How to Start a Ball of Yarn

Wind yarn into balls for easier use.

Many yarns come in skeins or hanks and some upscale handmade yarns come in twisted bunches, but all of them can be made easier to use by winding the yarn into a ball before you begin to knit or crochet. A ball of yarn can be kept in a bag or bowl to keep it from rolling, will unwind easily and prevents knots and uneven tension. Take the time to wind your yarn into a ball and you'll have a smoother time with your craft.

Instructions

1. Place the end of the yarn between your first and second fingers of your left hand. Hold the yarn in your right hand and wind it around the first two fingers on the left hand. Keep winding until you have ten rotations of yarn around your fingers.

2. Slip your fingers gently out of the loops of yarn, holding them secure with your right hand so that they don't undo. Pinch the loops in the center. Wrap the yarn strand around the center of the pinched loops three times. You have created a sort of figure 8 with a wrapped waist.

3. Fold the top loop in the figure 8 down over the top and the bottom loop up toward the back. You now have two layers of loop with the wrapped center in between.

4. Wrap the yarn around this folded bundle of yarn. Wrap five times in one direction, then turn the bundle and wrap five times in another direction. Keep wrapping the yarn while turning the ball in every direction. After 30 or 40 wraps it will begin to have a ball shape.

5. Wrap the yarn around the ball in random directions, never letting the yarn go in one direction too many times before moving. This will keep the ball in the roundest shape possible.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are left handed, switch the directions in the first step for right and left hand.