I made these for a Skull craft swap. My partner was really into "Dia de los Muertos" themed art/crafts. (I got the idea from the orignal post by Cat Morley).

Materials:
2 3/4" 12-inch long hardwood dowels
Acrylic Paints
Black Polymer Clay
White Polymer clay
Satin-finish spray (laquer)
White Glue

I sanded down each dowel with a Dremel. (My first time!! yay for power tools!)

I then sanded them down by hand and painted them with a watered down acrylic. I watered down the paint, because I wanted the grain to show through.

After painting, I re-sanded the dowels, because the grain rose. If this is not done, your warn will catch on the grain.

I made the skulls out of polymer clay. They were baked according to the manufacturer's instructions.
The skulls were then hand painted with custom colores I mixed.

I sprayed the dowels and then the skulls making sure to leave the top ends of the dowels "naked." (If you spray them with finish they wont adhere.)

I then topped off the dowels with the skulls by gluing them with white/tacky/wood glue.

Voila! Dia de los muertos knitting needles.

NOTE: this whole project will only take you an hour or so. It took me 3 because of the elaborate nature of the skulls.