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I know we have a lot of yarn-loving Homies in the house. And I have learned that yarn storage is a big deal to y’all. Have you seen this awesome AND helpful storage solution: Snapware Yarn Tainer?
These “yarn tainers” come in small, medium, and large for all your different sizes of balls or skeins of yarn. And they keep your collection organized, clean, pest-free and pet-free — no more kitty paws sending your balls flying. (Yes, I giggled when I wrote that.)
It’s also a great way to take your knitting or crocheting projects with you wherever you go!
I mean… check ’em out in use:
Then head on over to Amazon to check ’em out with your dollars. Then answer me this: if you’re not using “yarn tainers” what DO you use to store and protect your yarn products? I heard something about yarn bowls?…
I keep my in-progress projects in gallon sized ziplock baggies because they are waterproof and don’t take up any extra space (confession: I actually brought THREE projects to the staff retreat).
For long term storage I have an array of Sterlite Bins organized by color and stacked in my closet.
I love these! I need some, I’m a sucker for transparent storage. 🙂
Currently I use a yarn bell to keep my yarn from running around all willy-nilly while I knit. My husband made it for me out of a flower pot. It’s the same concept as a yarn bowl, just inverted over the yarn, with a notch cut out for the yarn strand(s) to be pulled through. It works very well! And protects my yarn from my thieving corgi who thinks balls of yarn are toys.
I use those plastic folgers containers or big peanut butter jars. Just cut a hole in the lid for the yarn to go through.
Works great and doesn’t cost a thing!
Yes, coffee containers work well for this. I melt around the edges of the holes in the lid to smooth it out so the plastic doesn’t catch on the yarn as easily.
I tend to use fine grain sandpaper myself, though I hadn’t thought of melting!! *cackles and runs away lighting up a blowtorch*
HOLY SHIT!!! You want to know what my yarn currently does? ROLLS AROUND EVERYWHERE! Off the couch, off my lap, off the coffee table, out of the cardboard box (with all the rest of the yarn that is shoved in there). I need this, and it is going on my amazon wish list ASAP!
I think you guys just saved my life.
Fishbowls! If you’ve ever had a goldfish, and they’ve gone the way that goldfish do, clean up that fishbowl and use it as a yarnbowl. They’re perfect. Probably easy to find at Goodwill too. You’ll see Holly using one like this in Breakfast At Tiffany’s.
My girlfriend got me a dynamite ceramic yarn bowl that I use at home, but its not quite so convenient for on the go knitting.
My grandmother used to use empty baby wipe containers because they already have the hole in them! Put those are nicer because they are clear.
i have an under-the-bed box for my unused balls of yarn. for projects, i have an assortment of zippered tote bags, varying in size depending on the project.
I keep my projects in project bags, most of which I found at the thrift store and repurposed – those “free with purchase” bags you get from makeup companies are perfect for one- and two-skein projects, plus they zip and are generally waterproof and easy to clean. (When I spilled tomato juice on my bag on an airplane, it cleaned right up and didn’t touch my yarn at all.
My stash solution is also Sterilite bins (waterproof and moth-resistant) but I just found these Rubbermaid bins (called All Access) that OPEN ON THE SIDE, so you can access what’s in them without unstacking the whole pile to get to the bottom.
I use a ArtBin Yarn Drum that my mom got me for my birthday. It’s basically this but soft with a strap. I adore this thing!
I love yarn-tainers! I have several. They’re very useful for traveling. Also I have a set of knitting basics I can leave in each yarn-tainer: small scissors, stitch markers, measuring tape and large-eyed needle for weaving in ends.
There are a couple of downsides. One is that they don’t fit well into your purse like a cloth or plastic bag would. Even if your purse is big enough it’s a very bulky item to have in there. So sometimes when I take them on a plane I’ll make them my temporary purse and pack my real purse. The second is that for large projects they can really only hold the yarn, not the knitting as well. You wind up with this hard, bulky container that is attached to your project and has to be stored/carted around with it. So I don’t use them for anything larger than say a scarf.
For big projects I have some knitting baskets and sacks. I love the knitting baskets but the problem there is they start out specific to a project, then wind up becoming part of the overall stash storage as more and more balls find their way in there. ( How does that happen?!? LOL.. ) I include a small, clear plastic case that has my additional tools so that I’m not looking for “a needle in a haystack”, literally. The case moves from big project to big project — I don’t have duplicates of that.
I will use ziplocs occasionally but they’re not my favorite. I never got the habit of storing my project yarn separate from my project so between the scissors and needles, the bags wear out quickly.
These look really awesome! My only concern is it seems like it would be harder to use them for larger projects and colorwork projects. I have two multiball colorwork projects going on right now and … I’m keeping the balls in a tissue box. Yup, cut off the lid place in the balls, I am working them from the center so the balls stay tight together and I don’t end up with a tangled mess. For projects only using one ball at a time I love yarn bowls and our local paint your own pottery place carries them – so I can make my own unique one. Plus my tote can carry a yarn bowl and a tissue box along with my case for all the other needles and notions.
I need something to tame my unruly collection of yarn needles. Frustratingly enough, the containers I find made for such things are too short to accommodate them! So unfair.
I use an empty beer bottle six pack. The sleeve is big enough to hold my skeins upright, and I can just fold the project and set it on top. No tangling and it’s portable within the house.
If cardboard isn’t your thing, you can find durable 6-pack holders (and even collapsible, like this one: http://www.chinawholesaletown.com/Buy-Products/Collapsible-Water-Bottle-Carrier-Suppliers_111822/) . You can find the holders made out of a variety of materials like polyprene (soft case), polyester fabric, plastic, or metal.
I’ve got two Pretty Cheep Project Bags (http://www.yarn.com/webs-knitting-accessories-bags-baskets-containers/blue-sky-alpacas-pretty-cheep-project-bags/#pr-header-4841), which are $6.50 on Webs. I’d used gallon-size plastic bags before, but I lost the occasional cable or double-pointed needle when it poked through the plastic. These fit in my purse and hey, they’ve got a bird on it!
In the house, I have most of my yarn stored in three huge under-bed tubs. Yarn that is destined to be used soon-ish is stored in a huge basket next to a chair in my newly-created knitting nook, covered with a towel to keep out the dust. (Knitting nook involves aforementioned comfy chair and basket, as well as a good light, coffee table with needles and larger notions in the drawer and a sewing box with smaller notions underneath, plus books and magazines on a bookshelf. And of course a lovely hand-knit shawl to wrap around my shoulders on chilly nights. I love it.) There are a few balls of Noro and similar lovelies in a small basket where I can see them and smile whenever I pass by.
I’m loving the other ideas that have come in. In return, I must share that Webs is donating 5% of sales this week to One Fund Boston, and that they have loads of yarn on sale. You’re welcome.
My friend Becky is a potter, and she makes hand thrown yarn bowls. Right now I don’t see any on her etsy shop, but she may have a few in her home/studio shop! Here’s her web address: http://www.willowavenuepottery.com/pots.html
Thanks!
I have a fabric bag of the sort you’d use at the grocery store that carts around whatever my main WIP is. That works fine for waiting for the bus and on the bus. If I have a project that uses more colors/yarn than will fit in the bag, it’s not something I can work on on the bus, so it usually winds up in a milk crate. But other than that, I have a ton of plastic drawers and bins, and the Pounders just sit on shelves until they’re small enough to wind into a ball!
I use ziplock bags in totes for storing my stash and cloth project bags more often than not for portable projects; and idea I LOVE but have not utilized as yet is using a teapot to store a working yarn ball, using the spout to control the yarn! It probably sounds more fun than it is practical, but it would be an excuse for me to buy another teapot…
I use Crown Royal bags. They’re great for traveling since I toss my WIP in my purse or carryall. They hold a one skein yarn cake perfectly and the yarn comes out the top, tighten up the drawstring around it, and no mess/no fuss. Perfect on the go or in my cat friendly household. Crown and coke is my fiance’s drink so I have a ton of those bags. I’ve also seen them for sale at thrift shops.
Ive got a large laundry basket that sits under my end-table-turned-entertainment-center in my living room. (Teeny apartment calls for inventive storage, right?) For my knitting projects, I use an upright toilet paper holder–wind the yarn onto clean, empty toilet paper rolls, and slip them onto the holder. For crochet projects, I have a small Thirty-One bag I found at a yard sale. Perfect to hold the jumping balls as I work. Both of those get stashed in my little knitting/reading/gaming corner. (Again, teeny apartment. We have an oversized chair wedged into a corner with two bookcases, one beside and one behind it, and the end of the sofa on one side. My son cuddles up there to read, my husband turns the tv to game, and I knit there. Perfect!) I have an old oversize hobo bag I use for my loom knitting–the only yarn work allowed at the office. Then for smaller projects around the house, I have a basket that I use. 😀 Little bit of yarn everywhere.