Toilet Paper and Twisted Yarn

Toilet Paper and Twisted Yarn

At the first Men's Knitting (and Crochet) Night, we discovered a mutual hatred of one of the most evil occurrences in yarn crafts:

If you're like me, any time this happens to the yarn being fed into your hands, some small part of you dies a little each time. If it continues on, it's like being forced to listen to “Yellow Submarine” for hours and hours and hours on end. (Don't get me wrong; I love the Beatles. However, Yellow Submarine is the most annoying song ever written. If this analogy falls flat because somehow you just love the song, feel free to substitute your least favorite song, and imagine it playing inside your house with no off button available for days.) Hyperbole aside, twisty yarn is pretty annoying.

Would you believe that toilet paper offers a solution for this problem?

Take a look at the following two pictures:

Anytime you pull yarn off of a winder-wound yarn ball, whether it be from the inside or outside, the picture above is the most accurate portrayal of what is happening to the yarn. This process adds or subtracts twist. For those who like technical jargon, if the ball does not flip or roll around or anything like that, one full revolution of twist is added or subtracted for each full circumference of the ball. For the outside of the ball, it is pretty insignificant; one twist is added to roughly 6 inches of yarn, which can be knit into the garment without hardly noticing. However, near the center of the ball, the twist is added to smaller and smaller portions of yarn – one twist for every 1 or 2 inches of yarn. For center-pullers, you actually begin at this part of the ball.

Here are the solutions:

Hand-wind your balls.

Done in the usual way, the revolutions of yarn on the ball go in several different directions. Whenever you pull off of a hand-wound ball, it is likely that sometimes twist will be added, while other times it is subtracted. You have a good chance of reaching a net of zero added twist. Pros: There is a “getting-to-know-you” experience for you and your yarn. It is easy-to-learn. You get the satisfaction of watching a spherical ball roll around on the floor. Cons: It takes a lot of time (Lace anyone?). Cats enjoy spherical balls rolling around on the floor.

Flip the Ball Over Periodically.

 As you notice your yarn getting a little twisty, flip the ball over so that the yarn is being affected by a twist in the other direction. Pros: This is a very easy solution to implement. You can continue to use balls that are wound quickly on a ball-winder. Cons: It involves guess work regarding when to turn over the ball. This solution is not available to those wishing to pull from the center!

*Allow the Ball to Revolve like a Toilet Paper Roll*

This is my favorite solution. There are a couple of ways to accomplish this. In the past, I have been known to place my thumb and forefinger lightly on the “axis” of the ball of yarn, and allowing the yarn ball to spin as I pull yarn off, so that the motion is similar to the usual way of obtaining toilet paper from a roll. The better way, though, is to use a Yarn Buddy.

The axis of the ball (the hole in the middle where the ball-winder was), slips over the point of the Yarn Buddy, and the ball bearings on it allow the ball to spin freely. This mimics the way toilet paper is usually placed on one of those nifty springy stick things. You'll want one Yarn Buddy for each ball of yarn you are actively working with. For those who enjoy color work, they come in twin format two! Pros: The yarn ball stays in one place – less cat interference. Ease of use – The yarn flows smoothly off the ball. The Yarn Buddies come in awesome wood types like “Zebra” and “Really Old Barn Wood.”Also, it's just so darn cool and mesmerizing. Cons: I can't really think of any.  

Now, if you love the Beatles, you can play some in the background while you knit to your hearts delight without having to worry about twisted yarn spaghetti flowing into your hands. As much as I enjoy the Beatles, I think I'll choose Gustav Mahler or Nate Ruess.