How to Use a Wire Hanger as a Stitch Holder

Stitch holders from wire hangers can be any size.

A stitch holder is a common knitting tool, used when you need to remove your needles from their current position and work on another part of the project. The stitch holder keeps the work-in-progress from unraveling. While most craft or knitting supply shops carry stitch holders, it is much less expensive to make your own out of a simple wire hanger.

Things You'll Need

• Wire hanger
• Needle nose pliers
• Wire cutters

Instructions

1. Find the end of the wire corkscrew located below the hook of the hanger.

2. Grasp the end of the wire corkscrew with a pair of needle nose pliers. Firmly hold the hanger in one hand, and begin unraveling the corkscrew with the pliers in the other hand. Continue until you unravel the entire corkscrew and have one long piece of wire.

3. Pull the end of the corkscrew to straighten it, then bend the last 2 inches to a 90-degree angle with the pliers. The 2-inch end will cross what used to be the bottom of the hanger. At the point where the 2-inch end and the bottom of the hanger meet, cut the rest of the hanger away with the pliers or the wire cutters. Leave a 1/8-inch piece of the bottom of the hanger jutting out past the 2-inch end of the corkscrew.

4. Use the pliers to bend the very bottom of the 2-inch end around the bottom of the hanger. This creates a small hook. To use the stitch holder, push the bottom of the hanger through the stitches, then wrap the small hook around the end of the hanger to keep the stitches from slipping.