Knitting or Crocheting Bag

Since we have been doing more crocheting and hat making over the last few months, I was trying to find bags for each of the girls to use to carry about their yarn and supplies. They had bags but they were open on the top and the skeins and rolls of yarn would fall out along with the crochet hook or hat looms.

I pondered on the subject and came up with an idea to put grommets into the top of the bags and threat the yarn through the hole in the grommet which would keep the yarn from getting tangled together and keep the project zipped inside for carrying. I went to the local thrift store and looked at the bags they had. It took me several times to find enough bags.

Once I had the bags, I used scissors to cut holes evenly in the top of the bags. I made five of these bags. Some were just one pocket large bags for afghans. Two were computer type bags with side pockets and water bottle slots on the side which I thought would be good for my two princesses on drill team to take when they have competitions and are sitting for much of the time or on the bus.

The bag I liked best for me is a leather look bag and looks more like a large purse. It is the top picture. It is perfect for the baby afghans and hat sets I have been making for the past 5 months or so. I like the pocket on the front because it is large enough for the baby hat loom.

Once the hole is cut in the top of the bag, you put the grommet in the hole through the bottom and the top rivet of the grommet on the top of the fabric over the bottom grommet. There is a tool used for this large of grommet. I found that the larger grommets are quite expensive. I checked hardware stores and found them in the craft store.

I like my bag so much that I thought about manufacturing them for others. I had people commenting when I would take it to work on during meetings about what a great idea it was. I looked online and couldn't find anything similar and they had nothing like them in the craft store.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago. I am at a second hand store and I find almost the exact thing I was making but better all for $2. Of course I bought it. This bag has 6 slots for yarn, grommets in the top, the sides are mostly see through plastic so you can see the yarn color and how much you have left. The bag has Velcro on the top to catch the yarn and keep it in place. It has a zipper pocket on top and on the sides for hooks, needles or anything else you may need to store. It has a larger compartment on the other side for the actual craft you are working on.

I actually found another one of these the other day and gave it to my friend Julie who made all of us afghans for Christmas and taught us her quick afghan method using three types of yarn.

This week, WalMart was having some clearance baskets and I found some snap together grommets made of hard plastic that are for yard fabric. I think they would probably work as well. If you can't find grommets you like or find they are hard to use with the tool, you can try these plastic snap together types found in the "Garden Center."

These are nice gifts for those who do needle and yarn crafts. I like having several bags for different project sizes. Each of the girls has their own bag so I can tell at a glance who left their project out. :-) Since we spend lots of time driving in the car, this is a great gift to keep the projects organized. Try making one from an old bag you have laying around. If it doesn't work, you probably didn't lose anything. Happy crafting!