Has this ever happened to you?
You’re flying to your son’s house the day before Thanksgiving. You accidentally sleep in and have to skip the coffee and speed to get to the airport on time. Unfortunately, there is already a huge line of people waiting to get through security. You grumpily trudge through the sluggish line, looking forward to when you can finally sit down on the plane and continue knitting your granddaughter’s Christmas sweater.
At last, you reach the front. You place your carry-on bag on the conveyor belt, walk through the metal detector, and freeze. The TSA agent is slowly pulling your knitting needles out of your bag. You start to panic, thinking, Can you bring knitting needles on a plane? Are they going to arrest me? Am I going to jail for the rest of my life? I hope they don’t give me a jumpsuit – orange isn’t my color!
But the agent simply inspects the needles, smiles at you, returns them to your bag, and says, “Have a nice flight.” Wait, what?
Can You Bring Knitting Needles on a Plane?
It turns out that knitting needles are allowed on airplanes, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA says they understand that knitting is a soothing way to pass the time during a long flight, so knitting needles and crochet hooks are acceptable.
It’s good to keep in mind, however, that the TSA can always confiscate something from your carry-on bag if it looks potentially dangerous, so you may not want to fly with your best set of knitting needles. Remember, the TSA is there to keep everyone safe. If the agent questions you about your needles, be polite, and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
Here are some knitting travel tips to help you get through airport security smoothly and to keep your important knitting projects safe:
- Bring plastic or bamboo needles on your trip. Large metal knitting needles may be seen as potential weapons to some TSA agents, and you don’t want to chance it.
- Wind your yarn before you go and put it in a plastic bag so it won’t get tangled in your carry-on luggage.
- Pack your needles and yarn in a clear pencil case or makeup bag to keep them safe. Make sure you place this case in a bin on the conveyor belt as you pass through security so that the agents can easily see what you are bringing on the plane.
- If you need to bring craft scissors, make sure they have blunt edges and are less than four inches long (child scissors are a good option). Thread cutters, however, are not allowed on airplanes.
- Because TSA can seize anything they find threatening, don’t bring anything on a flight that you don’t want to lose. Keep your favorite knitting needles at home and bring some cheaper ones on the plane.
- If a TSA agent pulls you aside because of your needles, politely explain why you have them and what they’re for. Above all, be nice.
- Check the TSA’s official list of prohibited items before you travel, as the policy may be updated before you go. Also make sure to check the prohibited items for each country you’ll be visiting if you are flying internationally.
Right project, wrong needles? Check out our knitting needle conversion chart and our guide to knitting needle sizes for everything you need to know about choosing the right knitting needle size.
What is your favorite thing to do to pass the time
on a long flight?
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Should probably note that the TSA only applies within the United States. Different laws apply when traveling outside of the U.S.
Yes. I had my bamboo circular needles confiscated when I left Mexico
I take my circs! Less risk of dropping a needle and having to scrabble around next the floor for it. Also they look a lot less threatening!
just what I wanted to know as I hope to be travelling soon and was thinking about the crochet hooks…great advice about winding before the trip too which I hadnt though about and will definately take the time to do
…and if you travel to Europe, check with the airline you’ll be travelling on while there. E.g., KLM won’t allow knitting needles on their flights, I asked!
Yes but Emmarets allow knitting, I knitted all the way back from the UK.
Also I left Sydney for a 4 week trip around Europe and not once was I queried about my knitting needles or crochet hook. I did take very small plastic needles and a bamboo crochet hook. I only did squares so if they were taken from me I would not be too upset.
Enjoy your past time everyone
Best bit of news for today
There are length requirements for cable length on circular needles.
There are length requirements for cable length on circular needles.
Just remember that TSA only governs US airports – international airports may have different rules! I had needlepoint needles confiscated in Chile – that was a very long flight home with nothing to do! Now I only pack needles/scissors (of any kind) that I wouldn’t cry over losing – and pack an extra set in my checked luggage, just in case.
Knitted Knockers, (www.knittedknockers.com) knit prosthetics for breast cancer survivors. I use shorter double points, they don’t seem as threatening to the agents, and I can usually get a pair of knockers done on the longer flights.
I always put a small dental floss in my knitting bag. You can use the floss cutter to cut yarn and in a pinch, you can thread it through live stitches if they do decide to confiscate.
I always carry a copy of TSA rules on hobbies that you can download. It explains that needles are okay. Never have had a problem.
Do you have the URL for the TSA website, or do I just go to TSA.gov?
I’ve never been on a long flight, but any kind of travel needs something to keep my hands busy. Lately, it’s been knitting that occupies me. I can’t read in the car if there is anyone else there, or if I’m alone, being the driver, as a book makes nearly everyone think of something important they have to talk to you about (important to them, not necessarily you). Writing has a similar effect…more conversation than you can write around. Knitting lets you sound like you’re listening even when you are trying to follow a fussy pattern. Usually.
Wow. This just answered my big question. Just last month,my friends are I were wondering if crochet hooks are allowed on the plane. One friend said maybe not because these are sharp objects which can be used as weapons and I said oh, if I cannot bring my hooks on the plane, I’m just gonna buy a new one in my destination. But this piece of information is great news. Yehey. Wohoooo!!
Within a week of 9/11 we were scheduled to fly from Montreal to Edinburgh, Scotland. I was knitting a large, DK, men/s pullover and was approaching the armholes. Hundreds of stitches on a long, circular, steel Addi needle. It was an odd seeing the skies empty of air traffic as we travelled from Vermont to the airport. We arrived to find the airport jammed with people who had been stranded there for days. But planes began moving on the tarmac soon after we arrived and we happened to be on one of the first flights out.
No problem going through security. I was happy. We flew. I knitted.
At London Heathrow we had to change flights. The security lines were VERY long. There were HUGE trash bins being filled with contraband – penknives, pens, nail files and scissors, etc. The agent took one look at my knitting, PULLED THE OUT THE NEEDLE, AND TOSSED IT IN THE BIN !!!
I was in shock. The saving grace was that as this happened, I distinctly heard gasps from several people nearby.
I replaced the needle in Scotland and knit on. My son wore the sweater happily. I never saw it again without remembering the small trauma involved in its creation.
“Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises.” -Elizabeth Zimmerman
I’m so glad to find out that knitting needles and crochet hooks are typically allowed on planes! I’m taking a long flight next month and would go crazy without something to do with my hands for an 8 hour flight.