Are you looking for knitting needle storage ideas that will allow you to organise your collection so that you can find the pair you need at a glance?
The Need to Store Needles Correctly
I like to have a few knitting projects on the go at once but have found myself growing increasingly irritated when I finish one and have to search for the next pair of needles.
Up to now, I have stored mine in the thin cellophane sleeves or other packaging that they arrived in and then bundled them together in a large bag. They then live in the magazine rack next to the chair where I knit.
While it saves space, it is not an efficient system when I want to find a pair in a hurry. I have to lay them out on the carpet or wherever and then scratch around in amongst them to find the set I need.
While looking for a better way to organise my needles, I came across several ideas. Some of them involve just reusing items you already have, and others involve a purchase.
Storing Straight Knitting Needles
Perhaps the most commonly used needles are the straight single pointed ones so let’s start with those then.
Use Containers You Have at Home
Spare vases or jugs, pot plant containers, utensil holders or any containers that you have lying around your home can all be used as storage for needles. Many of us have an excess of these items doing nothing other than taking up space! I know I have several of them. Place a rubber band around each pair of needles and stick them in the container.
I used an old pewter beer mug that belonged to my Dad to store some of the needles I use more often and, therefore need to be readily available. He’d smile if he could see how I use it now.
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Knitting Needle Organizer Case
Another option that is compact and, therefore, space-saving is a specific case. This might be a zipped case, rather like a school pencil case.
These cases are ideal for storing knitting needles, even long ones. It can most probably accommodate all of your needles unless you have a very large collection. The case easily fits into a matching knitting project bag along with your current work-in-progress knitting projects, spare yarns and knitting accessories.
Roll-Up or Wrap Knitting Needle Organizer Case
You might prefer a roll-up/wrap knitting needle organizer case with separate pockets for different-sized needles.
If you don’t have too many needles to store, then the zipped variety might suit you better.
On the other hand, if you wish to find a certain needle size quickly, then I think the roll-up wrapped case (pictured above) is better.
What I like about these is that they come in attractive material designs. They have ample pocket storage for many sizes of needles. There is a flap that covers the top row of needles and prevents them from falling out when you wrap them up.
Storing DPNs
With sets of double pointed needles, you need to be careful with storing them as they mostly come in sets of 5. Often, one of these has a habit of finding itself muddled up with other knitting accessories. I have since learned to keep mine together using an elastic band.
Being short DPNs may need a different type of storage option. Smaller containers that you have at home may be an option – like a short vase or glass, or a shorter length knitting case or dedicated shorter roll up wrap. Ordinary pencil cases make good storage for these needle types too. DPNs can be anything from 10cm (4 inches ) to 25cm (10 inches), so you need to bear that in mind when considering a case that will fit them.
Plastic knitting needle tubes like the one shown below are another way to store dpns as you can easily fit a set in each tube – maybe more depending on the thickness of course.
Knitting Needle Storage Tube Ideal for DPN needles – available on Amazon
Storing Fixed & Interchangeable Circular Needles Sets
Sometimes, the circular needles come in a case or plastic sleeve that is good enough to use as a storage option. When you have more than one, though, it’s better to have an organised way of keeping them.
As with the straight needles, you can find fabric cases that have dedicated pockets that will accommodate circular needles. Zipped Cases are also available with sleeves that will take a circular needle.
Inside this one, there are 11 plastic sleeves to hold the circulars. The whole case is secured with a strong cord. Click the image to be able to see the inside view of this case.
Another idea would be to use plastic wallets that are punched so they can be stored in a ring binder. The wallets need snaps to secure them so that the needles can’t fall out.
In this post, I have suggested several knitting needle storage ideas to help you organise your needles so that you can easily and quickly find the ones you need. Hopefully, you can find one system that will fit your situation.
For more knitting equipment ideas, see the category HERE
