Needle Organizer

Hello, everyone,

The other day, I’d had enough of the chaos in my needle box. I was constantly having to hunt for the right set of five needles for a new project. Since I own a lot of sets of double-pointed needles, that was always quite a hassle. But for us creative types, the motto is: Identify the problem—find a solution!

So I found two pieces of old insulation material. It’s a kind of hard foam left over from a construction project. Since we keep everything in our household that might come in handy later, this finally got put to use.

I now have two needle organizers for my sets of double-pointed needles. I poked the hole for each needle with the needle itself, so it fits perfectly. Each one has its own spot. On the outside, I wrote the needle size with a permanent marker. That way, I can find the right needle at a glance. The two needle organizers sit on top of the wall unit—easily within reach.

And yes, keeping things organized is actually fun now, since I neatly put them back after use. 

How do you store your sets of double-pointed needles? As always, feel free to share your own photos :-)

Best regards, Ina

Hi Ina,

great idea—now you have every needle size right at your fingertips. Since I’m still a beginner at knitting, I don’t have too many sets of double-pointed needles. For my Lana Grossa needles, I put each size back in the original packaging I bought them in. That way, everything stays neat and the size is clearly labeled. For other needles I’ve received as gifts, I just wrap a small rubber band around the set of double-pointed needles and attach a note with the needle size. And I store my many crochet hooks in an old cookie tin, but I do have to rummage around a bit to find the right one. :-)

Best regards, Jana

P.S. Ina, have you seen the double-pointed needle holder in the “New Arrivals” section yet? — I think that’s a great idea, too, and it fits perfectly in a craft room!

Dear Jana,

yes, I still remember that kind of neatness from my early days, using rubber bands around a set of double-pointed needles or leaving them in their original packaging. Back then, I didn’t have that many yet. Over time, there were more and more: short ones, longer ones, thinner ones, thicker ones, some with metal tips, especially non-slip ones, and so on and so on. And there are always some tied up in unfinished projects too. In the end, you lose track and have to find some kind of storage aid.

Thank you very much for the tip in the “New Arrivals” section. I took a look at it. From my point of view, that’s only a вариант for people who have few needles. You can’t store much on such a narrow strip. And I don’t see circular knitting needles, which curl around in all lengths and sizes, on a crocheted board like that.

Dear Veronika,

I like your needle organizer in the fabric roll too! However, that only works if all the needles are the same length. Mine are quite different; some of them (the long, thin bamboo ones) are also very bent. They wouldn’t let themselves be forced into their place in the roll.

Besides, with your version I’d always have to look for the right size on the needles themselves. But over time, those markings on my needles have worn off and are no longer legible. So I definitely needed the labeling on my needle organizer.

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Let’s see what other ideas are shared here.

Best regards, Ina

That’s true—I could also write or embroider the sizes directly onto the fabric; that would be even more practical.

I was happy to discover today that even the craft scissors and the darning needle—which I need for every project—fit in my needle organizer.

Best regards, Ina

I also have zippered “pencil cases” with separate compartments for circular needles, as well as ones for interchangeable needles and crochet hooks—I can’t show them right now, though, since I won’t be back home until Tuesday. But each needle size is stored separately and labeled, so I can find them quickly. The really thick crochet hooks—size 6 and up—I keep in a bag, though; I hardly ever use them, but they just happened to be included in a bundle I bought. 

I actually rarely need a set of double-pointed needles—at most for sleeves—but even these are sorted and easy to find. 

Oh, and then I also have Tunisian crochet hooks in every size with Dederon cord—for larger projects—which are tied together and used very rarely.

Dear Regina, 

that sounds like a whole lot of colorful knitting needles.
Your post immediately made me think of a pencil case—the kind we remember from years ago. If it were long enough, you could “park” your sets of double-pointed needles there in groups of five, too.

I find storing circular knitting needles even more difficult. Mine currently all live together in one drawer. When I need a specific one, it’s always a big search because they’ve gotten tangled up with each other. That’s why the common sizes are always kept somewhere else, so I can have them within reach more quickly. 

Maybe you can show us a few photos of your needle homes when you’re back home. Until then, have a lovely time.

Best wishes, Ina

I sewed this case using the pattern “Circular Knitting Needle Case” and labeled the individual compartments. No matter how long the needles are, they fit inside. I just have to wrap them around a bit more often. Two birds with one stone: I used up fabric scraps and kept things organized!

That’s a great tip, dear “ghw” (sorry, I don’t know your name). The case is designed like a fan—I just looked at the sewing instructions. I think that’s very practical, but it only holds 20 circular knitting needles. That wouldn’t be enough for me. Also, I don’t like that I can only see them once I pull them out. They’re stored well, but I don’t want to have to search for them for so long.

Maybe you could also make a version with clear plastic sleeves. But I’m not sure if they’d stay rolled up inside. I’ll give it a try sometime. 

In any case, thank you very much for the suggestion. 

Best regards, Ina 

Dear Ina,

They can hold a lot more than just 20 circular knitting needles. I sometimes have 6 needles in a single compartment and have labeled the individual compartments so I can see the size right away.

Best regards 

Heike

Well, now I’ll give you all a bit of a shock ;-) here are my needle cases:
 There’s room for even more in there, but these are the ones I use most often.

 I almost never need the thick ones; they’re just lying in a bag like that, sets of double-pointed needles and circular knitting needles too.

    These are the screw-on ones with the cables, and the sets of double-pointed needles I use the most.

.   The labeled ones are usually in use; the very thin ones are in the case in a side compartment

 These are the Addis, good for sleeves and so on. 

 Here are the Tunisian crochet hooks—they’re really just lying around too. ;-)

And last but not least, my little case with sewing needles, tape measure, needle-size gauge card, etc.

Hahaha, that’s enough for now. (You wouldn’t believe how much money is lying around there.) ;-)

Whoa! 🤣

Yes, my needle collection is already pretty well-stocked, but even so, while on vacation at the huge flea market in Breisach (over 600 booths—absolutely insane), I bought a 3.5 mm circular knitting needle in a 1-meter length, which was still missing from my collection. ;-)

Thanks Heike for the info. That makes the idea feel a bit more within reach for me :-)

Thanks Regina for the peek into your “tool collection.” That’s really well-organized. You could equip an entire class for needlework lessons with that. But I get it—things just pile up, project after project. I think you’ve labeled everything well, and if your favorites are always within reach in your favorite folder, you can find them without a long search.

***

In the past, I tried out the following two ideas. They belong here in this thread. However, for various reasons, these solutions no longer exist. Somehow they just weren’t right for me. 

1. One small bag per circular needle, each labeled. Stored one after another in a box. That was in 2018. I wrote a blog post about it at the time. 

2. I repurposed a plastic photo display board—the kind you can hang up. I put one labeled needle in each compartment. Unfortunately, there’s no photo of it anymore. The system only works if you keep things organized. The display board was also somehow too bulky. I had to hang it on a wall, after all.  

Best regards, Ina

Hi Ina, if you have room for a box, I actually think the solution with the labeled bags of knitting needles placed one behind the other is really good. 

I’m getting along just fine with my own system, and I think I’ve got enough needles now 😉—I have all sizes and many different lengths of circular needles, and I won’t be buying any more.😁

Best regards, Regina

To Ina:

One more note about the storage bag: it consists of the outer section with two pockets and, according to the original pattern, two inner sections, each with 4 compartments. But you can easily sew two additional inner sections. They’re stitched together in the middle. You might just need to lengthen the closure flap a bit. 

Dear Heike, thank you very much for the addition. That sounds great! This way, you can customize the “needle book” to a certain extent. 

Best regards, Ina

My needle organizers and needle roll

Dear Britte, thank you so much for your post.

I really like the top part—which, by the way, is sewn from pretty fabrics. All the crochet hooks and knitting needles have a clear, organized place. 

But I can’t quite figure out how the needles are stored in the needle roll. The fabric is gathered in the middle, but where does each needle slide into its compartment? And how can you tell from the outside which needle is where? I’d probably spend more time searching for them than if I had them loose—but visible—in a drawer. Maybe you’d like to tell us a little more about that?

Best regards, Ina