Circular Needle Case Inspired by Caspian and A Knit Picks Needles Review

In the fall of 2014 I fell in love with a set of interchangeable circular knitting needles. And I fell hard! Beautiful blues and greens so deep that I was reminded of paddling in the rain when everything was vivid and peaceful. Yes... I coveted this set. My ancient Denise set was starting to fall apart and needed to be replaced.

Warning: Please read the rest of the post before your excitement takes you googling to find this set.

When my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas the answer was easy. In fact, my husband noticed my excitement and bought them for me the next day. Did I tell you I love this guy? I was so happy!!!! As I sat looking at them a project came to mind that was just perfect for their maiden expedition. These beautiful needles must have a case! In fact I pictured each detail of the project and exactly what materials I would use. How often does that happen?

Many of us surf around the net and spend time on Pinterest or Ravelry, soaking up the eye candy, hoping to be inspired to create the perfect piece. We take parts of projects and combine them to fit our needs. With a picture in my mind I began.

Please note: I won't be giving you dimensions and step by step instructions for this project because I'd like to inspire you to create your own unique piece.

Finally it was time to use these beautiful needles to knit the outside of my case. Just a simple rectangle. Before I had completed half of the rectangle the wooden section of the needle had come loose from the base. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! Seriously? Talk about disappointment. I was so unhappy.

At my LYS (Local Yarn Store) I was told that that was a common problem and that they would replace each needle that broke. WHAT? You couldn't tell me about this a few days ago when I purchased this set from you? Now I was unhappy with not only Knit Picks but with my LYS too. But of course I could refund them FOR STORE CREDIT ONLY! I didn't see a sign anywhere telling me this. Okay... I calmed down and weighed my options and traded them in for the plain, nickle plated set, added an extra long cable and a long cable needle for socks to make up the difference.

Determined to complete my project I hooked up the new, plain needles and continued on. Okay. Rectangle done! And to be honest it looked really pretty. The bulky blend was silky and shiny. The greens and deep blues were spot on with the colors of the Caspian.

Next I cut a piece of really thick, rigid interfacing about 1/4 inch less then the rectangle. For the base piece of material I measured 1/2 inch larger than the knitted rectangle. At this point you start building the interior of your case. Create your pockets and any embellishments you want to create. You may notice my stitching is a little irregular. I stitched it by hand. Why? Because I found it relaxing. Is it perfect? NO! Does it need to be? NO!

I chose to make a zippered compartment for those small accessories that end up missing when you need them. See my label? That was fun. It's just a piece of white cotton which I doodled on with fabric markers. I used the same technique for the needle compartments label. Making your own accessories allows you to organize and label everything according to what YOU need. I have a hard time remembering how many mm a US size is so I labeled the needle section with both sizes.

I created a simple double pocket to store the cables and added another fun label. Then I carefully ironed the edges back, pinned and basted them in place. I decided to knit a long i-cord to use to the close the case. Carefully pin the interior of the case and the i-cord to the knit rectangle. Sew into place and you are Done!

I have used this case extensively for two years now and love it! However, the Knit Picks circular needle set? Not so much. The nickle plating is coming off of the needles I use the most which makes them hard to use. The stitches don't slide as smoothly as they once did. Would I recommend these needles to anyone? NO. In fact I wish I had spent the extra money and bought the Addi-turbos. At some point, probably not soon as my budget won't allow it, I will have to buy a new set. This time I will research much more thoroughly and try not to fall in love with the pretty colors.