you can sew, you can whip up a circular needle holder yourself, it’s easy.” I can’t sew, but I think I can do this. Thanks!
Very clever!! If only I had only one of each size, this would be fabulous!
What a cool idea! I think I’d have to make 2 to hang side by side for all my duplicates, especially now that I’m knitting socks 2 at a time on 2 circulars. I’ll be making this for sure :o)
As I live and breathe–
You are a genius. I’m going to go look through my spool stash/recycling and make this right NOW!
Must. Make. But don’t sew. Gotta get spools!
Let me collect my lower jaw from the desk…I must say, this is just brilliant & clever & so you. I love it! And as soon as I can FIND my circular needles, I’ll want to make one of these. Thanks for sharing!
Over the years, I’ve been credited for coming up with ideas for various crafts and projects, but never had dreamed of this one!…..am glad I’ve saved wooden spools over the years, now can put them to good use….for others and myself! THANKS!!
What a great idea!
Thank you and merry Christmas!!
PVC pipe would also work.
I love this idea for myself and my beloved daughter that also knits. I believe I can use the plastic spools I have, and it will fit different sizes. Thanx
Seriously, this is great.
Fabulous. I knew my saved spools would come in handy, and I love recycling
You just gave me the answer to what I have been kicking around since I down sized and trying to organize my crafts and I have 2 of every size circular needs. Most time I use them in place of straight one. Thanks for the helping hand.
Wonderful, I was thinking of making something similar with toilet paper tubes. I like your idea better.
Thanks, Danielle.
What a great recycle idea. This is the best storage I have seen yet. I plan to make it but I don’t know where I will get the wooden spools. Any ideas? Great Job Your The Best THANKS SO MUCH
Brilliant idea, going to make now. Perfect for the bazaar item section of our local WI conference coming up.
I love it but I have one question…? What keeps them from falling out???
Thanks Patti! The length of the cords and the weight of the needles keep them in the spools. It just hangs on my wall and I’ve never had any problems with it. I suppose if you were to travel with it and just throw it in a bag they may slip out.
this is a good one… hehe
Love it! SO much easier than trying to curl them up in a notebook, and takes up less space. I whipped one up in about half an hour and took the opportunity to inventory my collection… why do I have so many #7 circs?
I don’t normally comment but I gotta say thank you for the post on this perfect one :D.
That is a super great idea, liked the one comment made that you can paint them to maybe match a color scheme going on. So many ideas to make them colorful if you want, note the size of the needle on them. Use ribbon and sew every few inches and have it as long as you need or want, probably us a 1″ or wider ribbon. Be creative now that we have had a great idea shown.
I just had an idea. For those, like me, who don’t have the spools, what about using PVC pipe and cutting it into small lengths instead of the spools? I just bought some at Joanne’s that are used as cake stands that were on sale for almost nothing and they are just about the right size for the size 13 and 15 circulars that I use the most often. guess they could work for the smaller ones as well. I will let you know how it turns out.
Yes, several people have used this alternative! :)
I love this–a belated Christmas (early birthday) gift for my sister in law. She will love it. I can’t wait to decorate it. Thanks for a great idea.
great idea and it is so resourceful ! thanks. Perhaps plumbers, contractors would have pvc left from jobs. Their scraps generally get tossed. Also did the plastic spools not work? I could see buying super cheap thread that would color coordinate with one’s sewing/knitting space – leave the thread on. Could connect empty ones with left over contact paper but that might not be as long lasting as the wire….
FABULOUS!!!!!
Not a knitter, but that’s a great recycling idea!
What a great idea! It is aggravating to have to get the size guage out all the time to have the right size needle.
Does everyone know about this but me? What a nice thought to make them for friends who knit with round needles. I will make one for every length I have. Love this idea!!! Thanks for much.
What a brilliant idea! Can’t wait to try it – thanks for sharing.
What a great idea. Someone commented whether you could fit more than one needle in one. How about doing one for 16″ one for 20″ needles etc.? I have the canvas one which will hold several but sometimes have trouble pushing the needles through. Each one could use a different color for the bottom one to indicate size or just write the length on the top or bottom one.
What a great idea. I have been using a
wire clothes hanger and bending up the
shoulder ends to hold the needles on, but have to search for size. I will do
this one for sure. Thanks for the
tip, brillant.
OH!!!! I was reading the directions thinking about buying spools when I remembered a basket of vintage wooden spools of silk thread I bought at a yard sale last summer. Perfect!!! A way to display some of those great colors of thread AND keep my circular needles corralled. Thank you!!!!
this is sooo cool! I just made me a set! I used the plastic spools from sewing kits and did leave the thread on them. I just wrote the size needle on them! thank you so much!
What a novel idea, Never seen anything like it before. I want to make one right now, now just to find some spools. :)
thank you for the pattern, never thought of this myself, using empty thread spools, and I do have some I never throw anything away. I thought of using canvas to make a circular needle holder, but I like this one better, no sewing…thanks again.
Clever. You just helped with my biggest storage problem, plus it is great wall decoration.
Could also drill Wine Corks ;just don’t try to collect a whole set at once !!! D;-}
The creation for keeping circular needles orderly and in such fashion one isn’t CONSTANTLY pushing them through the card needle-measuring. This day will have a happy entry in my diary!
Very creative.
Thans, this is a great idea.
I must have 30 circs and they all hang on the spaces between the antique mirror of my dresser and the thing that holds the mirror up and moveable.
That was the only solution I thought out till now. I will be changing my bed/crafting rooms in the next week and this is a keeper of an idea. Thank you so much.
Just what I need. Thanks
This is stupendous! I was just lamenting to a friend the other day that I took my circs out of the pouch and now have no clue as to its size!(I am yet to get myself a knitters guage) thanks to you now I can go make myself one holder and put my circs in place!
This is just so cool. I was just think about make a case for my Cir needle. Thanks for sharing.
What a clever idea. The only problem I can see is keeping the needles clean as in free of dust. I use mine all the time so it would not be a problem for me.
YESSSSSSSSSS