Arts & Crafts and Your WDW Vacation About This Page:

[DisneyWitch]

Silly question for my PassPorter family: Do you bring any crafts with you to your WDW vacations? I’m not talking just for kids, either (though that’s nice too)! I'm not talking Disney themed crafts that you do at home - I mean crafts that you take with you on vacation!

If you do, what are your favorite crafts to bring and why? Do you have any suggestions, tips or other advice?

I’m a crafter myself, and over the years I’ve brought cross stitch, kumihimo and crochet projects to work on during my flight and resort downtime. There’s something lovely about quiet early mornings in Florida with my DDP mug full of tea, sitting on a bench near the water at my resort and crocheting as the sun rises. To me, that’s about as close to heaven as I’m liable to get while on this planet!

I’ve seen a lot of people – even adults – bring portable crafts like crochet/knitting, coloring books, kumihimo, friendship bracelets, cross-stitching/needlepoint, paracording, journals, etc., with them to WDW. Personally, I like having something to do with my hands while I’m relaxing at my resort, or to calm myself down during my flight. It can be a real friendship maker and conversation starter. It's also a nice break from staring at electronics / cellphones / tablets all day. Of course I don’t bring crafts into the parks; I am too busy having fun to worry about that!

Crafts have been a part of my personal and business travel plans for decades. And I found some truisms I can share, especially when traveling by plane:

** TSA gets testy when they come across my nail clippers, but I can bring on 13” aluminum knitting needles with no problem. Those knitting needles can impale a moose! One of the many mysteries of airline travel.

** Start your project early – if only to show TSA staff that your items are safe. Many TSA personnel don’t know what a knitting needle is – what they see is a pointy piece of metal that could be dangerous. To lower the chance of your tools being confiscated, cast on a few rows before you go to the airport and have the started project in your carry on. Same for other crafts.

** Never bring any craft tools with you that you can’t afford to lose. Leave your expensive gadgets at home. I bought a cheapie set of crochet hooks/accessories on Amazon (less than $10) that I bring on trips in case security gets froggy on me.

** If you can, stash a spare in your checked luggage. If TSA does decide to confiscate your tools, all is not lost if you have a backup. I usually have a cheap plastic crochet hook in my checked luggage. Usually I have a spare skein of yarn somewhere around me – I’ve been known to smuggle one or two skeins in my luggage! Did I mention that I’m a hardcore crafter? LOL WookiePants just rolls his eyes at me.

** School scissors (you know, the rounded safety kind) with blades less than 4" long are fantastic for travel. And back to school sales means you can get them dirt cheap. You don't have to worry about stabbing yourself when reaching for them in your bag, and they do a good job of cutting thread/yarn/paper.

** If you travel often - even if it's just by car, or you use public transportation - consider creating a travel pouch just for crafts. Keep your good stuff at home, and have a spare project / set of tools at the ready.

** Choose patterns that are super easy for your vacations, and crafts that you're familiar with. The last thing you want to do on a flight is frustrate yourself with complicated patterns, or spend all your time learning a new stitch. Patterns that are mindless and fun help you relax!

** Be practical when it comes to choosing a craft. You might love beading with all your heart, but imagine what would happen if the plane hits an air pocket and your Delicas shoot all over the flight cabin like sparkly buckshot? Same goes for crafts that are wet (no clay molding or making slime!), have strong smells, or require a lot of room. You barely have space to settle your back end into that seat – be courteous to everyone else in the metal tube!

** Keep your projects small and portable. You do not want to drag a 6 foot afghan project or all your jewelry making supplies with you on a plane! Place your project on top of the rest of your carry ons for easy access. You also don’t need more than 1-2 mini projects with you!

** Zip top bags are your friends, and I love the dollar store for these. They’re transparent so you can see what’s in them. They zip closed so all your needles, pencils, hooks, notions and gadgets don’t spill /leak all over your carryon (or under your airplane seat, or down the cabin aisle!). They keep your stuff organized & don’t take up additional space.

For my October trip, I already have my projects packed & ready to go, and they’re already in my carryon bag! I'm going to be making my go-to lace infinity scarves with some lightweight yarn in a super easy pattern. They make nice holiday gifts so I am doing something productive! Other knitting/crocheting ideas include scarves, hats, granny squares, dishcloths, coasters, mug cozies, and bookmarks.

Do you have tips or insights?