My knitting resides is a variety of bags, from re-purposed totes, to specialty knitting bags, to baskets, to bags I made myself.  In fact, it seems I can’t choose just one.  Here are some advantages and disadvantages to each.

Baskets

Baskets are great for use around my house.  I don’t have curious pets or small children, so open topped baskets are pretty safe at my house.  I’ve been using a small one for the 12 Days of Christmas Mitten Garland KAL so that I can easily manipulate my color work.  A larger basket that I lined with fabric to keep my yarn from snagging holds a shawl cardi I’ve been designing– it has a lot of yarn and the basket keeps it all in check.

Totes

Totes are less likely to snag yarn than baskets, and I seem to prefer these for my lace projects.  I have both open top and zippered totes, right now I’m using one that I’ve had forever from a local family magazine for a sweater project and another from a retreat for my new cowl design.  One nice thing about a tote is that there’s always room for a few more items, so I seem to carry these a lot when going to my knitting group.

Knitting Bags

I love this bag from Slipped Stitch Studios which carries a sock project.  The great thing about drawstring totes is that I can toss them into another bag easily.  I have another, simpler drawstring bag with another cowl in the works.

My Everyday Bag

I’ve been using various store bought bags to carry my knitting along with my usual purse contents.  I usually keep a project going that I take with me everywhere and work on it a bit at a time.  Last week, I made a new purse with a special spot for my knitting and space for all my other things.  The best part about this bag is the shoulder straps.  They can be arranged to carry it over my shoulder, as a backpack or as a cross body bag.  I was inspired by this pattern but made my own design for the bag itself.