Tag Archives: @noreen.cronefindlay

March 3, 2026 · 9:55 am

Day 9 of #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms-Jane Austen Spool Knitter – How to Upcycle a cardboard tube into a spool knitter

If you’d like to make a large spool knitter without woodworking tools, and have a few crafting tools, then you can make yourself a spool knitter that is uniquely yours and pleasing to work with.

You need a sturdy core for the body of the spool knitter. I wound off some jute string onto a bobbin to free up a cardboard tube.

It’s 1 1/2 inches/4 cm in diameter (yours can be any diameter that you happen to have) and 4 1/4 inches/10.5 cm tall.

I bought a little bag of bamboo lolly pop sticks in the candy making aisle of the grocery store (craft stores sell them too). They’re 1/4 inches/.5 cm in diameter and 5 inches/25 cm tall.

Mark 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) from the end of 6 (or however many you want) of them.

Line up the marks so they stick out from the end of the tube.

Glue the dowels to the outside of the tube with hot glue.

Now, mix up some wallpaper glue or thin some white glue.

Tear up paper and glue layers of it to the spool knitter.

My Homage to Jane Austen spool knitter is one of the unexpected delights that has unfolded for me because of my project, the #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up 4 old encyclopedias at the Re Use centre to use in papier mache projects.

What a thrill to find an article about Jane Austen in one of them. I immediately pulled her pages out and carefully tore them into sizes and shapes to fit the spool knitter. Then, I gleefully glued them on.

I waited overnight for the papier mache to dry and then added a little bit of color with water color pencil crayons and Mod Podged it.

I am absolutely delighted with my Homage to Jane Austen spool knitter!

#100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms has given me a lovely gift!

BTW- there are benefits of working with ‘larger than usual’ spool knitters and I will be showing those in upcoming posts.

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, Simple Little Things That Make Me Happy, spool knitter & spoolknitter & spool knitting & spool knitting, the 100 day project, tutorial & how to

Tagged as #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms, #handmade, #homagetoJaneAusten, #papiermache, #spoolknitter, #spoolknitters, #spoollknitting, #the100dayproject, #the100dayproject2026, @noreen.cronefindlay, art, craft, diy, yarn, Yarn Crafts

March 2, 2026 · 10:33 pm

Days 6 and 7 of #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms-Upcycling bowls into spool knitters

Day 6 of #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms-Upcycling thrift shop bowls into spool knitters

I have been working on a whole bunch of things for
#100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms all at once and have gotten all out of order on doing posts.

Back on Day 6 of #the100dayproject2026 I started working on a series of posts about upcycling to make spool knitters.

Last summer, when I was talking with my brother Jonathan (@distinctivewoodworking) about co-creating different sizes and shapes of spool knitters, I mentioned that I often make larger than what people usually expect spool knitters to be by upcycling thrift shop bowls.

He and his son, Kieran turn a LOT of gorgeous bowls on the lathe.

Sometimes, there are ‘oops’ and a bowl goes boink and gets tossed into the firewood box.

Jonathan said: Do you want some of those to make into spool knitters?

YES yes yes, I shrieked.

So I showed him how I take an unloved bowl from the thrift shop

and sand off the varnish (because usually, the varnish on thrift shop bowls is in tough shape).

And, I drill a big hole in the base, then 6, 7 or 8 holes for pegs,

Then I glue in pegs and I draw & burn on it, paint it, varnish it and Voila!

Start spool knitting with it!

I remembered to take pics of the process with the first bowl, but doh, completely forgot to do that with the second one.

Hurrah for upcycling! I’ll be posting lots more about upcyling things to make spool knitters.

And, yes, lots of posts about what you can make with spool knitters. As I said to Jonathan today:

Context and content! Spool knitters are just shelf warmers if they don’t have a good project or 10 to inspire people to pick them up and start creating with them! So… yes…. lots of projects will be unfolding as I trundle forward with #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms

Day 7 of #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms-Upcycling one of a kind bowls into spool knitters

For the #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms, Jonathan sent me a box of spool knitter blanks and some bowls that were damaged when he and his son Kieran turned them on the lathe.

A Paduak pot pourri bowl has been singing to me since I opened the box, and finally, today, I drilled a hole in the base that is larger than the rip out, then 7 holes for the pegs, and did a little sanding and glued in pegs.

I was utterly gobsmacked by how freaking gorgeous it is, and there is no way that I am going to I draw or burn on it! I put a light coat of walnut oil on it, so I have to let it dry over night before I can start spool knitting with it!

I tore over to the computer and fired off a ‘WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE’ message to Jonathan to tell him how I am absolutely swooning over this glorious spool knitter. Wow. Just wow….

I also informed Jonathan that he is a bad influence, because the two of us just keep whipping up more and more ideas and I can barely keep up! I love feeling inspired! and #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms is definitely doing that for me!

Days 4 and 3 and 2 of 100 days of spoolknitters and little looms

Days 4 and 3 and 2 of #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms

For this year’s 100 Day Project, I am co-creating with my brother, Jonathan (@distinctivewoodworking) and his son, Kieran.

They are turning the parts for small looms and spool knitters on the lathe, and I am doing all kinds of things with the wonderful wooden elements.

We are calling it: #100daysofspoolknittersandlittlelooms

I am posting it here and on IG @noreen.cronefindlay

Here’s where I am at on Day 4 and working backwards to Day 2:

Oooh… painting! Here are a couple of little spool knitters and the beginnings of a little loom that I painted today.

Day 3 was frustrating:

The rheostatic pyrography machine that my lovely husband built me more than 35 years ago went kaput.

Oh no! my Luvie had to rebuild it for me so I could carry on burning the drawings into the spool knitters and little looms.

I spent Day 2 of the project working on getting a LOT of holes drilled and then fine tuning the insides of 17 small spool knitters in preparation for tapping in and gluing the nails into the holes.