Sacs de fil

A knitting bag has one job a normal tote cannot do: it lets the yarn out while staying shut. The grommet in the side feeds the working strand to your hands while the ball stays inside, contained and clean, which is the whole difference between knitting on a bus and untangling on a bus.

Which size do you need?

  • A project bag — one work in progress with the needles still in it. Sock, hat, sleeve. Small enough to live in a handbag.
  • A large yarn bag with pockets and a shoulder strap — a blanket or a jumper, several balls at once, with somewhere for the pattern and the scissors. This is the one to buy if you only buy one.
  • A portable yarn storage bag — drawstring, light, for keeping a ball feeding cleanly rather than for carrying tools.

Why the grommet matters more than the size

Yarn picks up whatever it is dragged across. A ball loose in a tote collects lint, catches on a zip and works itself into a tangle by the time you next open it. Fed through a grommet, the strand comes out clean and the ball cannot roll. If a bag has no grommet it is a tote, whatever it is sold as.

Bags, or cases?

Different jobs. A bag holds a project. A case holds tools, in slots, in order. There are zip cases here for needles and hooks, and the full range of those — needle cases, hook cases and floss organisers — is in craft storage and organizers.

A knitting project bag as a gift

It works because it is the thing knitters do not buy themselves. Most people carry a project in a supermarket bag for years before someone gives them a proper one.

Working at home rather than out? A yarn bowl does the same job on a table.