Yarn Balls??

Joel · 05-07-2005, 05:29 PM

So what's the deal with Yarn Balls?

I've seen several patterns that call for them. Many of the how-to-knit books talk about knitting from a yarn ball and I've even seen one book on how to make a yarn ball.

Seeing as yarn typically comes in skeins or cones... is there any reason we are supposed to make yarn balls? Does it help with tension?

:?:

knitqueen · 05-07-2005, 10:34 PM

I always wind my yarn into a regular old ball. I just find that the yarn un-winds easier as I knit when it's in a ball vs. a skein or whatever.

KellyK · 05-07-2005, 10:38 PM

Some yarn comes in "skeins", some in "balls" and some in "hanks"...take a look at the links to see the difference.

Julie · 05-08-2005, 03:15 AM

Amy has a great video on how to wind a center-pull ball of yarn at the bottom of this page. It's great, of course.

I like to wind my yarn into balls because if there are going to be tangles, it's easier to deal with them during the winding process vs. when I'm already knitting.

brendajos · 05-08-2005, 04:15 AM

yup i just spent the last hour or so winding my new yarn into balls too. i find that it makes it easier to work with and it helps to get to know the yarn that way. my LYS always offers to wind my hanks for me into balls but i just really like doing it myself...

rebecca · 05-08-2005, 05:50 AM

I'm afraid that I just did something terribly stupid & completely lost the post that I just made on this subject....or....it's about to be repeated...okay....
yarn balls....I wind my yarn into balls & put the individual ball in a zip lock bag & cut the corner out of the bag thru which the yarn can go, this will keep it from getting tangled & keep it clean when the cat decides to play with the yarn (in the bag) on the floor when I'm knitting...works very well for me...I normally will rewind everything into a ball.
have a great week one & all

DotMom61 · 05-08-2005, 10:51 PM

Another advantage I've found to winding into balls: You find out whether or not there's a knot in your skein or hank. I then just cut the knot out and wind into two balls or make a join and wind it all together.

Stacy · 05-09-2005, 05:22 PM

Hello,

Can you explain a 'join'? I am new to knitting. I recently made dishcloths for my mom and mother-in-law. I balled the cotton, but there was a knot in one. I just assumed to knit as usual. Needless to say it made a very noticable spot on the cloth. Then next time I came to a knot I cut the yarn and then added it as if I were adding a new color. Is a join easier?

Thanks!

Stacy

brendajos · 05-09-2005, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by Stacy

Hello,

Can you explain a 'join'? I am new to knitting. I recently made dishcloths for my mom and mother-in-law. I balled the cotton, but there was a knot in one. I just assumed to knit as usual. Needless to say it made a very noticable spot on the cloth. Then next time I came to a knot I cut the yarn and then added it as if I were adding a new color. Is a join easier?

Thanks!

Stacy

you can check Amy's videos for joining here http://knittinghelp.com/knitting/bas...iques/misc.php

I must confess that so far i have just knitted through the knot and it hasn't been noticable but if i were doing something like a dish cloth i suppose it would. i am not sure i wouldn't still do a knot on something like that though since it will get beat up so much and a knot is generally stronger than a join would be.

DotMom61 · 05-09-2005, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by Stacy

Hello,

Can you explain a 'join'? I am new to knitting. I recently made dishcloths for my mom and mother-in-law. I balled the cotton, but there was a knot in one. I just assumed to knit as usual. Needless to say it made a very noticable spot on the cloth. Then next time I came to a knot I cut the yarn and then added it as if I were adding a new color. Is a join easier?

Thanks!

Stacy

Ah, Brenda beat me to it! :-) And, actually, I have knit a knot into a dishcloth before, but it was just for me, and I made sure the knot ended up on the "wrong" side (is there a wrong side for dishcloths?).

When I mentioned "join" above, I was thinking of either using a Russian join or felting the ends together, and both of those are shown on the page that Brenda linked to. If I ran across a knot in cotton, and I cared, I would just do like Amy's suggests, and knit the two yarns together for a few stitches.