Yarn vomit

[debbie67]

Does anyone have any strategies for untangling a half skein of yarn vomit? part of me just wants to put it aside and go buy another because I have a lot of projects that I need to have done by Christmas and this is taking up too much of my time the other part of me is like don't waste your money just get this undone

[LI Roe]

I tend to tangle up skeins of yarn all the time (I call it yarn barf) and I find that gently tugging to release strands and then pulling them out helps. I also take a large plastic yarn needle and if I see a clump of yarn strands tightly holding on together, I kind of poke the needle into it and wiggle it so that the strands start to loosen and then work from there. Actually, I find it therapeutic to actually untangle yarn, very rarely do I have to cut at the clump and start again.

Roe

[dancingbaehr]

Funny you should ask ..... I just did that last night! I had a skein of white yarn that just would NOT pull from the middle. It was all knotted inside, so I decided to roll it into a ball. About 30 minutes later, It was done, but not without a lot of detangling and maneuvering and picking at knots! There is no "easy way". You just have to take your time and get it done. I actually enjoyed it! (but then, I'm weird that way!) Ha, ha!
~~ Hugs, Jo ♥

[merseaone]

Does anyone have any strategies for untangling a half skein of yarn vomit? part of me just wants to put it aside and go buy another because I have a lot of projects that I need to have done by Christmas and this is taking up too much of my time the other part of me is like don't waste your money just get this undone

I always roll my yarn when I am getting ready to use a skein and put it in a yarn container so it won't roll around. If I get the tangle I hand it off to my husband, he likes the challenge. A group I go to sometimes there is a woman who loves nothing better than to untangle this stuff.

[SusansSoulShines]

Does anyone have any strategies for untangling a half skein of yarn vomit? part of me just wants to put it aside and go buy another because I have a lot of projects that I need to have done by Christmas and this is taking up too much of my time the other part of me is like don't waste your money just get this undone

There's not much you can do but decide if you want the yarn bad enough to untangle it, and if it's good yarn, to me it's worth the time & a bit of aggravation. I'm disabled and $$ is sorely lacking, and I don't have $$$ to buy yarn when I want it, so I'm not at all ashamed to say that I'll take any yarn that someone offers me, and am greatly appreciative of it! Some wonderfully kind ladies on this site sent me yarn back a few months ago when I was trying to trade some baby yarn and having no luck. They said they had some extra 'stash' and would be glad to send me some, and when I got it I was absolutely shocked at the wonderful yarn these very generous ladies had sent me. I was down to virtually no yarn left at all before that, so it meant the world to me, and I'll never EVER forget their kindness.

A friend of mine in another state gets some occasional yarn from her local thrift store and she sends me a few rolls now & then, and it's like Christmas every time! I don't drive any more and can't get to the places to hunt down affordable yarn, like thrift stores & yard sales. It sure would be fun to do it tho! I did discover a local fabric warehouse that is huge, here in the town that we moved to in mid-May, and people come from miles around while it's open to the public 3 days a week per month, otherwise it's only open to wholesalers the rest of the month. All of their not-so-huge but so-so sized bin of yarn is 1.00-2.00 per skein, no labels with info on them but they are wrapped in generic wrappers. It's all good yarn tho, in perfect condition & good colors, so it's a good bargain, but I don't have that amount to spare. A lot of people are in this same position I've learned, we're juggling to pay rent & bills... and since food prices went up so much, there is no budget for anything else we need at all. Apparently I'll never be able to get the camera I so badly would love to have, and yarn is a real luxury.... and crochet is the wonderful handcrafted art that I dearly love and is my therapy to spend hours doing and trying to forget focusing on chronic pain. So when I have yarn, I feel very rich in many ways. I never dreamed that I'd be in this situation financially, but it is what it is, and God provides for us the basic necessities well enough, so I'm happy with that, and some people don't even have that.

Funny you ask this right now Debbie, since I've spent some time this past week off & on untangling some yarn that a local lady I'd never met before gave me some yarn that was her mothers, who had passed away, but I didn't ask when she'd passed. I'd posted some hats & headbands on a local site and got a few 'likes' but no sales, and then a very kind lady sent a message to my 'other folder' about the bag of yarn she had. She said I could have it if I wanted it, and I DID want it! Some was in perfectly good skeins and some was tangled pretty bad, but it ended up not being so hard to do, and not only was the tangled yarn in good condition, but the lady had had good taste in yarn! So I have some great new colors, and feel rich anew. It WAS worth it and always will be!

[debbie67]

It defiantly will get untangled but not until after Christmas. I gave it three hours and if i give it anymore i might not get my stuff finished by Christmas

[Pixieglitter]

I've found that with certain types of yarn it's much easier to just let the skein unwind from the outside, particularly with boucele yarn. It's very soft and tends to "stick" to itself. That's when a yarn winder would come in very handy. There are also yarn "stands" available that you can buy to hold your skein of yarn so it unwinds from the outside while you're crocheting. I really need to buy one. They're less than $20 on eBay.

Shelley

[Winnie2013]

Hi Debbie, I just spent an hour and a half untangling yarn barf in the yarn I'm using for Tracey and Ed. I'm making them an Afghan for the parlor I hope it will look "dressy" enough with their good furniture!! I certainly could not afford to get rid of it or put it aside and buy something else!!! It is costing me a lot more living here and what little bit of help Laura's daughter was doing for her she quit doing bcoz she's mad about me making her and her daughters leave Laura apt. Well that's too bad I guess I hate hard feeling but I have to think about Laura first and then myself and my living conditions!! They just don't get it I moved here for one reason to help Laura's. I don't even have a bed I sleep at the foot of Laura's bed but this is where God wants me to be and what I want to be doing!!! They are continuing to steal from me too!!! Don't know how they are doing it though!!! OK sorry I don't mean to complain I am just overwhelmed right now!!! Love and prayers and hugs to all: -) Winnie

[Jean Marie]

Hi Debbie67,
This past Wednesday afternoon I untangled some Christmas yarn and then that same night I crocheted the yarn I untangled.
I've been told to roll it up into a ball as I untangle yarn which I do sometimes but I usually untangle the yarn by just pulling it through w/out rolling it into a ball and yes, it does tangle a bit doing it that way but sometimes it seems to be easier. When I'm done untangling the yarn I'll roll it up into a ball or if I think it'll be easier and quicker I'll roll it up into a ball while I'm untangling it. If I get frustrated w/untangling yarn I'll end up cutting the yarn. I'd rather not cut the yarn if I don't have to but I don't like being frustrated either. If I can't seem to get the yarn to untangle I'll see if I can find the other end of the yarn. And if it's going to take quite a bit to get to the other end of the yarn I might end up just cutting the yarn.

I have unwound a couple of small skeins of a thinner yarn so I could find both ends and double the yarn and then double that so it was 4 strands of yarn and then I rolled it into a ball.

Jean Marie