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Yarn Management
70 Plays11 days ago
Whether it's stranded colorwork or a single skein project, how do you manage all that yarn? Hosts Andrew (Caliri Creations) and Kelly (Cocky Crocheter) talk juggling balls (of yarn) and handling their cakes (of yarn) while trying not to lose the thread of the conversation in the tangled mess of this unexpectedly hilarious topic.
Music Credit: Break by Moavii | https://www.youtube.com/@MoaviiMusicFree To Use | https://freetouse.com/music Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
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Transcript
Introduction of Hosts and Podcast
00:00:04
Speaker
Bye.
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello, hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of 2CCs of Fiber Arts. i am your ah host, Kelly, and here's my co-host, Andrew, here.
What is Yarn Management?
00:00:21
Speaker
And we are very excited today because we are about to embark on a topic that actually, it's kind of a bit of a mystery to me because um Andrew picked this topic today, and it is called yarn management. And when he told me this, I had in my mind what that meant, but it turns out that is not what he was talking about. So i was like, oh, okay. Well, then, This is a mystery, not just to you, but also to me. So I'm going to have some good questions about this. So the first thing I want to ask today, Andrew, is when you say yarn management,
00:00:53
Speaker
What is it that like? OK, well, actually, you know what? So first I'm going to say what I thought it was. I thought we were talking about like going through our stash and talking about how we manage the stash yarn. And you're like, no, no, no, no. That's not what I'm talking about. Yeah. No, baby. That's not it. Educate us. What is darn management or like the briefest definition you can give us?
00:01:16
Speaker
It's easy, girl. I feel like you're going to be like, oh, I obviously, of course, know what this is. But it's whenever, anytime you're working with multiple colors in a project and you have to manage the yarn.
00:01:29
Speaker
Like you have to make sure that the yarn isn't tangling up on itself as you're working. And it's like a big thing in knitting color work. See, see, you had that realization right there. You know what it is. Right there. there I do. Okay. All right. So this makes a lot more sense. So now, okay. My ears are clicking. Okay. This is, okay. So now that you've explained to me and the audience who would be just as confused
Techniques for Yarn Management
00:01:58
Speaker
as I was. So give us some grace there. um I feel like it's a pretty common phrase of yarn management. Like I didn't come up with that. I have heard that from others.
00:02:11
Speaker
And so I have adopted that terminology. So, you know, this isn't like a Andrew will only term. Very common. Okay. Well then. ok Well, I guess I have no common sense then, which I mean, really attracts a lot, but I guess you've just been living under ah a ball of yarn over there.
00:02:31
Speaker
I have like multiple balls of yarn. Yes, exactly. Yes. ah Well, if we were talking about stash management, then I would be having all kinds of jokes and things I was going to say, but now I am woefully unprepared for this episode. Thank you so much for that. So I'm going to punt it back over to you. And you're going tell us what.
00:02:52
Speaker
OK, when you say like yarn management, OK, you're talking one of the examples you gave was working multiple skeins while you're doing color work. Can you give us an example of the different like what type of color work you're talking about when it comes to managing your skeins of yarn?
00:03:07
Speaker
Well, yeah, of course. ah I mean, The most recent example I have is doing that bear sweater. And so there were certain sections that actually one row had three different colors in it. So it's not like you can just knit right through that. Like you actually do have to kind of have some strategy of like how you're going to maintain tension on all three strands of yarn.
00:03:31
Speaker
while you're doing it, while you're picking up all the floats, like it's actually like, it's not that it was impossibly hard, but it was an added layer of challenge. You know, like you have to actually think about those things.
00:03:45
Speaker
um I can imagine that it was also particularly challenging given your extra loose tension and color work is difficult to maintain already when it comes to tension. So having juggle all of that yarn, like all at the same time,
00:04:01
Speaker
Yeah, just covered in yarn.
Challenges with Intarsia Knitting
00:04:04
Speaker
And my floats, some of my floats are loose, like loose, loose. Like, i if I'm not careful when putting on the sweater, like a couple of them, I might snag them, you know? is he's Oh, God.
00:04:20
Speaker
So, you know, it's not all I'm picturing it now. Sorry, I don't mean to keep interrupting, but I'm picturing now, like, a really loose set of floats just, like, prolapsing out of the bottom of, like, your sweater or something like that. Oh, my God. They're not that loose. They're just hanging out. Okay. Well, I mean, when you say loose, I was like, that's what I was picturing. You know, it's like, just, like, there's the bottom of the sweater, and they're just kind of like, whoa, right there.
00:04:43
Speaker
like, anyway. Sorry. Go on. Go on. I'm loose, but I'm not prolapsed loose. Come on. Yeah.
00:04:53
Speaker
Well, thank goodness you're not that loose. Okay. Sorry, let's continue with the serious topic of your floats and yarn management. Yeah. Okay, great. Back on schedule. um Yeah, it's, it's mostly just like how you hold the yarn, how you like, untangle the yarn before it gets to be too much of a problem. Like if you've done any kind of color work, you know that as you're like kind of switching between colors, the yarn can kind of like wrap around itself.
00:05:24
Speaker
And like, you have to untangle them. um I've seen it with color work, but I think the biggest issue with yarn management that I've experienced was working with intarsia.
00:05:38
Speaker
Because intarsia knitting is like when you you literally have to wrap the yarn around itself. Or like you wrap one color around the other strand. So you literally have to be moving the yarn balls over top of each other, making sure that the yarn stays. Yeah, you got to like move them. Like, you what mean? Move those balls. Yep. Yep. Move them around. job and Oh my God. oh
00:06:11
Speaker
yeah Otherwise they just, they get too tangled up. Yeah. I understand what you're trying to say with that. With like moving your balls. Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:22
Speaker
um But they will, they will get twisted and tangled and nobody wants twisted, tangled balls of yarn. No, they do not. No, no, no. yeahp If you don't untangle them, then it becomes like a huge mess. And you start running the risk of actual like knotting or like very difficult tangled. Cause like it kind of starts off as just like twists, you know, but then if you get so many twists and like, especially if you're, if the yarn balls are kind of like rolling around, they're going to tangle themselves
00:06:56
Speaker
into oblivion and it's going to be harder and harder to untangle them. So that's what I mean. Like yarn management, like untangling them as you go, kind of like if you're cooking in the kitchen and you like clean up the first step before you move on to the second step, like clean as you go, it's kind of like manage the yarn as you go to make your life easier.
00:07:19
Speaker
Okay, well, that
Managing Single Strands vs. Multiple Colors
00:07:20
Speaker
makes a lot of sense. And actually, even as we were talking through the color work aspect of it, I think in general, yarn management as we're working with it is a bigger topic, even when you're just working with a single yarn in a single color.
00:07:34
Speaker
It's like you still have to find ways to manage that yarn because I know that for me, there is a difference in how I handle my yarn balls when I'm sitting versus when I'm traveling versus when I'm in public and private. And versus when you're laying down, you handle the balls differently. Yes, yes, all the things, yes. You don't manage your yarn balls the same in all instances. So we've all got our different strategies for what we do.
00:08:01
Speaker
um So you mentioned... that, you know, working with a single strand is also like something that you would need to be able to manage yarn for. So I was wondering if you could like, talk more on that. Because, ah you know, I'm thinking mostly like, you know, when you have multiple strands, like that's what I think of with yarn management. So I'm wondering, like, what is your take on the single strand?
00:08:25
Speaker
Well, I know how much you love handling multiple yarn balls at a time, um just all at once. But sometimes it's really nice to have like just a good one on one session with a single yarn ball, just like a little mano a mano.
00:08:39
Speaker
um Yeah. And for me, um yes, ah it's it's just it's a different way of managing. um So what I like to do is we all have probably seen them. You've got those yarn bowls. So could just be a regular bowl or it could be like, you know, ah a crafted one that you get. It could be wood. It could be clay. It could be plastic. It could be anything. I've seen all kinds of people do that.
00:09:01
Speaker
But I found that those are really only useful insofar as you have an actual yarn ball. So it's like actually round on all sides. So it doesn't matter which way you're tugging. It's always going to roll with the, with the bowl.
00:09:16
Speaker
But then also the bowl itself has to be sturdy enough and have enough weight to it that it's like, it will stay put because otherwise if I yank too hard, I might accidentally pull the ball out of the bowl.
00:09:31
Speaker
And oh yeah I do that. Then the ball goes flying and then the ball goes flying. It's just balls of yarn in my face. And it's just like not as pleasant as I would like in my experience, especially if I'm sitting around with a bunch of my knitting friends and I'm like, oh, shoot, the ball just flew right in my face. Then they have a little laugh and my embarrassment and everything like that. um But that's something you're probably used to, you know.
00:09:54
Speaker
So mean balls in your face. It's true. I mean, I have been, I've been, I've been doing it for years. There've been so many yarn balls flying in my face. Yes. So and apparently yes even, even in a group in front of people, you know,
00:10:09
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. and And thankfully, I'm not the only one that that's happened to. So like they we all talk about it. It's like, it's just everywhere. It's flying all over the place. Happens to the best of us.
00:10:21
Speaker
Oh, my God. Especially the best of us, yes. um Because we're really like aggressive when it comes our knitting and crocheting. We're like, yeah, just tugging all the time. Yes. Yeah. ah ah oh Okay.
00:10:34
Speaker
So we've we've derailed so far that I'm going to put us on a different rail, but same topic. but like like But so the bowl is great for yarn balls. But if I have a cake of yarn, a nice thick cake of yarn, um I actually... to Please. have...
00:10:56
Speaker
ah
00:10:59
Speaker
i actually have i I was gifted this because somebody was like, I don't really need this anymore. I've already got one of my own. And so I just want to give it to somebody. It's this Chow Goo wooden spindle looking thing.
00:11:14
Speaker
it It's like this carved long spindle on a rolling base that rotates. Oh yeah. And you lied the cake onto it.
00:11:25
Speaker
ah And then you can just pull from the outside and it just like turns. Oh, yes. Yes. Exactly like that you just that. If you want to do a little demo for us, you slide the cake onto it. Yes, there you go.
00:11:41
Speaker
but it right in the Yes, right there. Right on there. i This cake is wound very tight. Oh my God, that cake needs to loosen up a bit. Just work it up, just work it up little bit. There we go Now it's on there then you can pull the yarn like this.
00:11:59
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Yes, very good. yeah Now the problem with mine is that I need to add a little bit of like some lubricant of some kind and I actually do mean that like like an oil or something. right now it's like it'll kind of like jerk and stop every once in a while because like i mean it just but i if i take care of it it works really really well especially when i'm using cakes of yarn so i talked a lot about yeah that so those are examples of single skeins or single cakes of yarn um and how i manage them so there we go i'm gonna let you talk now that's a
00:12:39
Speaker
fascinating development for this episode that I did not anticipate, but I'm heavily enjoying this conversation. so well, funny that you brought these up.
00:12:50
Speaker
Well, also glad I was able to give a demonstration. ah Mine's bigger. hes Well, actually it's funny because I was going to, um i was going to mention that they actually make um double ones of these. So when you're doing color work, like I've seen ones that have like, it's two of these. And then the way that you get around your yarn management, instead of having to like, you know, move this one over here and like rearrange them, like, you know,
00:13:22
Speaker
I don't know, like at a ah shop or something. It's like you just turn. It's like a platform and then you just turn it. And so then the the two things rotate like this. So they just after every like color change, you just like swap the platform and then your yarn is automatically untangled.
00:13:42
Speaker
Oh my goodness. It's like, it's like a little kind of like tag team situation where it's like, they just keep tagging in and out of like, which ones you're acting. Oh my God. i love that. Like, and you can do two at a time. Do they have any that are like three at a time or is that too much? It's like, I don't know. I'm a triple of them.
00:13:59
Speaker
Three at a time would be a lot to handle, a lot to manage. So, you know, two is a really good starting point. Okay. I agree. You shouldn't jump immediately into trying to do like three, four, five stranded color work if you just need to practice the just four ones. Oh my god, that'd be so many.
00:14:17
Speaker
So many yarn colors. ah ah It would. It really just. Well, OK, so I actually have some experience with this with an intarsia sweater that I made for a friend from an online pattern that was based on like it's this like these cats. It was like these different colored cats all throughout the sweater.
00:14:38
Speaker
But I didn't want to do floats. I didn't want to do that. But I also didn't want to weave in a bunch of in. So I thought, OK, I'll do it intarsia style. It was a mistake because I needed 14 separate balls of yarn. Oh, man. 14 at a time.
00:15:00
Speaker
i was there was no management. It was just like basically how I had to do it was I was like, OK, I can only handle one color at a time. I'm going to figure out where that color needs to go.
00:15:11
Speaker
Bam, working on that one color and then toss it to the side because I'm done with that one next. And it's like i brought the next color in and was doing that. And it was big mess of all of these messy yarn balls just like all over the place.
00:15:26
Speaker
And I actually learned a technique where you can put balls of yarn into socks. So then. Yes, I was going to say that. Hold them together. Yes. Okay. yeah good Okay. So you've done that before too then?
00:15:40
Speaker
No, I haven't. But actually, um there's a guy in my knitting group who he has a cake of yarn, but he was like pulling from the center pull, which if you're familiar with working with cakes of yarn, usually you try not to pull from the center because the cake will collapse. um I mean, I think skeins and cakes are a bit different. I do like a good center pull from a skein. ah But as far as a cake, like they're more fragile.
00:16:05
Speaker
And so you want to pull from the outside. But he was pulling from the inside, but he had them in this like, he said he got some like stockings or like pantyhose or something and cut it up and then just put that on the outside of the cake so that he could pull from the center because the elasticity of the, um,
00:16:25
Speaker
The wall, the elasticity of the sock or the whatever it is a man, I've just totally blanked. Stalking the pantyhose. Yeah. The elasticity of the pantyhose will like pull the yarn closer and closer so it won't actually collapse.
00:16:39
Speaker
um And you can pull from the center the whole way. um yeah. Okay. That makes sense. But then I'm also visualizing a bunch of little, like, especially with the 14 I was managing.
00:16:50
Speaker
all these oh yeah nude colored pantyhose with these cakes in them looking like just a bunch of little something else that I'm sure we could all visualize just like dangling around. Like, so that would probably not be something I'd be able to just take out into public and pop out onto the table. Cause then yeah people might look at and be like, what are you making?
00:17:12
Speaker
Yes. I'll be like, um, I'm making art is what I'm doing.
Community Yarn Management Techniques
00:17:16
Speaker
Yeah. Well, actually, you know, it's funny you bring that up because those um like having those like smaller like bobbins of yarn that you kind of just like leave on the work while you're going somewhere else, you know, and um really reminds me of this one person on Instagram I've seen. I'm sure you have heard of them. They ah their handle is hook for a handicraft.
00:17:40
Speaker
They crocheted the Stardew Valley map pixel by pixel. And so they were changing colors so much. oh my God. Yeah. I was like really impressed. I was like, I'm never doing that, but oh my God. Good for them. i'm Good for them doing that.
00:17:57
Speaker
Yeah. No, it was like incredible. Every time they posted an update, I was like, yes, I want to see the progress and, um you know Eventually they were showing the back of it and that's where that's what made me think of it because that's you know that's really yarn management. like I'm sure they they really had a handle on how to manage their yarn. It's kind of like what you were talking about for that cat sweater, but like on an extreme level.
00:18:27
Speaker
Yeah. Great. Okay. So even my 14 wasn't impressive enough. You had to go and give me an example of somebody who was able to handle way more yarn than I was able to, but you know what? It's okay. They're, they were obviously like operating in a different league. Like they did a whole pixel by pixel map of starting.
00:18:44
Speaker
Even without the yarn management aspect, that's already way above anything you and I would probably ever be able to do. So, you know, yeah. I mean, no it was a really impressive. Yeah, I mean, I would love to get there like their skill. like I imagine that how they managed that project, how we could then apply those skills when we're just doing our little two or three colors if we're doing color work. or yeah well Yeah, maybe they have some techniques.
00:19:12
Speaker
Yeah, I would be interested to see that. Yeah, because it's like, because I'm sure that ah people listening here, they also have their own techniques. They're like favorite ones that they
Efficient Skein Management Strategies
00:19:20
Speaker
do to manage. Because I know that there are some people, um I know that TL Yarn Crafts, like Tony, one of the things that I saw when she was doing Tunisian crochet, one of her first videos I ever saw, she was doing this like little sweet gingham baby blanket.
00:19:34
Speaker
and it would do like color changes at each block. And it was in Tarja style, but the way she did it, she was like, in order to secure to the next color, the yarn just has to twist. There's like just no other way to do it. And so she actually even mentioned, to like, people will ask me, how do I manage to not get the yarn tangled and twisted? And she was like, my answer is I just let it, I just let it twist. And after a while, when the twisting becomes too much, She pauses, untwists it all, and then oh does it all again. And I was like, okay. So I kind of actually adopted that mindset when I was working on that cat sweater of like, that's where I was like, you know it doesn't matter. I only need to concentrate on the one strand I'm working on.
00:20:18
Speaker
i don't have to worry about the others because if they're tangled, it's fine. I'll just untangle them later, but I don't need them right now. So, you know, work on my one color, set it aside, work on the next one. I did kind of rhythm where I was like, I knew what order they needed to go in. So i kind of kept them in that order. But then Yeah. When had to turn the work, I was like scooping it all up and like getting up and turning around and then setting it all down. And then yarn balls to the opposite side. And then like sitting back down. I was like, Oh my God, this is such a pain in the ass. I hated it so much. Yeah.
00:20:55
Speaker
Did you think like during that time we were going through all these motions where you're like, this just isn't worth it? Like you did that thought ever cross your mind? Yes, except I was already obligated because I was making it for a friend who bought all the yarn.
00:21:12
Speaker
And so I was like, I have to make it for her. she sent me the video, said, i you're making me this cat sweater. And I was naive and said, yes. um Yeah, I actually really wanted to. I was very excited. Um, and yeah, but like, it was definitely, it was a challenge. It came out real cute. Like I really loved the way it came out, but it was just like, I don't even know if I've seen her wear it since then.
00:21:37
Speaker
She's worn a couple of times, but I'm to to like, ah now that I'm talking you about this, I'm going to hit her up and just be like, girl, where's that cat sweater? I mean, watch this episode and you'll understand how much freaking work I went into managing the yarn for that sweater. You're going to wear that sweater. Yeah.
00:21:52
Speaker
Yeah, hi Kelly's friend who is obviously watching this. um Please wear that sweater. There was a lot of work that went into that and I wasn't even part of making it. Like, yeah please wear that sweater.
00:22:05
Speaker
but oh it's so true it's so true that was a true labor of love yes and now actually think i threw all that yarn away because it was just like sheepy like acrylic yarn that i got at mccallister's oh my god that i got at michael's um deli and so yeah yeah deli yes that's literally that was what i was like thinking was like Sorry. It's lunchtime, I guess. It might be. probably I mean, yes. During our recording session, yes, right now it is about lunchtime for me. And so my mind is all in a tangle because I'm not managing. it
00:22:44
Speaker
I don't know. There's a joke in there somewhere. come me some slack. Fasten it off. It's done. Yeah. yeah More like, um honestly, what we could really use some ah is some thought management.
00:22:56
Speaker
i like Yes, absolutely. Because we often yeah tend to lose the thread, you know. Especially when there's multiple threads we're trying to manage in the conversation. it's yes still obviously have not mastered it. so No, we have not.
Tips for Knitting in Public
00:23:15
Speaker
ah ah Okay, so I am going to ask you one more thing, at least, because I know we are starting to get close to the end of our time. We're not quite there yet, but I do want to at least like you know get something in there. um When you are...
00:23:29
Speaker
managing not even just color work like anytime you're doing like like if you're doing a bunch of skeins and you're trying to manage a project that needs multiple skeins what do you do with the yarn that you're not using but making sure that you know when it's time to like pull it like how do you manage the yarn for a project Mm-hmm. I used to, like, um like obviously, I'd just buy all the yarn I need, bring it home, and then let's say I'm doing a sweater with three colors.
00:24:02
Speaker
I will wind three of them, like one per color, and then I'll use that to start the project. but i've And I used to, like, come home and, like, wind everything, you know? i would wind all the yarn I need for the project into a cake from day one.
00:24:20
Speaker
But i was like, what if I don't need all the cakes? You know, what if I don't actually, what if I bought like way too much and I could get through this project and still have an untouched Hank at the end?
00:24:34
Speaker
So what I've started doing now is I just go like Hank by Hank. Like when I run out of one, then I get out my winder and Swift and then I i wind the next one. So i I go in like a series because if I can end the project with a full Hank intact, well, then maybe I could use that for like, um you know, my knitting group does a white elephant yarn swap every retreat.
00:24:59
Speaker
I'm like, oh, like if I had one that's unused, then maybe I wouldn't have to buy more yarn in the future. i could just give them this. um But if it's already wound into a cake, like that's not as fun to like give, you know, you want to get like an obviously untouched skein.
00:25:15
Speaker
Yeah, because if you were like, it's clearly a full amount, like we can weigh this cake to prove that it is the full 150 or whatever grams. You're like, it's not it's just not presented as well. It's like kind of like on a cooking show. They're like part of the score is presentation. And so, yeah, like a nice, beautifully wound Hank looks way better than a sloppy little cake or neat little cake. I was going to say, your cakes are not sloppy. I'm sorry. I shouldn't probably be insulting you on that. See, look how nice and clean my cakes are. They're very nice and tight, despite me being loose.
00:25:50
Speaker
The cakes are tight. Well, and that's funny that you say that because let me see if I've got, like, I have... um Dangit. What are your cakes? Oh no, I have some yeah i actually have a couple cakes of yarn here as well. Mine are also very neat and tidy and nice and tight. Yes they are, very cute. They're just not stored prettily like yours are. so yeah um Mine are just on display, you know.
00:26:20
Speaker
Well, I mean, it's because you're okay with showing them all off. I keep mine hidden away like a good girl. Yeah. Oh, I'm sure you do. I'm sure no one's ever even seen them. No, no one ever sees my cakes unless I give them permission to like my knitting group or anybody at the Starbucks that I'm sitting at. Yeah. I'm like, everyone's seen them. Yes. But I really actually do keep the yarn bowl and the spindle thingy at home because I'm not traveling with those things. Like, so yeah, actually let maybe one more quick question is like, if you are knitting in public, how do you manage your balls and cakes? Then
00:27:00
Speaker
when you're out and about. Well, I manage my balls by keeping them in my bag. Um, ah ah my, I keep them in my knitting sack that I bring with me.
00:27:12
Speaker
ah ah Well, because, okay. yeah That is actually true. i I do keep them in the bag.
00:27:24
Speaker
ah Yes. in your you're Okay. Yep. Yes, you do. so Okay. Back in the day, i used to bring this with me whenever would go to my knitting group. I put it on the table. And some some of the guys do that.
00:27:37
Speaker
But then I realized, like, you know, I don't want to be bringing this when I bring my knitting to work. You know, I don't want to bring this to work. yeah I want to bring my knitting bag to work, obviously, so I can bring my project, but I don't need to bring a whole setup. I just need the yarn and the needles. And so I just stopped bringing it. And then I realized that as I'm leaving it in the yarn bag, it actually acts as a yarn bowl itself.
00:28:02
Speaker
It's not going anywhere. It can roll around in the bag and be totally fine. doesn't get tangled. So and that's kind of how I managed the yarn on the go. Just keep those balls right in the sack there.
00:28:14
Speaker
And then I'm fine.
Listener Engagement and Podcast Promotion
00:28:15
Speaker
Yay! It's exactly where they belong so that they can, like... It is! Then they don't just go flying and hitting people in the face. Yeah, exactly. Oh, my goodness.
00:28:27
Speaker
Well, okay. So I think we have definitely exhausted this topic. Not really. I think that we could definitely continue... talking a lot about yarn balls and management and knitting sacks and all the things, because I mean, it's us, let's be real. But we're going to ahead fasten this episode off, as I mentioned earlier, we're going cut it here, um and then ah invite you to let us know what kinds of ways do you manage your yarn when you're working on projects, whether it's color work, single stranded, whether you're holding two strands together, anything like that. We would love to get your thoughts on what you like to do. And so pop them right there in the comments. And while you're at it, make sure you give this a thumbs up to let yeah YouTube know that you like it and go ahead and hit subscribe and the bell notification so that you can keep up with our newest episodes.
00:29:14
Speaker
Yes, definitely. we're We're very eager to steal your techniques from the comments section to help our own craft grow even better. So yes, definitely let us know what you all do. And like Kelly said, make sure you subscribe to our channel so you never miss a juicy conversation like this ever again.
00:29:32
Speaker
So we'll see you next time.