How to dye long colorways with Kool-Aid, part 1

May 10, 2012

Squee! Can you believe there are so many ways to dye yarn with Kool-Aid?

Today, I’m going to tell you how to dye yarn go get long colorways, or self-striping yarn. It’s the technique I used to get the colors for this shawl:

Don’t you love the stripes? It’s a time-consuming technique, but in my opinion, well-worth the result! I’ll be showing you the technique over two days, since it’s a lot of steps… but follow along, because I know you’re going to want to try it for yourself!

Materials

You’ll need:

  • yarn made from natural animal-fibers (undyed is best), wound into a center-pull ball
  • a few packets of Kool-Aid (see yesterday’s post about testing colors)
  • a glass bowl or dish for each different color
  • boiling water

The Process

Like I said, this process takes quite a few steps… but none of them are very difficult. Besides, you already know all the basics!

Step 1: Add packets to your bowls

You’ve seen this step before! Add your color to your bowls… in this case, I’m doing orange and blue stripes, so I have a bowl for each:

Add boiling water to your bowls.

Step 2: Divide up your yarn

Remember I said to wind your yarn into a center-pull ball? (You may want to have a ball winder.)

That’s because a center-pull ball will make it super-easy to divide up your yarn into small sections. I’ve used dividers to mark off where I want each color to be, but you can eyeball it, if you’d like.

Step 3: Dye the first section of yarn

So, here’s what do to… pull out your first little section of yarn, and put it in your first color:

Keep in mind that the size of this section will determine your color repeat! So, if you pull out 20 yards, your stripe will be 20 yards long. If it’s bigger, your stripe will be longer.

Step 4: Continue dyeing each section

Now, pull out the next little bit and put in your 2nd color of yarn:

Continue doing this with each subsequent section of yarn.

And keep going…

Things to keep in mind:

  • It sounds obvious, but the order that you put your yarn in colors is the order they’ll be in the yarn! I’m using 2 colors and want alternating stripes, so I’m putting a ball in blue, then orange, then blue…
  • If you want do use more colors (like the shawl I showed at the start), then plop one ball of yarn in your first color, the next in your second color, then your third…
  • The length of the stripes you want depends on what you’re knitting. If you’re making socks, then the color repeat doesn’t need to be as long as it does to get stripes on a shawl.
  • It’s very important to not get your yarn tangled. Be careful, be neat… and just don’t get it in a knot!

Okay folks… we’re only halfway through. I’ll give you a sneak peak of the end result:

Come back tomorrow, and I’ll show you how to finish up! Update – here’s the link to Part 2. 🙂

Best,
Stacey

How to dye multi-color skeins with Kool-Aid

May 9, 2012

I’m loving all the fun techniques you can do with Kool-Aid… are you having a blast?

Today, I’m going to tell you about how to dye those multi-color skeins you so often see from Indie Dyers! It’s a great chance to play around with color!

I’ve dyed my skein red, orange and yellow (and left a little bit white!). I’ll show you how to do it, plus show you how to calculate the length of the color repeats that you’ll get in your final yarn.

Materials

You’ll need:

  • yarn made from natural animal-fibers (undyed is best), in a skein
  • a few packets of Kool-Aid in any colors you want! (see this post about testing colors)
  • a glass bowl or dish for each different color you’re using
  • boiling water

The Process

Step 1: Prepare your color

Remember how I told you last time that you had two choices for setting your color? You could either use boiling water, or regular water and then microwave the yarn. Since this technique requires dunking sections of yarn in different posts of color, I’m going to recommend the boiling water technique. It makes life easier… and we all want that, right?

To prepare, mix your Kool-Aid packets in boiling water… one color in each dish.

Step 2: Dye your first section

In this technique, you’re starting with a skein of yarn (you know, that big yarn loop?):

Chances are, if you’re purchasing undyed yarn, it’ll come this way. If not, it’s no big deal. Just wind it around a box and make your own!

To dye your first section, dunk a part of the skein in your first color:

You can dye as much or as little of a section of the skein as you want, but keep in mind that the more colors you want to use, the smaller each section will have to be.

Step 3: Keep going!

Now, dip an undyed section of your skein in your next color:

In my yarn, I try to keep the dyed sections from overlapping- which will result in a nice, crisp color changes!

Keep doing this for as many colors as you want to use!

Step 4: Rinse and let dry

Hooray, you’re done!


Determining Color-repeat Lengths

This technique is great for getting lots of colors, but it doesn’t result in very long lengths of color. You can tell this when I wind my yarn into a ball:

So, how do you tell how long each color repeat is going to be? By measuring your skein!

Here, I’ve laid out my (dyed) skein, and set a ruler to the length of red:

My length of red is 12″ long.

I know from experience that when I single crochet, I use 1.8″ per stitch. This means that using this yarn, I’ll crochet about 6 stitches before the yarn turns to a new color.

This is helpful info to know when planning a project! It means that using this technique, you won’t get stripes, but small puddles of color. (Tune in tomorrow, where I’ll show you how to get stripes!)

You can alter the length of your color repeats either by dyeing larger/smaller sections of your skein, or by winding your skein into a larger/smaller loop. The possibilities are endless, so give them a try!

Best,
Stacey

How to Kettle-Dye Yarn with Kool-Aid

May 8, 2012

Are you inspired to get dyeing with Kool-Aid? I hope so!

Today, I’m going to tell you about the basics of Kool-Aid Dyeing, and show you how to achieve a kettle-dyed look.

Kool-Aid Dyeing Basics

You’ll need:

  • yarn made from natural animal-fibers (undyed is best)
  • a few packets of Kool-Aid (see yesterday’s post about testing colors)
  • a glass bowl or dish
  • boiling water or water + a microwave

The Process

Dyeing with Kool-Aid is super-easy: just add your Kool-Aid packets to some boiling water and dunk your yarn in! Easy!

I’ll show you, step-by-step, how I use the basic technique to get a lovely kettle-dyed yarn. ‘Kettle-dyed’ is the name for a yarn that’s mostly one color, but has a range of tones gently changing throughout the yarn. It’s beautiful and easy, so give it a try!

Step 1: Add packets to your bowl

I’m going to dye my yarn red, so I’ve added a couple of red packets to my glass bowl. You can either use packets that are the same color, or use a couple that are close in color:

Step 2: Add water and yarn

Your yarn is going to suck up color like there’s no tomorrow… so don’t worry about messing up. I added a small amount of boiling water, and then plunked my yarn in:

The yarn that’s touching the Kool-Aid-dyed-water is going to start drinking up the color. Notice how I’ve left some of the yarn out? That’s because I want the yarn to absorb the color unevenly. That’s what gives you the kettle-dyed look!

Step 3: Add more color/water until you’re happy!

You can continue to add packets of color and water until the yarn is the color you’d like. Here, I decided to pour some (hot) Kool-Aid water on top of the yarn:

If you don’t want to use boiling water, you can also use regular water, and then microwave the water + yarn so that the color will set.

See how mine looks?

Some parts are darker, some parts are lighter. Perfect!

You’ll notice that the dye is sucked up into the yarn, and the remaining water will be clear:

Step 4: Rinse and dry!

That’s it! You don’t have to wait any length of time… once the color is in the yarn, it’s in.

Squeeze the water out of your yarn and allow to dry. You’ll end up with a beautiful skein!

Swatches

Isn’t it yummy? It’s a very subtle effect, and works up beautifully. I’ve made swatches in both knitting and crochet:


So lovely!

I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know how yours turns out!

Best,
Stacey

How to Dye Yarn with Kool-Aid: Getting Started

May 7, 2012

I’m so excited to kick off Kool-Aid Dye Week! Each day, I’ll be posting about a new technique for using Kool-Aid to dye yarn… all you’ll need is some natural-colored yarn, a few shades of Kool-Aid and some hot water. Easy!

Today, I’ll talk about the basics you need to know to get started.

Select your Yarn

Kool-Aid is primarily a drink (I’m just as surprised as you are!), so it’s not the most powerful dye on the market. I like Kool-Aid because it’s cheap, non-toxic and comes in lots of bright colors.

That said, it has some limitations. Your best bet is to stick with an animal fiber (like wool or alpaca), which will happily slurp up any dye you give it. Plant fibers aren’t as easy to dye, so I wouldn’t recommend using them.

Need a refresher on fiber types? I highly recommend The Knitter’s Book of Yarn, which has a great introduction to fiber types, including their happiness with taking dyes.

I recommend using an undyed (or natural) yarn to start out with. Knit Picks has a whole line of undyed yarn bases to choose from, and you’ll occasionally find other brands with a couple of blank bases at your LYS. An undyed yarn is preferable to a plain white yarn, which has probably been bleached, and may not soak up color as well.

However, my overwhelming recommendation is to try a test swatch first! I’ve had success with white yarns, as well as overdying (i.e. dyeing a yarn that’s already colored with even more dye) yarns with Kool-Aid, so feel free to experiment!

Selecting Colors

There are a lot of Kool-Aid colors available, and non-name-brands will also work (I’ve heard rumor that there’s a tamarind flavor of drink available in Hispanic markets that is coveted by dyers!).

So, head on over to your supermarket and start choosing! Take note: the color that the drink will be isn’t necessarily the color of the packet, but you can look at the color of the drink that Kool-Aid Man is holding as a clue. (I learned this lesson the hard way: I bought a stock of Tropical Punch flavored Kool-Aid thinking it would be blue… but it’s actually red. So, check out the color of Kool-Aid man’s drink!)

There’s an awesome review of Kool-Aid colors in this article on Knitty, so be sure to have a peek! If you’re unsure, a Kool-Aid Variety Pack may be the way to go!

Dye a test-sample

Every fiber reacts to the dye slightly differently, so the best thing to do is a little swatch to see what color your yarn will turn out to be. If you’re the experimental type, feel free to skip this step… as long as you don’t mind being surprised!

Step 1: Mix your Kool-Aid
There are two basic ways to dye with Kool-Aid: 1) Mix the powder with boiling water and dip your yarn in, or 2) mix the powder with the water to dissolve, then dip yarn in and heat (either by microwave or stovetop) to set the color. Most things I read online suggest the second, but in my experience, the heat present when you add boiling water is enough to set the color.

Whichever way you pick, I suggest doing your test swatches the same way you plan to do your final dyeing… just so there will be no surprises. In my photos, I’m using the boiling water technique:

Step 2: Add the yarn!
You can see here, I’ve just stuck in a tiny strip of yarn:

I felt like my tiny piece was enough to give me an idea of the color… but feel free to add in more yarn if you’d like.

Step 3: Check out your color!
Now take out your little piece of yarn and see how it looks!

You may want to make a little notebook to keep track of your yarn swatches and which color Kool-Aid you used.

You don’t have to stick with one color! Feel free to mix colors together and do swatches for these experimental colors, too.

Put your yarn to the test

Before you begin a big project, you might want to see how your yarn and color holds up. Are you using a machine-washable yarn, and are hoping the color holds up in the washing machine? Go ahead and wash your test yarn! It’s the only way to see how the color will perform, and will prevent any future disappointments.

In my experience, the color holds pretty well… although I’m the sort who hand-washes my woolens. I’ve had one kool-aid dyed cowl for over 2 years- and the color is still going strong!

Are you excited about the possibilities?

I am! I’m in love with Kool-Aid dyeing!

Tomorrow, we’re going to start dyeing skeins of yarn! I’m going to show you how to achieve the look of a kettle-dyed yarn (i.e. fancy-pants, Artisan-dyed yarn) with your Kool-Aid… you won’t want to miss it!

Best,
Stacey

Using the Running Stitch for Attaching Amigurumi

May 1, 2012
How to Attach Flat Spots to Amigurumi Using Running Stitch - a tutorial from FreshStitches and Shiny Happy World


Hooray! It’s another Tip Tuesday! Today, I’m going to show you a new stitch to use for attaching amigurumi pieces that’ll be super-useful… the running stitch!

The running stitch is what you probably used on those lacing cards you had as a kid… so it’s not complicated to do. When you run your needle up, then down, then up again… you’re doing the running stitch.

Ordinarily, I recommend that you use a whipstitch when attaching amigurumi pieces (as shown in this video). It’s quick, secure and allows you to take advantage of those handy loops on your crochet work.

So why use the Running Stitch?

The running stitch is fabulous for times when you want a piece to lay flat. Since the running stitch runs all the way through the base fabric, you can attach crochet pieces that will lie very smoothly.

Today, I’m going to show you how to do it, using a spot on a ladybug as an example. If I had used a whipstitch, the spot would stand out and be puffy… not the look you want!

How to do the Running Stitch

First, gather your supplies. Here, I have a ladybug wing, the spot (that I’m going to attach to the wing) and a tapestry needle (I’m using a bent tip needle here, although that’s less important for the running stitch).

Now, thread the tail of the spot onto your needle:

Let’s start the running stitch! It’s easy! Stick your needle through a stitch on the edge of the spot, and all the way through the fabric of the wing:

Pull your yarn tight. To complete the second part of the running stitch, stick your needle (spaced slightly away from where it came through) back through the wing and up through the spot:

Yay! That’s it! Keep repeating the last two steps until your piece is attached!

Here’s my result:

See how nice and flat my spot is?

Where else can you use the Running Stitch?

This stitch is awesome for attaching a flat shape to another piece. You’ve just seen me use it to attach a spot to a ladybug wing (squee… my ladybug pattern is available here), but there are plenty more places where it’s useful!

I use this stitch most often when I’m attaching baby safe eyes to stuffed animals. You’ll also find it fantastic for attaching the spots to Jackie the Cow or eyes to Nelson the Owl.

And I’m sure there’s more! Can you think of how you’d use it?

Here are handy links to all the posts about attaching parts. . .

Return to the main table of contents for Let’s Learn to Crochet Amigurumi.

Move on to the lessons about faces and details.

Happy stitching!

How to attach nicely rounded pieces to amigurumi

April 17, 2012

I’ve written about how to evenly place limbs on amigurumi by using the stitches as a grid for placement.

But, sometimes, if you follow the grid technique, you get pieces that look square when they should be round:

Can you see a pointy corner on this platypus eyeball?

Fear not… this is easy to fix!

Pointy eyeballs are an easy problem to solve. All you need to do it tug!

When attaching, pull tightly after you stitch a corner:

The tugging will round the corner out!

Problem solved!

Looking for the Platypus pattern? He’s a new one! Click here to grab it!

Here are handy links to all the posts about attaching parts. . .

Return to the main table of contents for Let’s Learn to Crochet Amigurumi.

Move on to the lessons about faces and details.

Happy stitching!

Designing a Banana Slug: a peek into the process

April 16, 2012

Right now, I’m in Santa Cruz, CA… tagging along with the hubby who has a conference to attend at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In case you didn’t know, the UCSC mascot is a banana slug:

It’s not a fierce mascot, but a darn cute one. I, personally, am a lover of snails and slugs, so I just couldn’t help but to design a crocheted banana slug for the occasion:

How did I design a banana slug… you may wonder? Here’s how it went:

The sketch

When I’m designing a plushie, I want to make sure that I’m not copying anyone else’s design… and that my design is different enough from existing designs so that it’s clearly my own.

In the case of slugs, there is one undisputed queen of crocheted slugs, and that’s Cheezombie.

image from Cheezombie’s Etsy Shop
Cheezombie’s slug is characterized by a big mouth, eyes on stalks and a distinctive tail shape.

Fortunately, the sketch I had in my head of a slug was quite different:

My idea for a slug had no mouth, buggy eyes and separate antennae. Different and adorable- it was time to get crocheting!

As an aside: I don’t always sketch before I start crocheting. In this case, I had an idea in my head and got straight to work. I just drew this sketch for you to see… I’m so terrible at drawing that making a sketch rarely contributes much!

Starting to crochet

I started crocheting the pieces according to the idea I had in my head… and came up with a guy who was pretty cute:

He was cute… but had two problems:

  1. He was a bit front-heavy, meaning that he’d topple forward unless positioned very carefully.
  2. He just didn’t look… well, slug-y enough!

What to do?

Then it hit me… he needed a foot-ruffle!

The finished slug

I added a foot ruffle, and was very pleased with the result!

The ruffle allows him to sit nicely without toppling, and added that extra slug-i-ness I was looking for!

I loved him so much, that I made a ‘normal’ slug color as well:

Look out for the pattern!

That was a little peek into my process: a little sketching (sometimes), then crocheting and adjusting until it comes out right!

Get the pattern here.

Best,
Stacey

Knook (knitting with a crochet hook): is it worth learning?

April 5, 2012

Have you heard of the Knook (pronounced ‘nook’)? It’s a very clever hook/technique that allows you to form a fabric that looks like knitting by using a special crochet hook.

While it’s a very interesting idea, it requires learning new stitches (not crochet stitches or knit stitches), so isn’t exactly a short cut for learning to knit. I’ll show you know knooking is done, then chat about the pros and cons, so you can decide whether you’d want to learn to knook, or would rather just learn to knit.

How to knook

The knook is a crochet hook with an eye at the non-hook end (exactly like a locker hook, if you’re familiar with one) accompanied by a nylon cord. I haven’t seen knooks for sale alone in the store, so you’re probably best off grabbing The Knook Beginner Set, which comes with a variety of hooks, cords and a beginners book. Videos about how to knook are available on the Leisure Arts Website, and they’re pretty clear and easy to follow.

You begin knooking by threading the cord into the eye in the hook. The first row is done by crocheting a single chain, nothing tricky!

To Knook the first row, you insert your hook into the chain stitches and pick up your working yarn… similar to how you would work in Tunesian Crochet. Then, you slip all of your loops onto the cord:

To continue, you use the hook to pick up a new row of stitches, inserting the hook into the loops that are now held on the cord. Whether you make knit or purl stitches depends on which way you wrap the yarn around the hook.

The fabric looks pretty impressively like a knit fabric!

The Advantages of Knooking

The advertisement is true: you can accomplish a fabric that looks like a knit fabric by using only the knook (crochet hook + cord). For crocheters, there are some big advantages:

  • If you’re already familiar with using a crochet hook, the movements will feel very natural, most likely making the technique easier to learn.
  • The first row is done by crocheting a chain, so there’s no need to learn a cast on.
  • Stitches remain on the cord while you’re working, so there’s less danger of dropped stitches (but see my exception to this in the next section).

The Downsides to Knooking

There’s no doubt that it’s a clever tool, but there are some downsides to learning knooking, especially if your goal is to make knitted items that you’ll see in patterns:

  • You need to learn how to wrap the yarn to knit and purl- these aren’t the same stitches that you already know from crochet.
  • A fair amount of translation is required if you wanted to make an item from a knitted pattern. There are knooking books available, but you’d be limited to that small selection of patterns.
  • The stitches are kept on a nylon cord with no method of securing the stitches. If you were to toss your knooking in a bag, you’ve have oodles of dropped stitches if the cord came out.

Is it worth it?

I’m going to start with an interesting statistic that I’ve gathered after years of teaching knitting and crochet. Knitters, when first learning crochet, typically do no better than the rest of the novice crocheters. (sorry, knitters!) However, crocheters, when learning to knit, typically learn much faster than newbie knitters!

Crocheters already know how to tension the yarn, hold things in their hands, and all they really need to learn (in order to knit) is how to pass a stitch from one needle to another. In my experience, with a good teacher and when learning to knit continental (i.e. holding the yarn in the left hand, which is how a crocheter holds it when crocheting), crocheters have a fairly easy time learning to knit.

So, if you’re deciding whether to learn to knook, it’s important to think about your goals. Do you want to knit socks? Learn to knit. Do you want to knit sweaters? Learn to knit. Do you just love the look of knitted fabric and want to make small projects? Maybe knooking is for you.

One main factor is that the knook is a product manufactured by one company… so you only have one hook style available to you and a limited selection of pattern books. Both crocheting and knitting have available lots of different hooks/needles to suit your particular style, and patterns made my thousands of designers. In order to invest time in learning to knook, you’ll have to be sure that you’re happy being limited to the options available.

I have spoken with some people who love that the action uses a crochet hook, and much prefer knooking over learning to knit. Wonderful! I’m happy whenever someone finds what works for them!

But if you have a hankering to knit… I’d recommend giving knitting a try!

Best,
Stacey

A (mini) guide to selecting fiber content in a yarn

March 29, 2012

Have you ever knit a beautiful alpaca scarf and said, “Gee, I like it… but I didn’t know it’d be so warm!” Every yarn fiber has different properties that make it soft/warm/itchy. So, it’s worth learning a bit about the fibers before starting a project!

It’s impossible to give you all the info you need to know about yarn fibers in one little blog post… in fact, whole books have been written on the topic!

For more information about how fibers and properties of the yarn (single ply, thickness, etc) affect your final project, I highly recommend The Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn. There’s also a fabulous section all about fiber properties in The Knitter’s Life List – definitely worth getting if you’re looking for more info!

Wool

Ah, our friend wool! We’ve all heard of it, and for a lot of people, wool has a bad reputation for being itchy and allergy-causing. While there are some folks with a genuine allergy to wool, wool-allergies are pretty rare. Chances are, the person has a sensitivity to coarse wool fibers. And who can blame them… no one likes an itchy sweater!

If you were made to wear a wool sweater in the 80’s as part of your school uniform (like my poor hubby), you probably have horrible nightmares about the itch factor… but fear not! Not all wool is itchy!

Different sheep breeds produce wool with different (staple) lengths of fiber and courseness. Coarser and longer fibers (in general) are scratchier, but more durable and water-resistant. Shorter fibers (heard of Merino?) are oh-so-soft, but prone to pilling and need to be handled more gently.

In general, wool needs to be hand-washed (because too much agitation will cause the yarn to felt). However, there are some ‘super-wash’ wool yarns available on the market: yarns where the wool fibers have been treated to prevent felting. These super-wash yarns are a great choice for baby items!

If you want to use natural fibers for an amigurumi project, wool is a great choice for any of my patterns.

To try:

Alpaca

An alpaca is a cousin of the llama, and some breeds have incredibly soft fiber. Alpaca is warmer than wool, but has a tendency to be a little bit prickly.

Alpacas come in a wide range of colors, and the yarns available on the market reflect this wide color range.

To try:

Cotton

You’ve heard the song, right? The fabric of our lives…

I totally love cotton! Some cottons are incredibly soft (there are different breeds of cotton just like there are breeds of sheep!) and items made from cotton are lightweight and cool, partially because of cotton’s ability to absorb water (and sweat). However, cotton is much less elastic than wool, so it’s best to select projects designed to be made with a cotton that take into account its lack of elasticity.

Cotton naturally comes in a range of colors, although commercially produced yarns in the tans and greens are becoming harder and harder to find due to a difficulty in sourcing the raw product.

Typical cotton production requires a very heavy use of pesticides, so organic cotton yarns are worth investigating.

To try:

Silk

Yummy! Silk is made from the cocoon of a silkworm… a single thread can be hundreds of feet long!

Silk is incredibly soft, takes dye amazingly and has the superb ability to keep you warm when it’s chilly and cool when it’s hot.

Traditional silk production involves killing the larvae inside the cocoon, which is necessary to unravel one continuous thread of (highly desirable) silk. ‘Peace Silk’ is made by letting the larvae emerge from the cocoon before harvesting the silk threads. This results in shorter threads, but a live silkworm.

In yarn, silk is often blended with another fiber (like wool) to produce a yarn with a combination of elasticity and shine.

Other fibers

Oh, I’ve hardly scratched the surface! There’s yarn from bison, possum, corn, soy, banana silk… even crab shells! And each yarn fiber has its own exciting collection of properties!

So, even though I haven’t had time to chat about them all, I hope I’ve encouraged you to give a different fiber a try… and have given you a little more information that you can use before starting your next project!

A plan for organizing your yarn stash!

March 25, 2012
A Plan to Organize Your Yarn Stash - from FreshStitches and Shiny Happy World

Every knitter and crocheter has one… it’s called a ‘yarn stash’. And, if left unchecked, your stash can quickly turn into an unkept mess that just seems to keep on growing (on it’s own, of course!). But don’t worry! I’m here with a step-by-step-guide to organize yarn and get your stash under control.

Finding yarn in your stash is the key to using it

How many times have you bought yarn for a project… only to later discover that you had a very similar yarn at home? That’s because if you can’t find a yarn quickly and easily, you’ll forget that it’s there.

So, organizing your yarn so that you know what you have (and know how to get to it) is key. I’m not going to go into details about a specific organizational system (bins vs. shelves vs. baskets), because you have to find what works for you.

I am going to show you how to go through what you own and get your yarn under control.

Step one: drag it all out and sort it

Now, I know that some of you with larger stashes are rolling your eyes right now. But seriously, how can you know what you have unless you actually get it all out and look at it?

You can’t just say, ‘oh, I know what’s in that bin’… because you probably don’t. So get it all out.

Now that it’s out, sort it into piles. You’ll have to pick categories that make sense to you. Mine are: yarn for ‘real projects’ (i.e. yarns I have multiple skeins of), yarn for one skein projects (usually pretty sock yarn), yarn for custom stuffed animal orders (worsted weight yarns that are partial skeins), scrap yarns, and yarn to get rid of.

It’s important to be honest about your piles. Yarns only make it into my ‘scrap yarn pile’ if it’s a partial skein that I would actually use to make a scrap afghan. Nothing under 20 yards. No laceweight. No eyelash. Be honest with yourself!

Now these piles may take up your entire living room. I know it’s scary… but you’re after something better!

Catalog, wind and store

Now that you’ve divided your yarn into piles, resist the temptation to just put it back on the shelf!

Is some of your yarn tangled? Were you able to see it in its old storage space? If not, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Here’s what I do:

Catalog

Of course, we all fantasize about beautiful shelves that allow us to store pretty skeins in full view. But, many of us don’t have that kind of space, and need to use bins or boxes. So it’s important to take note of what you have.

I love the ‘stash’ tool on Ravelry – it allows you to list the yarn that you have and even list it ‘for sale or trade’ if it’s a yarn that you don’t want anymore.

Wind

If your yarn is in full skeins, then it’s probably behaving itself without getting tangled. However, if you have partial skeins, they have a propensity to get themselves in knots.

I have a Lacis Ball Winder that I use to wind partial skeins into cakes (see a how-to-video, here). When wound, the yarns stack nicely, and lay in a bin without getting tangled.

Store

NOW that your yarn is neat and cataloged, you can put it back on your shelf!

Make plans

Sure, your yarn looks neat… but don’t stop there! Do yourself a favor and make plans with the yarn while it’s still fresh in your mind.

When I’ve gone through my yarn, I like to match yarn with projects. That way, when I’ve finished a project and am itching to start another… I already have one (that uses yarn from my stash!) set up. That keeps me from buying more yarn on a whim.

For example, I have 10 skeins of this yarn in a color that just doesn’t flatter me at all:

My plan is to over-dye the yarn in brown and knit a Buttercup. If I didn’t make the plan, I would probably just leave that yarn languishing!

Weigh your yarn for project planning

If you have partial skeins, it can be hard to know how much yarn you have- making it hard to plan a project. A real help is to weigh your yarn. I have an inexpensive digital scale that I use to weigh mystery bits of yarn. By using the information on the ball band, you can calculate the yardage… and plan a project!

Enjoy!

Phew! That was a lot of work… but now you can sit back, knit, and enjoy your beautiful stash!

Want tips for organizing and decluttering your whole craft room? Wendi has a great post here.