Thursday, January 15, 2015

Review: Pokdej's Interchangeable Needle Case

I've been on the lookout for a decent interchangeable knitting needle* case for a while now.  I was originally planning on sewing one for myself, like I did my double point needle case, but then I came across this:

Interchangeable Needle Case
It's a clever little case made by Pokdej knitting assessories (etsy link), a woman out of Vancouver, BC.  I came across her shop via an ad** on Ravelry, and initially checked it out for inspiration.  But looking closer at her cases, I could see the quality of the product and the great design she came up with, and decided to support this shop.  Doesn't help that she's Canadian!

Interchangeable Needle Case
The cases all come with needle slots, an attached zippered pouch for end caps, tightening keys, notions, etc, and space on either side of the pouch for cables.  They come in two sizes:
  • Regular Case: has 9 slots to hold needles ranging from 3.5 mm to 8 mm, plus 4 extra wide slots for other needles.
  • XL Case: has 18 slots for two sets of needles, plus 4 extra wide slots for other needles.
I chose to get the XL case, since I have a set of wood needles and a short set of metal needles.  They all fit in perfectly, and the extra slots are great for the bulky and smaller interchangeable needles I've bought individually.

Interchangeable Needle Case
The little labels under each slot were 'sold' separately - the case doesn't come included with them.  But it was well worth the extra few bucks for the ease of finding the right size, and I was able to choose metric instead of US sizing (which can't seem to wrap my brain around and drives me batty).

I've had it for a few weeks now, and the needles are staying put despite being knocked about in my camp bag and backpack, and tossed around the room (I'm not always gentle when I decide that it's time to sleep and I have to clear off all my knitting crap to get into bed).  Looking at the pouch now, I probably shouldn't have bought one with white on the outside, but oh well, too late now.


While I probably could've made a similar case myself for less than I paid, this case is well made and well designed, and I'm really pleased to support this person and her clever little shop.  She makes some excellent knitting accessories - I love her clear vinyl box bags, and she offers build-your-own kits, where you can pick your own fabrics and colours and she'll make them up just for you!

The interchangeable needle case is surprisingly compact - it's much smaller than I thought it'd be.  I've included a mechanical pencil (oriented the wrong way - oops) for scale, below.

Interchangeable Needle Case and Pouch
See that cute little round pouch there?  That was from a goodie pack I won in a giveaway from Suzy Bee Sews.  Thanks again Suzy!  I use this case constantly for stitch holders and tightening keys, and incidentially, I used up the rest of that clear elastic on my recent Linden sweatshirt!

Notions Pouch
I love my interchangeable case.  It's so pretty, holds everything snug, and keeps track of my needles.  Couldn't have been better timing either, because the plastic case that came with my wood needles disintegrated as I was transfering needles.

Interchangeable Needle Case
Where the heck are all of my metal needles?!
Now if only I could find all of my knitting needles...  

*~~*~~*~~*

Re-reading my post, I do want to note that I paid full price for this case and this review is totally because I'm in love with the product.  I know there can be controversy over product review posts, but no one paid me to write this (or even asked), and I'm truely gaga over this case.  :)  I actually had to force myself to hold off writing it as soon as I got my grubby paws on it, just so I could see how it held up with use.  Which is excellent, btw.  Except for the white - WHY DID I ORDER A WHITE CASE?!  Silly dirty geologist, you never learn.


* Interchangeable knitting needles are a system of circular needles where a cable can screw into the base of a pair of knitting needles, allowing you to vary the length of cable and needle size without having to buy a whole bunch of fixed circular needle sets.  Really handy if you do a ton of different types of projects and don't want a thousand different fixed circs.  There's apparently some disadvantages, but I haven't experienced any yet.
** Incidently, Ravelry is the only site that I will actively search out, click, and buy things from.  I completely ignore ads on every other site - mostly because I don't know if they can be trusted.  Ravelry only allows relevent ads that a veto'd ahead of time.

3 comments:

  1. The case looks awesome, I've dabbled a bit in making bags so I can really appreaciate the effort that goes into making one look that good!
    And that's so awesome you're using the circle pouch :)

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  2. The construction is really clever, to keep everything so compact. I don't use interchangeables, and I have a needle roll that I made myself for my fixed circulars, but I'm tempted to check out the site all the same, because my love of bags definitely outstrips my enthusiasm for sewing them. It's refreshing to see an authentic, word-of-mouth review. Not that I have any issues with review products received gratis, but I find it much more interesting when someone hits upon a good find through regular shopping--it's like uncovering hidden treasure! I totally agree about Ravelry ads; I literally do not see advertising on other sites because I'm so accustomed to tuning it out, but Rav ads are always drool-worthy.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I have no problem with most reviews, but this was totally me flailing with joy and needing to share it with others. Plus I love when someone comes up with something clever and want others to see how good their product is. :)

      I think you'll like her variety of bags. She's got several different kinds - as I said above, I love her clear vinyl box bags!

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