Happy October, friends!
Honestly, I cannot believe we are in the tenth month of 2021 already. As I find myself saying all the time, “Time is a construct.” So, what better way to greet Sweater Weather in the northern hemisphere than to look at all the ways IKEAS helps me store my knitting stuff. (Please note that I am not affiliated with IKEA, nor are they paying me anything, though I would be open to being their stickning ambassador.)
For a long time I stored my knits in a succession of dressers found on the street, always opting for the larger dresser. This was in the days before bedbugs became such a problem in New York. I would clean them and pop all my knits in there, and it was fine, not handsome, but fine. Eventually I had a moth problem (not related to the street dressers but it sure made it time to bid them adieu), so I invested in a Hemnes cabinet with glass-front shelves above and drawers below. I liked that it had drawers, as well as shelves (daylight deters clothes moths - they really like being left alone in the dark to do their business), and I loved that it was new. If you’ve watched my podcast, in the later episodes you may have seen me standing in front of the shelves of sweaters. That’s my sweater cabinet! Very satisfying to have things stacked up nicely and other things stored out of sight.
For storing yarn and books, I had a spot that could fit the big Kallax, which is a square cubby-based book case. After the mothening, I put all my inspected yarn into ziploc storage bags and then the bags into polyester cubes that fit in each cubby - tidy and uniform - perfect. They have various inserts, too, that I considered, but the bins were flexible (and cheaper), which is what I needed. My cubes are Skubb, which seem to have been replaced by Dröna. Looks like only the handle situation is different. The great thing about these bins is that they can be standalone (like on a top shelf or under your desk) and then they unzip on the bottom to lie flat for easy storage. Bonus when living with a cat/wool pig: the bins are pretty George-proof.
So, we’ve got our knits stored (I keep my needles and notions in the cabinet, too, when they’re not in use) and our yarn and books stored (project bags can go in the bins, too, when I need everything to be put away), so our next task is knit care. The IKEA laundry section is great: drying racks, basket/tub (for when the sink is needed for other things or just transporting piles of knits), delicates bags (for the knits that can go in the machine), and my favorite: the octopus. Now, I’m not a sock knitter, so mine doesn’t get as much use as it might, but this little guy is great (also useful for drying masks or swimwear - at least that’s the majority of my use). How great that they took a basic thing and gave it personality!
Of course, don’t forget a Raskog for movable storage. Mine is the same blue as my other things from IKEA. My only suggestion on that is if they have things you like in a color you like, get them all. Don’t bank on that color being there on your next visit.
Oh, one last item that may not be obvious but may be of help: I keep my blocking wires and yardstick in a tall, simple glass vase from IKEA, along with rolls of wrapping paper. The rest of my blocking tools all fit in one of the bins.
That’s my IKEA knitting guide. What items do you use from IKEA for knitting?
Until next time, happy knitting!
xxoo, Kathleen
I like rolling carts:) not from ikea, but I can roll them around to wherever they are needed. I have ikea bookshelves for yarn also. Bob shelves? Also some cubbies on wheels from ikea. And my mil gave me a glass shelved ikea cabinet which also stores yarn. Yikes. I can’t remember the Swedish names but durn howdy they come in handy.