Ashland Sky Bags – Product Review

Ashland Sky makes amazing project and tool bags that are distributed for the needlepoint market by Leigh Designs. The bags are made of heavy-duty translucent vinyl with a colored nylon backing. There is a choice of six colors. The vinyl is thick, much thicker than any other bag I’ve used and is buttery soft, not stiff and inflexible.

Four sizes are available:

• Gadget Sack: 5″ x 6″
• Project Pouch: 9″ x 12″
• Flat Sack: 20″ square
• Large Flat Sack: 18″ x 24″

The Gadget Sack and Project Pouch are also available in an all-translucent version. Both flat sacks come with carrying handles. An unusual feature of these bags is that the zipper is not all the way at the top, but about 12″ down, I like this because your needlework or other items won’t poke through the zipper fabric, but stay securely inside because of the nylon.

The Flat Sacks are an amazing find. When I need something for larger projects, I find myself either hauling the thread in a bag and the project unprotected on its stretcher bars, or working in hand and folding the canvas. Neither is a good idea. With these larger bags my problem is solved. You can fit the smaller bags inside the larger, so you can put your tools into the Gadget Bag and put it inside the Project Pouch or put both inside a Flat Bag. I am using the Project Pouch for a small project and carry a toolkit in the gadget Sack inside it.

The construction is rugged and the materials first class. Not only is the vinyl thick and sturdy. The nylon is the heavy kind used in luggage and the zippers are metal and heavy-duty as well. They will not separate from the bag the way many others do. I am so impressed with them.

Leigh told me she loved them the minute she saw them and had to carry them. She says “They are great for traveling and storage for works in progress. AND inexpensive.” Although the company created them for knitters, they are incredibly useful for needlepointers too.

The company does an amazing job of “giving back” as well. They are made in the US and Leigh tells me that “that the manufacturers train the disabled to manufacture them.”

The bags have been immensely popular and for good reason, they are beautifully made, in great (and difficult to find) sizes, practical and inexpensive. Look for them at your local needlepoint shop.