A Yarn Lesson

When you buy yarn in a chain retail store, it typically comes in a skein.  If you can find the center inside the skein, it is best to pull the yarn from the center instead of the outside.

Why does it matter?  Well, if you pull from the inside, then your skein stays nicely in place while you crochet/knit and flows smoothly onto the hook/needles.  If you pull from the outside, your skein is constantly rolling around and falling on the floor and sometimes the strands get twisted.  

My mom asked me, why isn't your yarn in a ball?  I told her that was more for TV or for different yarn. If you buy your yarn in a hank instead of a skein, you have to roll it into a ball. Hanks are typically found at local yarn shops (LYS) and generally are more natural fiber, such as wool.  (Whereas skeins generally are more synthetic fibers, such as acrylic)

A hank looks like the photo below - in the center is how you purchase it and surrounding that is how the hank looks once you unwrap it.  As you can see, if you didn't roll this up into a ball, it would because a huge tangled mess if you tried to crochet or knit with it.

If you hand-roll a hank of yarn yourself, you will make a ball of yarn.  However, if you use a yarn-winder like the photo below, which is typically what is used at local yarn shops, then you will be left with what is called a cake of yarn, so called because it is more squarish than a ball and more cake-shaped.

Her is a ball of yarn

  

 

While this is a yarn cake

 

 

 

 

If your yarn becomes tangled and a big mess, it is referred to as "yarn barf"

 

 

There are so many forms of yarn and it seems every day, they try to come up with something new.  Recently, Red Heart came up with this new form called O'Go - which supposedly helps you from getting yarn barf.  I'm not sure if it does or doesn't - but honestly, this form isn't appealing to me at all...maybe it is because I'm not fond of the current color choices or maybe it is just because I typically don't have that much problem with using center pull skeins.

 

No matter what you call it - there are many versions and all that matters is that you create something you love with it.