Knitters/crocheters/yarn people- yarn bowls.

[cmeon]

So, yarn bowls come up a lot in pottery discussions. There aren't usually a ton of people that have yarn experience in the discussions. And my opinion of their usefulness is not popular among the people who make them.

Does anyone use one? *Can you explain why? Is it a necessary thing to you, or just a fun/pretty thing?

*Not in a snotty way- I'm REALLY wondering because the reason I've been given for their existence goes against what I experience as a knitter/crocheter.

[Captain Catnip]

I honestly never really had an interest in one because I don't sit my yarn out to knit; it stays peeking out of my project bag. They are pretty, but that's about it.

I got a yarn bowl for Xmas from my mom. It didn't even make it home, it was smashed in the car by an instant pot. That sucked because it was new, but not because I would ever actually use it. :S

[cmeon]

Jan 14, 2018 18:00:43 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

I honestly never really had an interest in one because I don't sit my yarn out to knit; it stays peeking out of my project bag. They are pretty, but that's about it.

I got a yarn bowl for Xmas from my mom. It didn't even make it home, it was smashed in the car by an instant pot. That sucked because it was new, but not because I would ever actually use it. :S

Liked as a thank you for your response- LOL- not for the Instapot violence!!

[aprilsails]

It’s a pretty yarn storage vessel. I have never once used it on a project, although I think it might have been useful for one silk yarn project that would have run through it very well.

[charlatti]

My mom uses one. It’s pretty and keeps her yarn from rolling around the floor. I don’t think she sees it as a necessity but it was a gift and she likes using it. Hers has a nice sized cut-out (U shaped, I guess?) for the working yarn.

I often use a random plastic bowl for yarn; it moves more easily when it can roll a bit but in a bowl my cat can’t steal it as easily.

[cmeon]

Jan 14, 2018 20:11:44 GMT -5 charlatti said:

My mom uses one. It’s pretty and keeps her yarn from rolling around the floor. I don’t think she sees it as a necessity but it was a gift and she likes using it. Hers has a nice sized cut-out (U shaped, I guess?) for the working yarn.

I often use a random plastic bowl for yarn; it moves more easily when it can roll a bit but in a bowl my cat can’t steal it as easily.

This is what I'm told- that's their purpose and function! It's here I fall into the "don't get it" category- my yarn doesn't really roll. I pull from the center and it's generally pretty polite, stays put on its own. I always assumed they were more of a counterweight to the force of the knitter pulling "stickier" yarn from the ball- which is the only time I have unruly yarn balls- but, nobody seems to talk about that. I can definitely understand the cat safety notion.

I'm really interested in hearing that they actually get used by actual knitters, so thank you (I'll mentally mark you down as a 1 and a half positive- ha). I'd like to have a better feel for the yarn crowd opinion on them the next time they come up!

[mala]

I don't use a yarn bowl, but I also don't have one and I do much of my knitting in cafes and the like where i woudln't want to bring one with me. If I had one at home I would probably use it. Usually I just set my yarn on the couch and pull from the center, but it always gets covered in dog hair. A bowl would prevent that (mostly) and keep it from falling on the floor.

[mala]

Are you thinking of making some to sell (do you sell your pottery? I realize I have no idea if you do or not)? I feel like from a handmade production standpoint you'd really have to find the market. Most are going to be giving as gifts to knitters, I don't think many knitters will purchase them for themselves. Trying to sell in yarn shops would probably be a better market for yarn bowls specifically.

[charlatti]

Jan 14, 2018 20:34:11 GMT -5 cmeon said:

This is what I'm told- that's their purpose and function! It's here I fall into the "don't get it" category- my yarn doesn't really roll. I pull from the center and it's generally pretty polite, stays put on its own. I always assumed they were more of a counterweight to the force of the knitter pulling "stickier" yarn from the ball- which is the only time I have unruly yarn balls- but, nobody seems to talk about that. I can definitely understand the cat safety notion.

Aha — my mom rolls all her yarn into balls by hand. She never, ever uses center-pull balls or skeins. I often work from store-bought center-pull skeins, but sometimes roll into balls (I prefer balls but am usually too lazy.) So there’s the disconnect, I’d guess. If you’re only working from center-pull yarn, the bowls definitely wouldn’t make much sense.

ETA: my mom crochets and does not knit, which may or may not make a difference in preferences. I do both.

[AJL]

I have two and I use them both. I have a wooden one that my dad made and one I picked up at Trailing of the Sheep in Sun Valley, ID. It's a heavy weight glazed stoneware bowl. I love them both.

Wooden bowl -


Stoneware bowl -

[oregonpachey]

I use mine on occasion. When I am not using it, I let it sit out in my living room as decor.

[drloretta]

For me it's a neat/pretty thing, but I rarely use one. Probably because I usually knit in my living room and would have no space to put an actual yarn bowl.

My dad bought me one last year and I feel guilty not using it...

[cmeon]

Thanks for all the replies! I will pass some of this along the next time it comes up. I knew that there had to be people out there using them, but, I did suspect a lot of them were gifts- maybe purchased by people who didn't knit/crochet/yarn things themselves.

FWIW, they're pretty problematic to make- the spiral cutouts love to warp in drying/firing, which is a big reason they come up so often. I usually just keep my ball in a zip-loc bag and toss it next to me, because dogs (fur, slobber, just plain *looks like a ball!!!!!*)- but, I'm glad to hear that they get used sometimes! They really can be pretty!

[audette]

They are pretty, if made nicely. And they make for a decent gift for a knitter if you don't know what else to get for them. Mine sits on the mantle over our fireplace when I'm not using it (which I'll admit is more often than not).

I've used mine a few times, but I tend to travel with my knitting as much as I knit at home. Yarn bowls are not terribly portable. I mostly use them on intricate lace projects where the yarn is so thin I don't trust my ball winder to not break it when pulling it off the swift, so I have to handwind the balls of laceweight. (lemme tell you - 1500 m of cobweb weight yarn, wound by hand? Yeah... that takes a while)

[litebright]

AJL, those are beautiful.

I don't knit enough to use one, but I think my mom does at least some of the time because she has multiple cats who would turn a loose ball of yarn into a toy. So there's one practical reason.

[bunnies]

I knit and crochet and have never used one. I'm not sure it's something I need so I've never bought one. If I saw a pretty wooden one, I might be tempted just to see what it's all about.