The Long and Short of Two Needle Weaving

Two needle weaving is a beading technique, that surprise-- uses two needles!

So, it's sort of like burning a candle from both ends, the ending comes much faster than a candle just burning from one side.

I've tried this beaded star in the past, without the stamina to finish, all because I refused to use that second needle. Two needle projects can be converted into one needle jobs there is just more thread backtracking, and a lot more time needed to finish.

I learned to crochet (one hook) first, and I found two handed, hookless knitting to be a chore. Actually, to make things a little easier I knit with crochet hooks until I got a little more coordinated and a little less left-handed clumsy.

I happened to have a box of beads and started thinking of what I wanted to do next. This box just happened to have an old discarded project and a long needle inside. I had also placed a short needle in the box as an attempt to tidy up. Two needles in a box of seed beads, it was just asking for a two needle project.

I'm so excited that they just happened to be different lengths as it made it a lot easier to know if I was turning in the right direction. Also, since I'm not quite ambidextrous, the long needle made it easier for my left hand to pick up beads. And in the tighter areas it was nice to have the short needle. I did notice that using the long needle in the "wrong" hand made things go a lot slower, and the same was true for the short needle. But the combination of long and short turned out to be quite a serendipitous mistake that I'm glad I've happened upon.

You can modify long needles with a nail clipper and file the end to create your own set of long and short needles for two needle weaving. It's also a good idea to blunt the end of your needle if you are using nymo as you would have less chance of splitting your thread. Just remember eye protection and the possibility of pointy hard to find shrapnel as you clip. I did try just filing the end, but found the point seemed to get a little more sharp!