Knitting Needles, Organized

When I began my adventures in knitting, I knew one thing for certain -- I wanted to start out with a full set of needles. What little knitting I had done in the past had already awakened me to the frustration of finding a project, only to realize that you don't have the right size needle(s)! Fortunately, I found an inexpensive set of bamboo circular needles with virtually every size included. 32" circulars are necessary for larger projects in the round, but also function as "regular" needles, thus fulfilling two roles. Are they the highest quality? Assuredly not. But for an amateur, they are perfectly adequate -- and cost about the same for a set of 18 as two individual pairs from the craft store. And personally, I am very fond of bamboo needles.

Also, due to an error on the seller's end, I was sent a set of shorter length circular needles instead of what I ordered. A brief conversation with customer service, and the right set was on the way. Since return shipping would be more expensive to them than the needles themselves, I was allowed to keep the mistaken order!

But what does one do with a burgeoning set of unruly circular needles?

Make a needle organizer, of course! I must admit, I entered this project rather naively. I mean, how hard can it be to make an organizer to hold 18 sets of needles? *cough*

I am quite pleased with how the project turned out, and how it functions. The mess that was my circular needle collection is now a neatly organized collection. But getting there? Well, that was less fun than I anticipated.

I did have a plan and a few schematics, but I altered just about everything along the way. And let me tell you, making 18 individual pockets is no picnic.

The brown and teal fabrics are linen, and the bird fabric came from JoAnn. Each pocket has a tiny vinyl "pocket" on the side, with a cardstock label indicating the needle size.

The pressed snaps were a serendipitous notion. They're not gorgeous, but they were fast and easy! Hand sewn snaps, buttons, or just about any other closure would have been quite tedious repeated that many times. The case is interlined with some fleece batting and interfacing for a little "oopmh," and it seems quite sturdy enough for my purposes.

On the horizon is another case for my 8" double-point needles, as well as a pouch for my other knitting notions (counters, etc.). But for now I'll take a break from organizational sewing, and do a little knitting, instead!