'Sumat for Nowt'

General Knitting
1

Hi

Been knitting some small hats for small babies and I wanted to make sure the yarn was kept very clean and away from any dust plus garden bugs when I’m knitting in the back garden (fat chance in this weather!)

I’ve stumbled across a couple of good ways of making yarn containers – some people call this re-cycling, round here we call it getting ‘somat for nowt’.

Anyhoo, I’ve been using a catering size drum of Splenda sweetener which has a clear, polythene lid – all I did was wash and dry the tin thoroughly and then heated up an old knitting needle to pierce the centre of the lid, making a hole for the wool to pop through.

Then I got to wondering if there was other stuff around the house that could be used as wool holders

I excavated a shoe box in the back of my wardrobe … mmm … made a two-inch long horizontal slit in the centre of the top and put a ball of wool in it. Worked a treat! After that, I hopped to the shop for some gift-wrap paper and a drop of PVA glue to decorate said shoe box.

It seems anything clean and large enough to [U]let the yarn spin around freely[/U] on the inside would make a holder.

In my other life, I do arts and crafts activities with people who have learning difficulties and last year we made this patchwork pig: http://www.frugalcrafts.com/craft_projects/Papier-mache/pigbank.html

With the summer vacation almost here, it might be a nice idea to have the kids help you make the pig as a small yarn holder. Blow up a large enough balloon and after you’ve applied the papier mache and let it dry, cut a horizontal slot along the top, (just a bit longer than you would make to put coins in). You can put the yarn inside by cutting out a suitably sized circle on the underside of the pig and fix the opening back by using masking tape or you could buy/make a pom pom to temporarily seal the opening when the yarn is inside.

When (!) it stops raining, I’ll have a mooch in the garden – sure we could figure something out about a plant pot …

If anybody has other money-saving tips, it would be great if you’d chime in.

All the Best

2

Great ideas!

I just use a ziploc freezer bag, sip it up just enough for the yarn to come out.

3

Hey Limey! Nice recycling ideas :yay:

4

Good ideas!

5

Great idea. When I moved recently I had a few glass items that were very breakable and couldn’t have anything heavy on top. I knew I may need storage for a while and I was a bit worried. My son arrived at a solution. He went to a hardware store and came back with tubs with lids (tubs like painters would use). I was able to put the items in…fill with poly beads, snap the lid on and I had a pretty secure container.

But my mother discovered that those tubs used in ice cream shops…you know the ones…where they scoop you icecream that is sitting in those white rectangular tubs? We had assumed they would be re-used but generally not so. They have proved very useful just for odd bits and pieces and she has several in her garage with nails and so on. She just arranged with a local store to receive their tubs every couple of weeks although she’s stopped now as she has more than enough.

6

Limey…where you’ve tried an item and made a hole that has wound up with rough edges…even slightly…does the yarn catch?

7

A hole melted with a knitting needle shouldn’t catch like one that is cut… I like those 2-litre icecream containers.

8

I guess not as it is melted. :slight_smile:

9

If you do have a rough edge sandpaper will take care of it easily.

10

Hi Folks

Sorry been so long in thanking you all - must get my eyesight tested.

Rough edges - yeah, Susan, sometimes it can do that but as Redwitch said you can always use a bit of sandpaper, however, being a lazy so-and-so, I get small strips of masking tape and put it around the hole I’ve melted, if it should give me any backchat with a rough edge.

Thanks very much for your input.:muah:

All the Best :thumbsup:

Ellie