How do you organize your yarn stash and keep track of which yarns you own or use for a particular project? Do you have a system? Or do you just tie a piece of the relevant yarn around the yarn band and chuck it into a drawer never to be found again?
My “yarn organization” used to look like this:
A whole bunch of yarn ball bands with lengths of yarn tied around them to help me keep track of what each yarn was. I could show you my first rudimentary efforts at cataloguing them, but I am too embarrassed, frankly.
Once I started designing in earnest, I needed a better way to organize my yarn stash. This is what it looks like now:
Each yarn is attached to a page, by brand, and labelled with the Shade Number and the Shade Name. All these luscious strands of yarn (and a few of my pattern ideas) now live in these two files (with many more to follow):
The Lion and the Elephant pictured above are from my book, Amamani Puzzle Balls (also available as an Electronic Download
). The pile of squares is from the Block a Week CAL 2014, and the wavy goodness under the Lion is a WIP that I am calling Lazy Waves (the pattern for which can now be found HERE).
Things You Will Need:
- Lever Arch File
- Mod Podge
- Paintbrush
- Heart Punch
- Template (for printed sheets)
Optional
- Laminator and Lamination pouches (like this Purple Cows Hot and Cold Laminator
)
I wanted my pretty yarn to have a pretty home, so I started off by covering a Lever Arch file with fabric and Mod Podge
I used Shweshwe, which is a traditional South African fabric. The fabric is very stiff and it is often called the denim, or tartan, of South Africa.
I used it because I love the designs, but more importantly, because my mom gave me these pieces of Shweshwe and when I miss her (South Africa is so far away!!), I just look at the bookshelf where the files live and I feel a tiny bit better.
Just look at that beautiful fabric!
Once my files were covered, I printed out some of these templates. I stuck a ball band at the top of each page (some brands needed more than one page, because I have so many shades)…
…and then laminated the pages. This is not strictly necessary. If you print the template out on cardstock, you should be fine. But I like myself some laminating!
I made sure that the care instructions were visible. For some brands, like the Stylecraft above, I had to cut the ball band into segments.
Then I took a Heart Punch
Oooh…hearts…and of course my mind was running away with possible uses for the cut-out hearts. And as I write this, I remember that I had actually wanted to take the hearts with to South Africa when we went to visit. They would have made a perfect addition to my sister’s confetti. Blast!
When that was done, I took my ball bands and noted down the Shade Number and Shade Name of each colour.
At first I attached the yarn by just looping it through the hole, like so:
Isn’t that just scrumptious? Unfortunately, all those dangly bits of yarn were very annoying…
…so I took my crochet hook and turned them into shorter, more manageable chains.
I cannot tell you how useful it is to have all my yarns “listed” like this. Whenever I need to reference a yarn I can just open my “catalogue” and flip through until I find it.
No more running around the house rummaging in all sorts of drawers and bags and coat pockets to find a wayward yarn-band and it’s corresponding piece of yarn.
While I was going through the photos for this post, I stumbled upon this one of Kettle the (grumpy) Cat giving me the evil eye. Yes, I fit the stereotype. I own a cat!
Debbie Pribele has made another version of the Yarn Stash Organizer. You can find that HERE.
This blog post contains affiliate links. I only link to products I personally use or would use. All opinions are my own.
Maria says
I love this so much!! One thing I was wondering is how do you keep your binder from “exploding” with all the yarn on the first three holes? Mine is already bulging and I haven’t even added them all yet.
Dedri Uys says
My Lever Arch file is quite thick and robust. It is so full that it is the same width at the front as it is at the back, but it took A LOT of yarn to get it to that point.
Angie says
Wow! This is now on my to do list for this weekend. Right now all my yarn is in plastic storage bins and I have to dig through to see what’s in them. So on top of the binder I’m planning to make cards to hang outside each bin. This is going to make every thing easier.
Therese Lee says
I use your file system for my yarn collection. It’s amazing. Works a treat when I need to see what I already have in my huge stash. I keep my yarn in large containers and they’re all numbered.
Dedri Uys says
Wonderful idea to number them :) I’m glad you find it useful x
Jo Donkin says
How do you keep track of how much you have of each yarn? What do you do when you don’t have any left but still want to record what it was, and then you buy some again or…. I am in utter chaos with my stash and can never find anything, and I’m novice enough not to know how much is left of something unless it’s a full ball so how do you tell how much is left? This looks like a great idea, and I have to just start somewhere!
Thank you
Dedri Uys says
Hi Jo. I collect samples of all the yarn I have used, even if I don’t have any left. It helps me pick colours textures for future projects if I can physically look at (and touch) the yarn while I decide. As for how much I have left, I tend to store types of yarn together so that I can easily see how many I have left of each colour. For instance, all my stonewashed is in the same see-through container. Partial balls are also in there, but in a see-through bag so that I can see at a glance what I have. If I need to work out how much is left on a partial ball, I weigh it and convert that to meters. Stonewashed XL, for example, is 75m per 50g ball. That one’s easy to work out because it is 1.5m per 1g. If I have 30g left, I have 45m left. I hope that makes sense.
natalie says
hello,
I love your template but I was wondering if you have one that has a space for the weight instead of the lot? usually when I make things I know I may not always get the same lot number, so weight would be more useful for me. or is there any possible way to edit the page?
thanks
Dedri Uys says
I don’t have one of those, but it is easy enough to edit the PDF template in your PDF program on your computer. You can replace lot with weight or whatever else you wish to :)
Katie says
Ermigerd, thank you. I am just starting to make blankets for friends and I was puzzling how to keep my yarns for projects organized. I can mark down what the project is and who for, which yarns I’m using for it, and make notes about the cost of the materials! WOOT!
Stéphanie says
Bonjour,
Je suis intéresser par votre tutoriel Organize Your Yarn Stash, je trouve sa très intéressent.pour le tricots
Je voulais savoir si il étais possible d’avoir ce tutoriel en français S.V.P
Merci D’avance
Dedri Uys says
Hi Stéphanie :) Unfortunately, no-one has approached me about translating it into French yet. If you know of anyone, please let me know.
ELIZABETH RIVERA says
This is a wonderful idea. I like to see and touch also when I am talking about yarn stash.
Stephanie Jevyak says
First, what a fabulous idea! I cannot tell you how many times I’ve lost labels or could not recall the yarn I used for a project. Now I’m sure it’s just me but I cannot get the template link to work… I would be so very grateful if you would be kind enough to email it to me! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing this awesome idea with us fellow hookers. God bless.
Dedri Uys says
I’ve emailed it to you :)
Annie says
This is GREAT! Thank you!
I wonder what kind of pencil you use to write?
Dedri Uys says
I use a permanent marker.
Annie says
Thanks!
Sarah says
This is a really cool idea! I love how you don’t have to pick through your yarn to know what you have. I don’t know if I could pull this off, but I might try a modified version of this!
Jenny says
Let us know how you modify it for your own needs, Sarah :)
Jenny
Linda Ellis says
What a great idea. I am using Ravelry to keep a record of the things I have made and have made colour pegs so that I can try out colour combinations before I start but have been wondering how to organise samples of the yarns I have used.
Janine says
Absolutely brilliant! I never know what yarn I have so am always buying new yarn. I will be doing this but I think I will make the “tails” a little more stubby. Enough to see the colors but not enough to dangle. Also may make separate folders for wool, acrylic etc. I keep my yarn in different plastic boxes so will number the boxes to match a number on the yarn line. Thank you so much for taking the time to do the tutorial. So very helpful.
James Craw says
I’ll be getting myself organized soon. I use almost only Red Heart Super Saver yarn with what I make. Given that I’m getting into Amigurumi it’s so much more important that I be able to find the color I want when I need to buy more. Only reason I can think you’d change the page information is if you tried to group colors together or if a color was discontinued. Thanks so much for doing this. Any other tips as far as what marker to use, what size tip, or things like that?
Dedri Uys says
It would look quite pretty if you grouped colours together! As for discontinuation, I still keep those colours in my file in case I need to check which colour I used if someone asks.
I use Staedtler permanent markers (fine).
Cazzy (Carol Vile) says
That is a fantastic idea, I just gave away a load of binders too! Do you write on the laminated sheet, so you can change it?
I think I would also need to add how many skeins I had so I could plan projects. I like your version the best.
Dedri Uys says
Hi Carol. I do write on the laminated sheets, but I don’t ever change them. The swatches serve as a reference if I ever need to check which specific yarn/colour I used for a previous project. I don’t use it to keep a tally of how much I have, because I try not to have so much yarn that it would need cataloguing, but you can easily make a note on yours.
San says
This, is a GRAND idea! :) Thank you so much for taking the time to make this tutorial, and for sharing!
May the God of Yarn bless you ;o)
Paige says
I would add little boxes to write in if you have 3, 2, 1 skein, or are out, of a specific colour :)
Ann Snell says
what a brilliant idea!
Dedri Uys says
Thank you :)
Emily says
What type of hole punch do you need for this type of binder? The 2 hole punch I have does not have the correct spacing for the lever arch binder.
Dedri Uys says
Emily, hi. I use a standard hole punch and the spacing is perfect.
Sabina says
I love love LOVE this idea! I am curious as to why you use a lever arch file? I have tons of binders laying around, so I wonder if it makes a difference as to what kind i use?
Dedri Uys says
Hi Sabina. Any folder will do, but the lever arch is a) nice and thick and b) nice and deep and c) nice and sturdy. The extra depth means that my yarn tails are not hanging out all over the place as they would with a smaller folder. Also, I just like lever arch files more than others :)
Emily says
Do you need a special hole punch for this type of binder?
Dedri Uys says
Not at all, Emily. A regular hole-punch works. The ‘prongs’ are a standard distance apart.