It may not be the most obvious thing, but travel is a great time to use the extra hours of down time towards a crochet project. Make the most of the hours you’ll have and fill the time with working on a project that’s just been sitting around. When I travel I like to take a crochet project with me to keep busy during layovers or flight delays. Sitting on the train or in the car, on the flight or even once I arrive and want to relax, having my project with me gives me a little extra something to look forward to. I’ve been caught in the situation of traveling with some extra time on my hands, and not having my crochet with me! Ah. From that point on, I always make a point to bring my travel crochet just in case.
I have designated a bag that is my “travel crochet bag”, and I always keep supplies I’ll need inside of it. I check to see the hook size I’ll need for the project, I pack a fresh skein of yarn as extra incase I run out, and I keep a pair of children’s scissors. Children’s scissors are those kind with the rounded tips, which I’ve found to be allowable on flights. Now, some people wonder if knitting needles or tapestry needles are allowed, and I have to say I haven’t had any issues getting through security with them. I think it’s obvious when you pack them along with your yarn what their purpose is for. My travel crochet bag is cotton, and is one of those that has ties on the side so I can cinch the top closed. It’s about 10″x10″, which I find fits most of my needs. I also like to bring my ipad to read the pattern, or make sure I have a pattern easily accessible and saved to my phone. Personally, I do not print out paper patterns because for me I can easily pull patterns up on my phone whenever I need to. Some sites I use to find patterns are Ravelry, Pinterest, Lionbrand, and Drops Design. Other sites I find to have reliable and well written patterns are Caron and Bernat, We Are Knitters, and Wool and the Gang. Basically a good reference point is to check with your favorite yarn brand, as they are guaranteed to have a website with links to patterns.
Yes there are some times that I bring my crochet and I don’t really find the time to work on it; but, I like having the option. When it comes to deciding which projects are suitable for the road, I like to work on something that’s going to be simple. For me, something simple means I won’t need too much concentration on counting or changing colors, and nothing so big that it is unmanageable. I like something I can easily pick up and put it down at any point. For instance, bringing a new project that I’m just starting, or something simple like a hat, is the best for me. The main thing is not to bring something to requires lots of pieces, like multiple color changes or a big skein of yarn that is going to get too tangled up.
Some examples of things I’ve worked on while traveling are baby bonnets, a beach sarong, winter beanies, scarves, and mesh tote bags. All these things that don’t take too much space once finished, and they don’t require too much yarn to make. Perfect for traveling. I have taken a sweater knitting project on the train one time, and as much as I tried to keep it organized, the skein of yarn was just too unwieldy.
I hope that you all are encouraged to bring your crochet on your next travel adventure, as I do. Be sure to share your pictures with me too! I’d love to see them either in comments below or on Instagram and Facebook.
