Recent discussion among some knitter-types on Facebook brought up the needle storage dilemma. Jovita mentioned she'd like to see my needle collection after I confessed to still using a fishing tackle bag to keep all my knitting stuff together. While I'm afraid she may be a little disappointed in my collection I'm happy to share.
I've never been one to collect fancy needles and I gave up my straights a long time ago for circulars. Circulars are dual-purpose... you can use them as circulars for knitting in the round or you can use them as straights. So instead of having all different lengths and sizes of straights and circulars I just go all circular. Granted, I have a ridiculous number of circulars, but I have everything I need with just them and a few random DPNs. I also tend to use a long circular for small circumference knitting, like sleeves and mittens, and use the "magic loop" method so my need for DPNs is pretty minimal as well.
Just about every needle I own is Addi, either Turbo or Bamboo. I swear by them. I've never broken one and all the circular joins are perfect. I've just never bought into the fancy needle thing... I just want a good needle that will get the job done and still be in one piece after a million sweaters. Somebody should tell Skacel I love them. Really.
So my storage dilemma meant figuring out how to store a ton of circulars without them getting all tangled.
I found bag this while poking around Bass Pro one day years ago (and yes I do poke around fishing stores every now and then). As soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect for knitting needle storage.
It came loaded with pockets that zip shut at the top. I simply wrote a needle size on each pocket with a sharpie. That's it. Organization done! I know it looks a little messy but its actually easy to deal with. I just coil the cable once or twice and slide them in the pocket. I do have to do a little searching if I'm looking for a particular length but more often than not I just need either a "shorter" one or a "longer" one and that's easy enough to see quickly and just pull out the one I need. The ones that are still in the package are specialty lengths like 60".
There's also little pockets behind the... well... pockets. Just perfect for bobbins, scissors, post-y notes, stitch markers, anything else you could possibly want to keep with your knitting supplies.
Its a double-sided bag and honestly, all my circular needles fit in the pockets in one side. The other side I use for my DPN roll and a few other odds and ends.
I made this simple DPN roll myself because I just wanted something simple. This is my entire DPN collection. Mostly Addis. One set of rosewood and one set of ebony which were gifts to myself with some of the money I earned teaching classes at a local yarn shop. Truth be told, I wouldn't bother with expensive needles like that again... I mean, they are really nice but they aren't any better for knitting than the Addis so why bother to spend the extra?
I've been using this same bag and these same needles for years. Its all still together and perfectly functional. If I'm heading out somewhere I just grab the bag. I know everything I need will be in there and safe and the bag is small enough to not be an inconvenience. Even loaded with all this stuff I can still fit a ziplock bag of yarn balls in there too.
So there ya go... the country girl's answer to knitting needle storage.
Wow, this is great! Thanks so much for sharing ... I've asked other knitters about needles and everyone recommends Addi's so their my next. I did buy Knitpick interchangeables but really want a set of metal (aluminum or steel?) DPNs for sock knitting. Love you're roll. That's definitely on my list of things to make. Now ... hmm, a fishing shop in Belgium ... there must be one. Or I go to the drawing board and see if I can fashion something like this. Maybe a pattern in my future. Mostly I just want to say THANKS for sharing and so quickly. Gives me hope for some light at the end of the tangle of needles and wires. xox J
Posted by: J Goldschmidt | January 22, 2013 at 10:26 AM