To use a yarn bowl or to not use a yarn bowl, that is the question. Actually, whether or not you use a yarn bowl is a personal preference and makes no real impact on your finished work. That being said, yarn bowls can be beneficial for many reasons, like preventing pet hair from covering your WIP (work in progress), to keep the yarn from flopping around your crafting space, and they can even help to prevent yarn barf. See if you’ve got any of these options sitting just around the house!
24 Yarn Bowl Alternatives
Whether you’re using a beautiful, fancy yarn bowl or one of these awesome household yarn bowl alternatives, crocheting is much more fun when the yarn behaves.
When thinking of yarn bowl alternatives, we want something that has a bit of weight to it, possibly in a cylindrical shape, or something that allows the skein to spin freely. You may need to add a weight to the bottom of your container.
First, let’s think about the size and shape of a skein/ball of yarn. You may be crocheting straight from the skein (either from the outside or from the center), or you may have wound it into a cake, either by hand or with your yarn winder. You may even decide to change the way you store your yarn after reading this!
I do love my wooden yarn bowl from We Crochet, but here are some excellent household options to use as yarn bowl alternatives:
1. Knitting needle and a narrow basket. I love this because the yarn just spins and spins with minimal tension. I picked up this cheap basket at the dollar store.
2. Tea pitcher (preferably with lid). Just pull the yarn out of the spout.
3. Canister (with hole drilled out)
4. Pantyhose! There’s a whole slew of ways to use pantyhose in crochet.
5. Colander from the kitchen.
6. Blank CD holder. (using the stem)
7. Unused bathroom trash cans.
8. Wine sack (the skinny kind you get from the liquor store – a good reason to buy wine!)
9. Plastic newspaper sleeves.
10. 6-bottle wine carrier – works great if you’ve got multiple colors!
11. The huge (2.5 gallon) storage bags from Dollar Tree (great for storing whole projects too – and waterproof!) I get mine at the Dollar Tree.
12. Laundry detergent pod container. Smells great!
13. Cheese ball (or large pretzel) container.
14. Paper towel holder. Needs to be a bit heavy with a single rod and a wide base.
15. Plastic bags from buying bedding/comforter sets.
16. Big ice cream bucket – washed of course. Cut a hole in the lid and sand it smooth.
17. Large coffee can. Cut a hole in the top!
18. Oatmeal container.
19. 2-liter (or even a 3-liter) soda bottle. Carefully cut the bottom off, load a skein and thread it through the top.
20. Any ol’ plastic bag hanging from the arm of the chair or sofa.
21. Soup Tureen. Now I feel fancy!
22. Large Lysol wipes container, feed the yarn out the top!
23. Laundry basket. Feed the yarn out of one of the holes.
24. Large plastic tote with lid. Drill ~ six holes in the lid and sand so they’re smooth. Feed the yarn through the holes and voila!
What can you find around the house that you could use as an alternative to a yarn bowl? Leave a comment, or post a photo of your set up in the Heart Hook Home Crochet Community on Facebook!
More for you:
Yarn Hacks Every Crocheter and Knitter Needs to Know
How Much Yarn Do I Need? How to Determine Yardage in Crochet
10 Tips for Crocheting with Black Yarn
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