DIY Magnetic KNITTING CHART HOLDER

A magnetic chart holder is something I've wanted for quite a while as I'm always losing track of where I am when reading a knitting chart or pattern... so I thought I'd DIY my own version to perfectly suit me.

I wanted a 'slider' on the front that I could place above the line of pattern I needed to follow next, and I also wanted a place to note down reminders - like how many repeats I've completed already - in case I have to stop in the middle of the work.

I really like the result and I hope that you'll find it useful too. I also think it would make a great gift for a knitter :)

- Clipboard; I used a wooden clipboard that would fit an A4 sheet of paper. Note: If you choose a steel clipboard instead, then (although relatively expensive) you'll just need magnets and won't need to buy the magnetic sheet too.

- Magnetic sheet; I bought an A4 sheet.

- X-Acto knife & Cutting mat

- Metal Ruler

- Wooden ruler or strip of wood; this is whatever you would like to use for the 'slider'. The length I would recommend for the slider is 20 cm. You can just use a metal ruler for the slider and skip the magnets altogether.

- Magnets; I used 2 tiny Neodymium magnets that measured 10 mm x 5 mm x 3 mm

- Alternative to magnets (optional); If you have pets or small children around, you might not want to use tiny magnets for safety reasons, and in that case you can just use a metal ruler as the 'slider' as these will also stick to the magnetic sheet :)

- Glue; this should be strong and dry clear. I used UHU all-purpose adhesive.

- Polymer clay, ceramic tile or baking tray, oven, and cutting blade; this is for if you would like to make little feet for the 'slider'. You could use a different material instead, like moldable putty or plastic that sets hard.

- A strip of Dry Erase/Whiteboard Sheet & a Dry Erase Marker; this is for you would like to write erasable notes on your holder.

- White Gesso/Paint, Paintbrush, PVA Glue, Decorative Papers & Contact Paper; this is what I used to decorate my chart holder and make it unique, but obviously you can use any kind of embellishment...or none at all.

A Note About Magnets: the magnets used in this project are small but mighty and must be strictly kept away from small children and pets as they must NOT be swallowed. Also, try not to let the magnets 'smash' together, as they are brittle and could shatter.

If you've bought a plain wooden clipboard then decoration will be the first step :)

I personally painted white gesso along the edges, making sure that I covered any areas that will be seen once the magnetic sheet and other papers/embellishments have been added.

Next, I cut out a sheet of decorative paper and decoupaged it onto the back of the clipboard. In other words, I applied a thin layer of PVA glue all over the wood, placed the paper on top and pressed it down all over, and then covered the paper with another thin layer of glue.

Then I left it to dry.

You can add pictures, stickers, a collage, painted art...whatever you like. I personally glued a page from a brochure onto the back (which is of a painting by my favourite artist Samantha French), then added blue Washi tape around the outside.

This gave me strong flashbacks to secondary school when I would decorate my files and folders this way!

Once you have added what you would like to, it's a good idea to then add a sheet of clear contact paper over the top to protect everything and stop the edges of the papers from lifting up.

Then turn the clipboard over, place it onto a cutting mat, and use an X-acto knife to cut away all of the excess papers around the outside.

Use a ruler and X-acto knife to cut the magnetic sheet to the size you want, and then glue it onto the front of the clipboard.

If you don't want to make your own slider or don't want to use magnets, you can just stop here and simply use a metal ruler for the slider, as shown.

I decided I wanted a 20 cm wooden ruler as the slider, and I wanted it to be lifted a tiny amount away from the surface of the paper, because a) this is the length I wanted and I couldn't find a metal ruler this length, and b) it's a bit fiddly to lift the thin metal ruler off the surface so I wanted something a bit easier to use.

So I made a couple of very simple 'feet' from polymer clay, into which I could embed the magnets.

To do this, I first conditioned a small amount of the clay, then rolled it out into a sheet about 4mm or so thick (this sheet must be slightly thicker than the magnets you're using).

I then used a cutting blade to cut out 2 small rectangles that were at least a few mm larger on each side than the magnets, and overall were slightly narrower than my wooden ruler.

I then put one of the magnets onto my metal ruler and pressed it into the middle of each clay rectangle, until the ruler touched the clay. Then I gave it a little wiggle before removing to make sure the magnet would fit easily into this hole later.

I then baked this clay on my ceramic tile in the oven, following the instructions on the packet. Once the clay was completely cooled I glued the magnets into these feet.

Simply glue the feet onto the wooden ruler, and then glue a strip of Dry Erase sheet onto the front, and your slider is finished!

As you can see, you can now use a Dry Erase marker pen to write notes onto the slider as you wish, and then easily wipe them away.

And that's all there is to it. This is an easy project, is fun to do, and produces something that is genuinely useful!

I hope you like it :)