This wonât prevent you from buying yarn, but at least it adds exercise to your day and may slow up impulse buying.
It gives you another place to keep yarn.
Knitting bags have a sturdy inside layer to keep sharp knitting needles from poking through. The same apparently canât be said for my purse, which always resembles a dangerous steel porcupine.
STUFF KNITTERS CARRY AROUND
I know this knitter ⦠now, usually I change the names of knitters when I write about them, but thatâs because itâs so often a story about disaster, a failure to think ahead, or them getting their arse kicked by a project in the worst way, and itâs only fair not to give their real names. This time, though, because Iâm going to speak of this knitter in the most glowing terms, this time Iâm going to be honest and tell you that this knitterâs name is Diane.
Diane is the rarest of knitters. Whenever I hung out with her, no matter where we were, Diane had not only everything she needed (something I admire, as I never have everything I need), but everything anybody else might need as well. You could be anywhere with Diane â a coffee shop, a yarn store, the bus â and no matter what you needed for your knitting, Diane had it. You would realize that youâd forgotten your scissors and be reconciling yourself to the fact that you were going to have to gnaw off a strand of mohair and whammo â Diane would pull scissors out of her bag. Wondering if you had knit eight inches? Diane had a tape measure. Grafting a toe? Diane had a darning needle and a small card outlining the steps. It was incredible. She was, and remains, the best-prepared knitter I ever met.
The best knitting bag is sturdy, is large enough to hold a pattern without folding it, has large handles so you can sling it over your shoulder, has lots of little pockets to hold your knitting notions, and â most important â holds more than one project. The prepared knitter has choices.
Considering my chronic lack of preparedness, and the yarn inevitably stuck between my teeth because I couldnât find my scissors, Iâve taken careful note of what Diane carried with her.
THE MODEL KNITTING BAG
The bag itself is worth mentioning. It took me a long time to come around to the idea of carrying a knitting bag. Iâm more of a backpack kind of gal, and it was many, many years before I saw the wisdom of carrying a bag specifically for knitting. The advantages of putting together a knitting bag are multifold.
WHAT SHOULD BE INSIDE
A measuring tape . You canât have too many; they have a tendency to flee the scene. Tuck one (or two) in your knitting bag, but have a dozen or so scattered around the house to improve your odds.
A notebook and pencil . Use them to jot down what row you were on, the phone number of the nice knitter you met in the shop, and any alteration you made to the pattern. (Trust me: A scrap of paper or the back of a receipt does not suffice.)
A photocopy of your pattern. Copyright law allows you to make a working copy for personal use. This is a good idea. You can scrawl notes all over it and when (not if â¦) you lose it, itâs not as heartbreaking as losing a whole pattern book. Additionally, the fates are kinder to photocopies. The knitting goddess can never quite resist giving you a smack and seeing how youâd cope without a pattern. Ifyou were Diane, you would also have the pattern tucked into a plastic page protector, but this is advanced level.
A crochet hook . This is a big help for picking up dropped stitches, working provisional cast-ons, and fishing your DPN out of a crack in the sofa.
An extra set of needles in the size youâre using. You know why.
A set of needles a size larger and a size smaller than the ones youâre using. Youâll be grateful for these when you realize a desperate gauge error kind of late in the game and youâre in a place where you canât buy
It gives you another place to keep yarn.
Knitting bags have a sturdy inside layer to keep sharp knitting needles from poking through. The same apparently canât be said for my purse, which always resembles a dangerous steel porcupine.
STUFF KNITTERS CARRY AROUND
I know this knitter ⦠now, usually I change the names of knitters when I write about them, but thatâs because itâs so often a story about disaster, a failure to think ahead, or them getting their arse kicked by a project in the worst way, and itâs only fair not to give their real names. This time, though, because Iâm going to speak of this knitter in the most glowing terms, this time Iâm going to be honest and tell you that this knitterâs name is Diane.
Diane is the rarest of knitters. Whenever I hung out with her, no matter where we were, Diane had not only everything she needed (something I admire, as I never have everything I need), but everything anybody else might need as well. You could be anywhere with Diane â a coffee shop, a yarn store, the bus â and no matter what you needed for your knitting, Diane had it. You would realize that youâd forgotten your scissors and be reconciling yourself to the fact that you were going to have to gnaw off a strand of mohair and whammo â Diane would pull scissors out of her bag. Wondering if you had knit eight inches? Diane had a tape measure. Grafting a toe? Diane had a darning needle and a small card outlining the steps. It was incredible. She was, and remains, the best-prepared knitter I ever met.
The best knitting bag is sturdy, is large enough to hold a pattern without folding it, has large handles so you can sling it over your shoulder, has lots of little pockets to hold your knitting notions, and â most important â holds more than one project. The prepared knitter has choices.
Considering my chronic lack of preparedness, and the yarn inevitably stuck between my teeth because I couldnât find my scissors, Iâve taken careful note of what Diane carried with her.
THE MODEL KNITTING BAG
The bag itself is worth mentioning. It took me a long time to come around to the idea of carrying a knitting bag. Iâm more of a backpack kind of gal, and it was many, many years before I saw the wisdom of carrying a bag specifically for knitting. The advantages of putting together a knitting bag are multifold.
WHAT SHOULD BE INSIDE
A measuring tape . You canât have too many; they have a tendency to flee the scene. Tuck one (or two) in your knitting bag, but have a dozen or so scattered around the house to improve your odds.
A notebook and pencil . Use them to jot down what row you were on, the phone number of the nice knitter you met in the shop, and any alteration you made to the pattern. (Trust me: A scrap of paper or the back of a receipt does not suffice.)
A photocopy of your pattern. Copyright law allows you to make a working copy for personal use. This is a good idea. You can scrawl notes all over it and when (not if â¦) you lose it, itâs not as heartbreaking as losing a whole pattern book. Additionally, the fates are kinder to photocopies. The knitting goddess can never quite resist giving you a smack and seeing how youâd cope without a pattern. Ifyou were Diane, you would also have the pattern tucked into a plastic page protector, but this is advanced level.
A crochet hook . This is a big help for picking up dropped stitches, working provisional cast-ons, and fishing your DPN out of a crack in the sofa.
An extra set of needles in the size youâre using. You know why.
A set of needles a size larger and a size smaller than the ones youâre using. Youâll be grateful for these when you realize a desperate gauge error kind of late in the game and youâre in a place where you canât buy
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