This always gets me. Every trip I take, the hardest thing to think through and pack is knitting. Space, interest in project, available knitting time all must be carefully assessed. I’ve always thought that socks projects are an easy choice, but there are other options.
So, I’ve come up with some guidelines on what to pack.
When you have all the space in the world (for example, you are driving for a weekend away):
- You need a time consuming project – say a pair of socks or a thin sweater. I say thin sweater because it’s hard to travel with a large sweater. Socks are good because you can work on them for hours and still have something to do the next day. And if you either get end caps or use 2 circulars, you are unlikely to pierce anything in your bag.
- You need a quick project – say a hat or a headband (like the Very Simple Cabled Headband). I like hats and scarves because you can basically bring a few knitting needles of the approximate size that you need , a ball of yarn and come back with a finished product. And you can feel accomplished!
- You need a TV project. A TV project has minimum shaping, so you’re not constantly counting stitches, has either no pattern or has a very easy to remember pattern – think k1, p1 rib. This is especially helpful when visiting relatives and you will be watching TV or going out to movies. Think the body of a top down sweater that is knit in the round. Without a pattern, you can knit with abandon.
- Bring a few projects – I’ve always found, without fail, that something I bring does not work out because I’ve either forgotten a pattern or the needles break or the yarn isn’t right, and I am sitting idly with nothing to occupy my hands.
When you don’t have space at all (you are flying and your partner absolutely refuses to pay for an extra piece of luggage for your knitting or going on a car trip with 4 other adults in one small sedan). You have to consider the following:
- Consider climate – don’t knit heavy wool in the Caribbean and don’t knit thin cotton in Norway. It won’t come out right and you won’t like it. Bring an interesting project, that’s compact – think child clothing, or a cowl, or a stole.
- Bring an established project, that you’ve already made some progress into but that still has lots of work. Say, if you’re making a sweater, you’ve done the cowl, but not the body or sleeves.
- Don’t bring anything – consider buying your project there. Places like Florence, Italy have really good knitting stores where with some adjustments to the metric system you can get what you need. (Can you guess where I’m itching to go? No pun intended.) You’re taking a bit of a risk here, but it may pay off. I love buying yarn in far off places, the only tricky thing is picking what to knit. You’ll need a pattern and unless you can either a. access Ravelry and download something or b. read the language of your country of destination, you may be stuck with beautiful yarn and needles and nothing to make from them.
Most often, when I travel on a plane, I will bring a shawl to crochet. Blasphemy to many knitters, but it’s true – I also crochet. The hook is easy to transport, it’s unlikely to poke anything or anyone, and it will keep you busy for many, many hours. A knitted shawl works well, too. And if you play your cards right, you might even get a chance to wear your creation before you return home!