There are so many gadgets and notions to aid in our knitting and, trust us, we want them all but they can get expensive! Why not try to recycle a few things from around your house to make your knitting life easier without breaking your budget. Here are a few of our favorite knitting hacks:

1.Tea Pot As a Yarn Bowl

If you have an extra teapot around the house or see one at a thrift store, it will expertly double as a yarn bowl. This trick works especially well if you are knitting double and pulling from the outside and center. String one end through the spout of your old teapot and the other out of the top of the pot and, voila! A perfect way to keep your cake together and in one place while pulling from both ends.

2.Car Sunscreens as Blocking Mat

We have all seen the foam mats from a kindergarten class being used as a blocking mat. They take up a ton of space and are quite an eyesore while in use. For an easier alternative to those big mats, why not grab that sunscreen from the car that you forget to put up before heading into your favorite yarn shop? Your pins will stick nicely into its corrugated foam, the silver covering will reflect light to dry your project from the bottom, and it folds up in a snap.

3.Bread Ties to Wrap Yarn Tails

If you love colorwork or always overestimate for your long-tail cast on, this trick is about to revolutionize your knitting! Use those plastic pieces from bread or bagel bags to wrap up the ends of your yarn. This will help you avoid knitting with the tail instead of your working yarn and keep all those colorwork strands out of your way!

4.Pantyhose with Runs as Yarn bras

Unless they are your absolute favorite pair of pantyhose, forget the clear nail polish next time you get a run. You can reuse your old pantyhose as yarn bras! You will never get a yarn barf or exploded cake again. Are we the only ones who wonder if non-knitters read words that we understand perfectly or hear us talking about yarn barfs and think “What is it with these knitters?!”

5.Wine Corks as Point Protectors

Some people collect wine corks, others turn them into funky pieces of art, but we use them as inexpensive point protectors – depending on the price tag of bottle of wine you choose, of course! You can keep your precious stitches from slipping off you needles all while emptying a few bottles of Prosecco or Merlot with your knitting friends! We will advise, if you choose corks from a red wine, make sure to rinse them first. We would hate for your pale colored shawl to end up with a spot or stain. These work well for any size needle because you are creating the hole. You could even use one end of the cork for large needles and the other for small.

What’s your favorite knitting hack? Share with us in the comments below!