Make a Pocketed Fabric Roll for Knitting Needles
Sort straight knitting needles before cold-weather projects pile up. This fabric roll has adjustable pocket widths and a top flap to keep needles from slipping out when the bundle is carried. It is sized for needles up to 12 inches long.
Cut the layers
From prewashed medium-weight cotton, cut two 16-by-17-inch rectangles for the body and one 16-by-17-inch rectangle for the pocket. Cut a 30-inch length of half-inch cotton twill tape for the tie. Add thread, clips, scissors, a ruler, and a sewing machine or hand needle. All seam allowances are half an inch.
Build the pockets
- Fold the pocket rectangle so it is 16 inches wide and 8.5 inches tall, wrong sides together. Place it on the right side of one body rectangle with raw bottom and side edges aligned. The folded edge is the pocket opening.
- Mark vertical dividers to suit your needle pairs, allowing about 1 to 2 inches per pocket. Sew along the marks from the bottom to the folded edge, backstitching there. Leave enough room at the sides for the seam allowances.
- Fold the tape in half. Baste its midpoint to one side edge of the body, about 7 inches up from the bottom, with the tails pointing inward. Place the second body rectangle right side down over the first and sew around the perimeter, leaving a 4-inch opening at the top.
- Trim the corners, turn right side out, and press the opening edges inward. Topstitch around the roll to close the opening. Insert the needles, fold the top 3 inches down over their ends, and roll from the edge opposite the tie.
Adjust before sewing
Check pocket widths against your thickest pair before stitching the dividers. If needles slide out when you tip the bundle, check that the flap overlaps their ends before rolling; shorten the flap fold slightly if it catches the tips instead of lying over them. If the tie feels short around a full roll, replace it with longer tape stitched to the outside edge.
