Let’s face it: at some point in your knitting/crocheting adventures, you’re going to need to find storage for all those needles, tools and projects you’ll collect on your way. Ziploc baggies, plastic-woven grocery bags, and shoe boxes just won’t cut it after awhile (altho, in a pinch, I still use all these)

Here are some of my latest solutions to the storage issue:

1. Fabric needle roll cases. I used to keep my circulars (of which I have a TON) in a plastic container, like a big pencil box. This kept them together … but in a heap which I had to sort through whenever I needed a specific circ – and since most circs DON’T have the size on them (or it’s so tiny I can read it), this slowed down my knitting. Or worse, I’d buy a new circ in a size I already had since I didn’t have time to search! Yuck. My straights weren’t much better off: they were in a plastic shoe box; again, I had to paw through the collection to find all the right size dpns or the matching straight. A hassle to say the least. Bu then I saw the perfect solution at a fiber festival: her needle roll cases. I now have all my straights in one and my circs in another.

An added benefit is that they roll up so nice and compact, that I can keep them in my Nantucket Bagg and bring them with me “on the road”!
You can make these yourself (check for fabric roll-up carriers … there are tons of tutorials online) or check Etsy for small-homebusinesses who make these and sell them for a great price. I got these two from Lawre’s Laine, but she has since retired.

2. And speaking of my Nantucket Bagg … this is the best knitting bag I’ve found and I’m now the proud owner of two: a lime green with bright pink accents and a bright pink with lime green accents! Designed by a carpenter to hold all his tools when traveling from site to site, this bag is now being marketed to knitters and crafters. My lime-green with pink trim one goes with me everywhere and is filled with my latest project (or two), all my needles, a project bag with various tools/accessories like sewing needles and stitch markers, and whatever else I might need for “knitting on the road”. The bag is sturdy and reversible (so I can put the tools in the pockets, zip it inside-out and keep in the car at my feet so I can knit while dh drives. These really are wonderful bags and well-worth the cost.

3. For those who want to go beyond ziplocs to contain projects, fabric project bags are wonderful. A few years ago, I found a tutorial online that I have since made a few times. My bag I show below is completely reversible and uber-useful! Not only can I make different size bags for different size projects, I can also use a smaller one to hold all my little accessories – cable needles, stitch markers, stitch holders, etc — and toss it in my Nantucket Bagg so I always have what I need close to hand. Altho I made these, there are lots of lovely ones available online (check Etsy or Ravelry-member shops) or at your local LYS.

Because the bags are fabric … they can be laundered when they begin to look a little … well … USED.

4. My final amazing storage accessory is a lap caddy made by friends of mine. Originally made for spinners to hold the roving in one pocket and other spinning bits’n’pieces in another, I find that this “caddy” is perfect for two- or more-colorwork knitting. I can keep the main color in one pocket and the others in the other … they won’t tangle and they don’t roll all over the floor. An added benefit is that the fabric is soft (and reversible!) so that I can fold one pocket into the other and the project is completely contained and protected.

What storage solutions have you bought, made or re-purposed recently? Any suggestions for my constantly growing collection of knitting paraphernalia? Please let me know in the comments …