THE REVIEW

Also available are our related reviews of Coco Knits Yarn Snips and Coco Knits Colored Stitch Markers.

The basis of the Coco Knits line of knitting and crocheting tools is the idea that everything is magnetic, so that your tools stay where you placed them and they are easily accessible. The foundation of this system is the Concrete Magnetic Tray. The tray contains magnets embedded inside the concrete for an industrial-chic look that is also functional.

INITIAL REACTIONS: The tray is packaged nicely in a box with tissue paper around it, presumable to keep it from sliding while in transit. I was a bit surprised at the weight when I took it out of the box; it was heavier than I expected. (And then I checked myself: it’s concrete with magnets inside; of course it will have a little heft to it!)

The bottom of the tray has felt feet glued to it, so it’s safe to put on my wood furniture. The concrete is smooth to the touch, with no sharp edge or gaps to snag my yarn. This is clearly well-thought out and well-constructed.

THE TESTS:  My intention with this tray was to put all my CocoKnits tools on it and just leave them there in the open, so that my tools would constantly be available to me. It’s nice enough to justify this, especially with the colorful stitch markers. I took all my Colored Stitch Markers and poured them on top of the tray. Immediately, the magnet effect was clear: some of the stitch markers piled on top of each other, so that I have a couple that stand on their edges, perpendicular to the tray. When I tug on one in the middle, I can feel the magnetic force.

I tend to be clumsy, so I started testing what would happen if I knocked the tray – do the stitch markers stay in place? And the answer? Not exactly. The magnet appears to be embedded in the exact center of the tray, so the field of force weakens as you get out more to the edges. Tilting the tray with all 60 of my stitch markers on it causes them to slide about rather willy nilly, so this is not the solution for keeping everything in its place. However, the stitch markers are attracted to each other, so they tend to group together rather nicely, which makes them easier to pick off the tray.

I also tried it with the yarn snips. In the center of the tray, the force is quite nice; it definitely attracts the snips. However, I think the snips are too heavy, as they will also slide around when the tray is manipulated. By the time you get to the edges, there is no apparent magnetic force attracting the snips to the tray.

My tapestry needle is attracted to the tray, and I now find myself placing both it and the snips on the tray when doing finishing touches on a project, such as weaving in ends.

The lip is low enough that I can absent-mindedly pick up a stitch marker, and still high enough that jostling the tray doesn’t cause the markers to fall off.

All this being said, this tray has a prominent place at my side when I’m working now. While I wish the magnet was a big stronger with a wider field of force, I imagine that the gang at Coco  Knits had to balance a lot of design considerations when making the tray. I find it easy to use, and its simple but attractive design does mean that it gets left out. It has not become the end-all-be-all that I hoped for originally, but I’m quite satisfied with it and I do use it to temporarily store other tools I’m working with in the moment.