I found an awesome pattern. I want to use the yarn from my yarn stash but have no clue if I have that type of yarn (and how much of that color yarn I have for that matter!). Sound familar? Yeah, I think we all can relate. This is what I call the Yarn Stash Blues.
So how can we avoid the blues? What I'm finding is that you need an easy way to keep track of your yarn. Sounds simple, right? Well I've been struggling with this for quite sometime now. I am on my 3rd, maybe 4th, revision. It's easy to store your yarn; the trick is to know what you have and also to be able to maintain your system. A system that does not address these two items, will fail. Now I want to be clear on something. I am not an expert on this. Let me repeat, I am not an expert on organizing yarn. I am an expert, however, on what systems do not work!
I tried storing my yarn using my closet shelves and organizing by projects.
I also bought pretty wicker baskets to store my yarn.
All systems failed.
For my latest organizing endeavor, I bought clear storage boxes. I organized my yarn by weight. I then labeled the outside of the boxes with that particular weight of yarn ( dk, sport, 4, 5, etc).
I now know where a particular weight of yarn is.
However, this system does not identify the fiber content, the color or how many skeins I have of that particular yarn. I needed an excel spreadsheet to keep track of these items. I could use Ravelry instead of an excel spreadsheet. However, it is much easier for me to create a spreadsheet. And again, if your system is not easy to update, it will not be successful.
It's only been a few months since I created this method but so far its been working out great. My spreadsheet keeps track of the yarn brand, the fiber content, the care instructions, the color of the yarn, the number of skeins I have and the total yardage of that brand of yarn.
I recently purchased more yarn from Debbie Bliss
and from The Woolly Thistle.
I will be updating my spreadsheet and storing the yarn in the correct container very soon.
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