Knitting projects for long airplane trips

[LMA]

We will be going to Tanzania in October. The airplane trip each way consists of two 8-hour flights. I'm looking for new knitting ideas for the plane. I want to bring a couple new small projects but nothing that requires too much mindwork (such as counting slip slip knit, fair isle knitting, etc.). Do you knitters have any links to any patterns that would be fun to do on an airplane?

[Anne]

A sweater? socks? hats?

 

Sounds like quite an adventure!!! :auto:

 

Anne

[Peela]

You are allowed to take knitting needles on planes? I thought that was banned internationally! It certainly is on any flight from or within Australia. Lucky you- I used to love to knit on planes.

I like to knit socks, with a fairly easy pattern. They fit into a nice little bag and are not heavy or bulky. There is very little counting and if you can knit beyond a basic beginner stage, they're not hard at all, particularly after the first pair.

[Book Crazy]

Here is what the TSA has to say about knitting needles

 

Knitting Needles on Planes

 

It sounds like it could be hit or miss, depending on if you getting a grumpy security guard.

[In The Great White North]

I have heard of people losing their knitting needles to security. My solution was to use the shorter, double-pointed needles and pack them with all my pens and pencils so when they x-rayed it, they thought the knitting needles were just more pens.

 

It has gotten them through every time.

[LMA]

Thank you for your responses but they are not what I was expecting. I'm well aware of the airline regulations.

[3lilreds in NC]

Socks are a great traveling pattern!

 

Also, what about dish cloths? Here is a link to a very common, very simple one. And here is the main page with tons of patterns.

 

Do you have any little bitty people who would like a gnome? Here is a nice top-down pattern (thanks Mom2Legomaniacs!)

 

When we were on vacation, I tried these toddler socks. They knitted up quickly and were so fun! There is a bit of counting involved, but they are not hard. Trust me, if I can do them, they are not hard. :D

 

You might check out knittinghelp.com's free pattern page. This is where I got the toddler sock pattern.

 

I am a fan of afghans. I like this pattern a lot. It's not the exact one I used, but the Old Shale Pattern makes a pretty afghan. If you make a throw size, it's not that big, either.

 

Really, socks are nice and portable. I've only finished one pair (three if you count the toddler socks) and I find that I do have to pay a fair bit of attention to them. You could knit quite a few gnomes, though.

 

If you'd prefer to do a sweater or something, you could try this one (for a baby/toddler). I'm knitting one for Schmooey and it's not hard at all. You may need a login at the Lion Brand site to see it, but it's free.

 

I hope this helps! Maybe check out some of the free pattern sites. Are you on Ravelry? I bet you could find all kinds of fun things there. I guess, bottom line, if I wanted portable and brainless, I'd go with the dish cloths. Just think, you could get your holiday gift all done while you're on vacation!