Short yarn sack

[Tzporah]

I pulled this out to play with tonight because it's wide enough to hold two 50gm balls of yarn next to each other when I want to knit two gloves at once. I'm wondering if anyone has suggested adding a second yarn guide on the opposite side of the bag so that the yarns don't get tangled as easily if you are using two active skeins (color work or two items at once)?

[Heidi Jill]

That's a great idea! I've been trying to knit a pair of two color mitts and the yarn tangling is driving me nuts!

[Darcy]

Is there anyone who thinks this isn't a good idea? If so, speak up now or forever hold your peace!

[cancoi]

I think this is a great idea; one caveat, though.

Might the guides be placed at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions (as opposed to the 12 and 6 o'clock position of the cord pull and the clip? (Does this make sense?)

I love this sack, but sometimes find fingering yarn is catching on the clip if the sack is not clipped to the bag.. And, if I don't use the guide, the yarn manages to tangle itself around the the cord pull.

However, I can manage.

[yeti]

If I'm using two different balls of yarn, I like to put each of them in a separate stuff sack so the two working strands of yarn don't become entwined as the balls unwind. I prefer this to the idea of having two yarn guides in the same bag, UNLESS there's a divider in the middle of the stuff sack that would prevent a ball from "crossing over". That would be pretty neat!

[backpack]

I second cancoi idea

"Might the guides be placed at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions (as opposed to the 12 and 6 o'clock position of the cord pull and the clip? (Does this make sense?)"

It makes perfect sense, tangling on the cord or the clip is annoying when it happens.


Yeti says "...UNLESS there's a divider in the middle of the stuff sack that would prevent a ball from "crossing over". That would be pretty neat!"

A divider made of cordura with o rings on the upper corners to affix to the guides would be great.

I don't know if it needs to be permanently affixed to the bottom of the bag? It seems to me that cordura would be stiff enough to prevent yarn migration but...
The feedback of knitters is needed.


When I do needlework at home any tangling or yarn migration is no big deal.
But when it happens anywhere else, it is a big problem, I really really really do not want the whole skeins or the working end of my yarn to fall on the floor while in the process of untangling. Yuck!

[Heidi Jill]

I think this is a great idea; one caveat, though.

Might the guides be placed at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions (as opposed to the 12 and 6 o'clock position of the cord pull and the clip? (Does this make sense?)

I love this sack, but sometimes find fingering yarn is catching on the clip if the sack is not clipped to the bag.. And, if I don't use the guide, the yarn manages to tangle itself around the the cord pull.

However, I can manage.

I agree 100%!!!!! I have had sock yarn get caught in the clip and it is a challenge to get it out of there sometimes!

Not sure about the divider idea. I can see the logic, but I would hate to have it in there permanently, as I think it would make the sack less useful for one really big ball of yarn, or for other items.

Maybe there's a market for the sack as we know it (but with the yarn guide moved over) and an "enhanced" sack with two grommets and a divider (and perhaps a slightly larger circumference to accomodate two balls of yarn)?

[yeti]

I like backpack's idea about o-rings in the upper corners to affix a cordura divider -- as a knitter, I think cordura would be rigid enough to keep the yarns rolling along separately.

Or, if one wanted to design a permanently mounted divider, it could be made of Dyneema like the rest of the stuff sack, and sewn vertically to the sides of the stuff sack at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions, but NOT attached to the bottom. That way, as long as the divider has enough slack, it could be easily pushed out of the way to sit in a hemicircular arc flush with one half of the bag (when one wants to use the undivided stuff sack), and pulled to the middle when one wants the space divided.

In addition to holding two different balls of yarn for colorwork, the ability to effectively divide the stuff sack into two sections would also be useful for stashing a working (small) project on the needles separate from the ball of yarn, so that the sack could be a mini portable knitting bag (for the times you don't want to take the whole Swift).

[cancoi]

Or, if one wanted to design a permanently mounted divider, it could be made of Dyneema like the rest of the stuff sack, and sewn vertically to the sides of the stuff sack at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions, but NOT attached to the bottom. That way, as long as the divider has enough slack, it could be easily pushed out of the way to sit in a hemicircular arc flush with one half of the bag (when one wants to use the undivided stuff sack), and pulled to the middle when one wants the space divided.

In addition to holding two different balls of yarn for colorwork, the ability to effectively divide the stuff sack into two sections would also be useful for stashing a working (small) project on the needles separate from the ball of yarn, so that the sack could be a mini portable knitting bag (for the times you don't want to take the whole Swift).

I love both the above ideas. I'm knitting small projects right now, and I currently have two projects in my small Stuff Sack -- two separate baby sweaters. It would be nice to have a divider to separate them. Or, if if is is one project, place a sleeve or body on one side of the divider, working piece on the other.

[indigo]

It's an excellent idea...I'm having tangling issues as we speak! My current way of dealing with it is to have each ball in a separate stuff sack, but obviously that's not ideal. Two yarn guides would be a great improvement. If one could be removeable, that would be amazing as well...if the tab was narrow enough to fit through an o-ring maybe?

[mrae]

Agree with the idea. I'm using 2 stuff sacks as I'm learning to knit 2 socks at the same time. I would love to be able to keep the project plus the 2 balls of yarn in 1 bag. My only caveat is that this would work better for me in the larger stuff sack since the smaller one won't hold both yarns and the socks.

[travelwkid]

...so that the sack could be a mini portable knitting bag ...

Its so nice to hear people talking about knitting! I've been taking my knitting around with me a lot lately, and have found that using circular needles for regular knitting makes it even more portable. You can use them just as normal needles whose back ends just happen to be attached. I find the advantages are that they are short, so they fit in your bag better, and if I drop one, I haven't really dropped it, because its still attached.

You've probably already all thought of this, but I was pleased to figure it out, so thought I would share it with some other knitters. :)

I posted some pics about it on one of my blogs if anyone's interested.
http://tinyurl.com/portable-knitting-tip

Oh to have a cute little solar stuff sack to carry it all around with me in!

Travelwkid

[mrae]

Its so nice to hear people talking about knitting! I've been taking my knitting around with me a lot lately, and have found that using circular needles for regular knitting makes it even more portable. You can use them just as normal needles whose back ends just happen to be attached. I find the advantages are that they are short, so they fit in your bag better, and if I drop one, I haven't really dropped it, because its still attached.

You've probably already all thought of this, but I was pleased to figure it out, so thought I would share it with some other knitters. :)

I posted some pics about it on one of my blogs if anyone's interested.
http://tinyurl.com/portable-knitting-tip

Oh to have a cute little solar stuff sack to carry it all around with me in!

Travelwkid

I use circular's for almost everything. There are a few patterns that only work on straight needles.

[mrae]

I like backpack's idea about o-rings in the upper corners to affix a cordura divider -- as a knitter, I think cordura would be rigid enough to keep the yarns rolling along separately.

Or, if one wanted to design a permanently mounted divider, it could be made of Dyneema like the rest of the stuff sack, and sewn vertically to the sides of the stuff sack at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions, but NOT attached to the bottom. That way, as long as the divider has enough slack, it could be easily pushed out of the way to sit in a hemicircular arc flush with one half of the bag (when one wants to use the undivided stuff sack), and pulled to the middle when one wants the space divided.

In addition to holding two different balls of yarn for colorwork, the ability to effectively divide the stuff sack into two sections would also be useful for stashing a working (small) project on the needles separate from the ball of yarn, so that the sack could be a mini portable knitting bag (for the times you don't want to take the whole Swift).

I actually use the large stuff sack as a portable bag at times. To make up for lack of dividers I use one of the smaller sacks and some pouches.