Keeping Yarn Safe!

As someone who works with yarn and has pets who think that yarn was created as a source of amusement for them, one of the most frustrating problems I have is my yarn getting tangled up. I will sit the ball down in my chair only to come back later and find someone has found it and now I have a big messy pile of yarn, or they have drug it though the house and it is all tangled up on the legs of my furniture. Or, I will finish a project and find cat hair or dog hair on it

 Now for me it is not a big deal, it is part of living with animals. But when I put my products up for sale, I do not want someone wrinkling their nose as they pull a black dog hair out of a white dishcloth. The answer to that problem, is of course, to tame the yarn and store it in something to keep it clean and in skein or ball. One of my favorite ways to keep my yarn safe is  called a Yarn Drum. It’s sold by ArtBin. It’s about 13″ tall and 12″ around so it holds several skeins of yarn at once. The yarn is protected from weather and spills and sticky stuff like that because it’s made with a textured PVC base. Yes, I know – that means it’s not the most eco-friendly solution but if you use it for a long time and then repurpose it then it’s okay in my book.It has a mesh pocket on the outside but it also has an accessory pouch for holding crochet hooks, yarn needles, etc. One thing I think is great is that there are multiple strap options so you can carry it vertically or horizontally with the shoulder strap or you can use the handle. I like options!

The Drum is great, but if you are like me and often have more than one project going at a time, buying several at 20$ or so can get a bit expensive!  There are some really easy and inexpensive ways to keep your yarn projects organized, safe, and clean.  Two of my favorites are :

Plastic pop bottles (1, 2 or 3 liter) make great yarn caddies for pull skein yarn.  Just cut a hole in the side of  a clean bottle, slip the skein of yarn in and thread the end through the bottle's neck.  One liter bottles hold a 1 or 2 ounce skein.  Two liter bottles will hold a large 4 ounce skein.  Baby Wipe Containers or other wipe containers that have a flip-up top make great yarn holders.  Open the container,  cut away the center of the lid (where the wipes were pulled out), pop the yarn in the container,thread the yarn through the hole, put the lid back on and voila!  Your yarn will stay cleaner, have less tangles and won't collect all your pet hairs!  When you're not knitting, just drape a small amount of the yarn out, snap close the wipe container and your yarn won't slip down inside the container.

While you can buy tote bags which are specifically meant for yarn, the $1 cloth bags that are now popular for groceries make fine totes as well. Which ever product you choose to use, you can be sure that your yarns will be organized and all your supplies easily on hand. And you will not have to serve your pets with a restraining order forcing them to not come within 50 feet of your craft area!