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24 Household Yarn Bowl Alternatives

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May 24, 2020 Ashlea 7 Comments

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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!

Household yarn bowl alternatives

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.

household yarn bowls

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.

inexpensive yarn bowl alternatives

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!

easy yarn bowl alternatives

18. Oatmeal container.

homemade yarn bowl

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!

Yarn Bowl Alternatives

More for you:

Yarn Hacks Every Crocheter and Knitter Needs to Know

How Much Yarn Do I Need? How to Determine Yardage in Crochet

How to Choose A Yarn Winder

10 Tips for Crocheting with Black Yarn

8 Tips for Creating More Professional Crochet Cardigans

7 Tips for Counting Rows in Crochet

Crochet Tips & Tutorials, Hook crochet tips, yarn bowls, yarn hacks

Comments

  1. Ravels says

    November 26, 2020 at 7:19 am

    Large Coffee Can is a interested thing to see here.
    Reply
  2. Paula S. says

    November 16, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    So many good ideas!
    Reply
  3. Marny CA says

    August 19, 2020 at 1:34 am

    When they are on sale: I use the wine/bottle holder - it comes with a lid, and usually a yarn handle. A full pull skein fits. I leave the lid hanging off - and cover the yarn if not being used. When I get tired of the 'old' holder, I gift it ... and buy new, when on sale.
    Reply
  4. Kathryn Nix says

    May 26, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    My mom used a new plunger. She would stick it to the floor and use the handle as a holder.
    Reply
    • Heart Hook Home says

      May 30, 2020 at 8:31 pm

      Your mom's a resourceful genius!
      Reply
  5. Debbie Ashby says

    May 24, 2020 at 5:06 pm

    I’ve seen ceramic tea pots used by threading yarn out of spout
    Reply
    • Heart Hook Home says

      May 30, 2020 at 8:49 pm

      That sounds fun and fancy!
      Reply

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Welcome!

beard

Hi! I’m Ashlea, the Kansas mom, and wife, that runs this crochet, food, and heart (CHD) blog.  I am a frugal, yarn loving crochet addict that enjoys good food and fine wine – or an occasional whiskey. 😉 Read more about me here and see my favorite Amazon products here.

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