4 tips for knitting while traveling
I, like most knitters, love to have some knitting with me all of the time, even when I’m on the road. It can help pass the time when waiting for a delayed flight, while sitting on the deck of a ship, when waiting for my laundry to finish, or on long train journey through some less than picturesque areas. I have made lots of mistakes (and dropped many stitches) in my travels. Below are a few tips I picked up along the way.
Interchangeable needles
Using interchangeable needles (preferably wooden or bamboo ones) when you’re traveling solves two problems. First, if someone at the TSA insists that you can’t take knitting needles on a plane with you, you can detach the needles from the cable without losing your work. Just remember to take some end caps with you so you can secure the ends. Second, because the needles are attached to each other by a cable, you have less chance of losing a needle between seat cushions or . If you’re a sock knitter, this is your call to learn how to do Judy’s Magic Cast On and knit socks on two circulars
Knitting on deck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
Embrace digital patterns
You’re probably going to have a phone or tablet with you anyway when you travel, so leave the print out at home and keep your pattern on that device you have with you. If you get your patterns from Ravelry, the app Row Counter will import them to your phone. If you use paper patterns there are a number of text to digital scanning apps so you can move them to your phone.
Sitting in the lobby of Hotel Henri in Hamburg, waiting for my laundry to finish
Use a floss cutter to cut yarn
This one was a game changer for me. Scissors are one of those things that you need when you’re knitting but are so often banned from planes in particular. But you know what isn’t banned? Dental floss. And you know what dental floss has? A little metal cutting device. Use that little metal cutter for your yarn. You’re welcome.
Wool as a travel souvenir
I have a wonderful group of people that I knit with and learn from. When I heard other knitters in my group describing the beautiful wool they picked up here and there and then later wearing what they had made from that wool, I began to see how the act of buying the wool and making the garment as an extension of the travel. And as a bonus, wool pretty darn light to pack. I mentioned in our 2023 wrap-up that I picked up some Stephen West Tandem wool in True Blue from Stephen and Penelope that is currently being made into a Dustland cardigan and I could not be happier with the purchase.
Bonus tips:
Take smaller projects to save space, think of this as an opportunity to swatch or try some sample stitches
Don’t take those heirloom scissors (hooks, etc). You’re just tempting fate to lose those for sure.
Make sure you know where the local yarn stores are so if can replace anything lost along the way and we all know how much those small businesses rely on our business.
Think about carrying your project in a dry bag or something with a little more protection that you normally use. It doesn’t take much for something to leak in your luggage and your work to become, well, wet.
The famous Stephen and Penelope in Amsterdam
