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5 Types of Yarn Ball & How to Work with Them

January 31, 2021 Leave a Comment

Sponsored by Knit Picks. Post contains affiliate links.

Learn about 5 common yarn ball types, what they're called, and how to work with them!

In your knitting, crochet, latch hook, or macramé life, you come across yarn in many forms. The most common and iconic of which is of course the classic yarn ball. As a maker, though, you notice things. At the craft store, in grandma’s attic, a friend’s boozy craft night – you might have noticed a few common types of yarn ball that aren’t exactly… well balls.

In this beginner-friendly (and family friendly save for the inevitable puns 😆) post, we’re going to run down the 5 most common types of yarn balls you’ll find and how to work with them. Because guess what? Some of them require another step or two of processing before you can comfortably start working from them.

What’s a “put up” in yarn?

In real life practice, many people are going to call a unit of yarn a ball of yarn. Whether it’s a spherical ball or twisted hank is irrelevant to most. Technically speaking, the average maker is actually talking about put up when they’re talking about types of yarn balls.

Put up: In basic terms, put up refers to the way yarn is contained for storage and/or sale, often involving being wound in to a ball, hank or skein. For teaching purposes, I find it useful to let folks know what put up is, but I personally use “yarn ball” almost all of the time to keep it simple.

5 Common Yarn Ball Types

0. Yarn Balls

First thing’s first, a good old vanilla yarn ball is not one of the five types we’re covering. I feel confident you know what this is. :)

Learn about 5 common yarn ball types, what they're called, and how to work with them!
Pictured: Kelbourne Woolens Germantown Yarn from Knit Picks

1. Classic Pull Skein

Colloquially, these are often what your average crafter would call a “skein,” pronounced SKAYn. You can work from either the center or outside of this type of yarn ball, though many makers prefer to use a center pull approach whenever it’s available. Sometimes makers don’t like to use machine wound skeins because of the risk of something called yarn barf.

Learn about 5 common yarn ball types, what they're called, and how to work with them!
Pictured: Lion Brand Wool Ease Worsted

2. Bullet Skein

For years, bullet skeins are something I thought of simply as rounder versions of classic, log-shaped pull skeins. Turns out, that’s kinda true. You can work from either the center or outside these just like a classic pull skein, but the shape is a little more like a football. The big advantage of bullet skeins is that they tend to collapse less messily than their classic counterpart when you near the end.

Learn about 5 common yarn ball types, what they're called, and how to work with them!
Pictured: Paragon Sport from Knit Picks

3. Donut Ball

Donut balls (a term I first encountered in this article) are a type of yarn ball you’re more likely to find at a local yarn shop than a big box store. They’re often used for smaller balls of yarn with finer fibers like silk or cashmere blends. (Often luxury fibers like these come in smaller amounts because their price point can be high and makers often use them judiciously.)

Learn about 5 common yarn ball types, what they're called, and how to work with them!
Pictured: Berroco Indigo Yarn

4. Twisted Hank

The first time I got to use a twisted hank, I shopped the clearance section at a local yarn shop, and I almost didn’t buy it because I thought I’d have to enlist the help of a pair additional hands to hand wind it into a ball.

Yarn hanks are common at local yarn shops, and can come in thickly tied bundles or noodle-looking twisted varieties. Before knitting or crocheting with these, you’ll need to wind them into a more useable ball. Yes, you can untie a hank, drape it over a chair back, and work your shoulders tired winding into a spherical ball. More commonly, makers use two special tools called a swift and a yarn ball ball winder to… make a cake! Which brings us to number 5.

Learn about 5 common yarn ball types, what they're called, and how to work with them!
Pictured: Wool of the Andes Bulky from Knit Picks

5. Yarn Cake

In short, yarn cakes are the name for the hay bale-looking yarn balls you often see fancy knitters who exclusively shop at local yarn shops and self-identify as yarn snobs use. (The phrase yarn snob is used lovingly here. 😉 ) Joking aside, if you have a yarn winder, your making life gets very efficient.

Cakes are created using a yarn ball winder and a swift helps keep your yarn from tangling as you wind it. You can cake everything from thrift store yarn to your old project leftovers to keep them organized. For instance, I’ll often use my yarn winder to cake my yarn skeins as I near the end to avoid the dreaded collapse-induced tangle.

Learn about 5 common yarn ball types, what they're called, and how to work with them!

Shout out Interweave and Vickie Howell for both also having great blog posts worth checking out on this subject!

Sponsored by Knit Picks. Post contains affiliate links.

Filed Under: Crochet, Knitting, Latch Hook, Macramé Tagged With: hank, put up, skein, yarn ball, yarn ball types, yarn cake

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

Previous Post: « Stop, it’s recharge time!
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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on / a.k.a. crochet provisional cast on, scrap yarn cast on
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I read recently that tiktok and Instagram are being used as search engines more and more. 🤔 I thought since I’m going to all the work of making tutorials on YouTube, I should experiment with making a quick version of them for other platforms. There are obvious teaching limitations to vertical video, short-form content like this, but I think I covered the gist of this cast on in a minute. The YouTube version also covers how to unzip this cast on because there was time for it 👍🏻 L1nk is in my profile. 
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I’m very much looking for feedback as I continue to make instructional knitting & craft videos. Sometimes good tutorials are hard to find, and (ideally polite) feedback helps me improve. 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #knititngtutorial #knittersofinstagram #crochethook #knittingtutorial
For the first time in a long time, there’s a new For the first time in a long time, there’s a new tutorial from Hands Occupied! 🎉 The video is live on YouTube & the blog. 
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The post covers what provisional cast ons are & how they differ, and the video covers how to work a one-step provisional cast on using scrap yarn and a crochet hook. (This is a great one to save for future reference.)
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I learned several names for this method while researching this video & post. Crochet provisional cast on, one-step cast on, scrap yarn cast on - if you know even more names for this technique, please share! 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #scrapyarn #crochethook
Working on a sample for some upcoming videos. It’s an overcast day with intermittent sunshine & I have a scruffy little sidecar. 🐶 Can’t complain! 
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What’s on your needles this week? 
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Yarn: @debbieblissknits Cashmerino Aran 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #knittinglife
Peg boards and craft room organization go together Peg boards and craft room organization go together like peanut butter and jelly. So, as you can see, do latch hook tools and screwdriver organizers! 🪛 
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I think this trick translates to any tool with a thick handle, so leather working tools, punch needles, print making tools, etc. should work! What other tools am I, a needlecrafter, blanking on right now? 
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#craftorganization #handsoccupied #latchhook #latchhooking
Pegboard storage is my favorite for craft supplies Pegboard storage is my favorite for craft supplies, so getting a few hung in my new studio has been a priority. Here’s my first attempt. 🔨 
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Details: This pegboard panel is for organizing my knitting needles, latch hook tools, sewing thread, etc. It doesn’t need to hold much weight, so I didn’t anchor this into a stud - just used basic drywall anchors. I’ve also got a set of two 2’x4’ panels for another spot in my studio, and those will need a stud/more than 3 drywall anchors. Wish me luck! 
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[description: video features a woman hanging a panel of pegboard using a square dowel and drill]
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