Knitting Tools on the Fly

Have you ever been knitting needles deep in a project and realized there was some tool you didn't have (or couldn't find)? Sometimes it is not practical to drop your project and run out to a knitting store.  Sometimes it isn't even necessary.  There are some tools that you can make yourself, on the fly, McGyver style.  Here are a few little notions that I make fairly often.

1.  Stitch Marker
This is one of my favorites, because oh my goodness, do I have trouble keeping track of stitch markers.  Those pesky little plastic doodads are elusive.  And of course I find twenty of them when I don't need any and none when I just need one.  A quick fix to a lack of stitch markers is a paper clip.  You could also use a safety pin.  You simply take your paper clip or closed safety pin and slide it on your needle in place of a traditional stitch marker.  As you knit, the paper clip can be slipped in the same fashion as any traditional stitch marker.  

2. Stitch Holder
Many patterns suggest this one- if you do not have a manufactured stitch holder, just grab your tapestry needle and some waste yarn and thread your live stitches onto the waste yarn.  You can tie your waste yarn in a loop once the stitches are on board so that nothing slips away.

3. Cable Needle
I love my cable needle.  I'm a fan of the small, straight cable needle with the little grooves so my stitches do not easily slip away.  They also manufacture hook shaped cable needles.  However, if you find yourself short a cable needle and you're in a pinch, you can use a pencil.  If a pencil is too fat, you can use a spare double pointed needle.  I will caution you when using a knitting needle as a cable needle; the knitting needle is designed to let stitches slip around easily, which means keeping your cable stitches on your needle can be a little wily and might need extra attention lest they fall away.

4. Storing Project on Needles
If you need to take a break from a project or, like me, you have fifty project going at the same time, there exist little rubber stoppers for the ends of your knitting needles that prevent your work from falling off.  These little stoppers can save you from a lot of grief.  There is no worse feeling when knitting than pulling a project out of a project bag to discover half of it quietly unraveled while you were away.  However, if you do not have these handy little rubber stoppers for your needles but you do happen to have a wine cork, you have the next best thing.  Simply push the wine cork on the end of your needle and you eliminate worry that your project will slip away.  If you only have one cork, you can cut it in half and still have an adequate stopper for both of your needles.

As with many things, you are only limited by your imagination when it comes to knitting.  If you have any McGyver styled knitting solutions of your own, I would love to hear what they are.