Reminder: Knitting is (Usually) Allowed on Airplanes

A story has been circulating online about a woman who was asked to put away her knitting on a flight by a flight attendant who warned that you wouldn’t want to have knitting in your hands during an emergency on the plane.

I would guess her worry is that you or someone else could get tangled up in the yarn, or somehow injured by the needles, if you were trying to exit the plane quickly?

I think most knitters are aware of where their yarn and needles are when they are knitting on a plane or anywhere else, and usually keep their yarn in a bag so it won’t roll away or get dirty, so no one should be able to get tangled in it.

Also by this argument probably doing anything in a plane (including serving hot beverages) would be a potential danger in case of an emergency.

Frankly I worry about a flight attendant who is that paranoid about potential dangers happening in flight that they would discourage people from entertaining themselves in transit.

But this story does serve as a good reminder that in the United States, knitting needles (and crochet hooks for that matter) are allowed in carry on and checked bags, as are scissors shorter than 4 inches/10 cm from the pivot point. Nail clippers are also allowed, but not yarn cutters that are blades.

A few years ago I looked for every nation’s rules regarding knitting needles on planes that I could find, and they were generally allowed on flights in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Scissors are not allowed in flights in Mexico.

It’s always a good idea to check with your airline just to make sure they allow knitting needles and tools, especially if you are flying internationally. It’s always up to the discretion of TSA agents if your supplies will be allowed. I haven’t traveled by air in many years, but I used to always try to use small needles and keep my knitting in its own bag inside my carry on so the needles wouldn’t be obvious. You can also use interchangeable knitting needles and screw the needles off the cable before going through security so they look less menacing.

What do you think of this story? Do you have any recent tales of traveling with knitting? I’d love to hear them!

[Photo of TikTok video from BrittStitches, via Yahoo]

I love the look of mesh tops for summer, but I don’t know that I would ever actually wear one that’s full of giant holes, even though I admit they look cool (in both senses of the word) on other people.

What I would wear, though, is something that’s still lacy but maybe a little bit more subdued, like this chevron lace knit top from Yarnspirations.

This easy to knit T-shirt style top is worked flat in two pieces from the bottom up, using and easy lace pattern that’s a repeat of 10 stitches and four rows (though the wrong side rows are just purled, so there’s only two rows you need to learn the pattern on).

It has little cap sleeves that are worked as part of the top by casting on stitches where you need them.

If you’re new to lace knitting this is a good one to try because the pattern includes both written and charted instructions, and the only skills you need are yarn over, knit two together, slip slip knit and slip 1 knit 2 together pass the slipped stitch over (which makes a centered decrease).

There are four size options available (which they claim is enough to cover XS to 5XL), with finished chest measurements ranging from 38.5 inches (that’s 98 cm) to 59 inches, or 150 cm. The amount of ease would vary widely depending on your size and the size garment you choose. For example the largest size is said to fit a chest measurement from 5258 inches/132-147.4 cm, which gives you a range of ease from 1-7 inches, or 2.5 to 17.78 cm, depending on your size. Just something to be aware of when you think about how you want it to fit.

The project calls for Red Heart Cotton Breeze yarn, which isn’t a yarn I’ve tried yet, but it’s a DK weight acrylic and cotton blend, which should make a lightweight top that’s great for summer.

Grab the free pattern from Yarnspirations.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

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