TSA carryon question

[oodakay]

I'm flying this weekend and would love to be able to cross stitch on the plane. TSA website says that needlework stuff is allowed, but has anyone had a issue with this in the past year?

FWIW I'm bringing crappy scissors and only one needle with me, so if I need to toss them, I won't care.

[zookeepersuzy]

i dont think you'll have a problem.. I had a whole handful of safety pins (some really big ones) last week & they didn't say anything. I also accidentally took 1/2 full 20oz bottle of soda through the checkpoint... but they focussed on a pair of slap bracelets I got at a fair. lol.

[drloretta]

Bring a printout of the TSA guidelines just in case.

I've brought knitting needles onboard all.the.time and they haven't blinked. Other passengers were floored, but not TSA.

[cgpm]

May 11, 2012 16:01:53 GMT -5 drloretta said:

Bring a printout of the TSA guidelines just in case.

I've brought knitting needles onboard all.the.time and they haven't blinked. Other passengers were floored, but not TSA.

This is a good idea. My friend has been flying a lot lately and she usually takes her crochet hooks (plastic ones - not even metal) without a problem. When she flew last week they took them. So you never know, I suppose.

[oodakay]

May 11, 2012 16:01:53 GMT -5 drloretta said:

Bring a printout of the TSA guidelines just in case.

I've brought knitting needles onboard all.the.time and they haven't blinked. Other passengers were floored, but not TSA.

I printed it out. Thanks for the tip!

[GilliC]

I love to cross-stitch on long flights. I used to fly an 8-hour daytime flight to the US every month, and I would stitch almost the whole trip while I watched the in-flight movies. (The flight attendants always commented on it and were eager to see what I was working on.)

I've never had an issue with the needles, but I was worried about the scissors, since I didn't have any blunt-ended kiddie scissors. At first I would just leave the threads hanging in the back (or tuck them under the embroidery hoop to hold them out of the way), but then I found a travel-safe thread cutter at Michael's:

I figured it was worth it, because you never know when you'll get a poorly-informed TSA agent who doesn't know what kinds of scissors are or aren't allowed. I don't need any extra hassles at security!

[GilliC]

PS - I've taken an entire 6-pack of needles before, and I almost always travel with multiples, because I like having a petite needle around to finish off short threads. I think they're too small to really even register on the x-ray.