Love these! Just wanted to add a tip I learned from my friend who sells fully recycled yarn crochet - if you fluff up scrap yarn on a dog slicker brush you can use it as stuffing and it works really well & uses all those little scraps that otherwise get tossed!
Your tip for turning scrap yarn into toy filling is great as you can match the stuffing to your project I also use my poodles slicker brush to fluff up her fur to create dolls hair 😁💐🌺🌹
I recently made a baby blanket using three different colors of the Bernat Blanket yarn. I used a round plastic laundry basket (from Dollar Tree) for all three skeins, putting each strand through a different slot in the basket. It kept all those HUGE skeins nicely contained while I was making my stripes but also when I wasn't working on it, I just folded up the blanket and laid it on top of the yarn. It worked BEAUTIFULLY!! 😊
Great idea. I will have to remember this. I have 5 longcoat German Shepherds. I try very hard not to include hair when I crochet a gift for someone else. I have a plastic thing with a lid, looks like Tall Tupperware with a lid. I dont much care do if.
What a great idea!! I've also been trying to think of something to add to my plastic hangers so my blouses or trousers don't slip. This would work perfectly!! Thanks for your idea❤
A substitute for a yarn bowl that I use is a lovely, thrifted stoneware teapot. It has a wide opening on the top so the ball of yarn will fit with the working yarn coming out through the spout.
A good way to remember what size hook you are using for a project is to just take a picture of the project with the hook size in view. Make a folder on your phone called “crochet projects” and then if you put it away for awhile and the hook isn’t with it you just look at your phone to find out.
Love your ideas. I actually use most of them. However, my cheapest (but most valuable) yarn holder is the plastic grocery bag. Simply place the yarn inside the bag, pull the working yarn through a handle hole, and tie the bag closed. Yarn moves easily and stays clean. Not to mention you can store the unfinished project in the bag.
Hi! Elise I love your videos please keep them coming. I'm in a nursing home in VA because of strokes and I need your help.Could you please tell us where you can buy the Big Bubby craft handle and what they cost? Thanks so much 😊❤❤❤
@@denisehaley2448 Hi there! I don't know if you're still looking, but chunkyboycraft makes large ergonomic handles! They're sold out rn, but walmart/michales has a Boye branded ergonomic handle that you can insert aluminum hooks into for about $10-13! A DIY I (by I, I mean my mom, who is a home health nurse) see often is a tennis ball with a hole in it! I hope that helps!
I do something similar when I knit or crochet in university. I put the skein into my bag and close the bag - but not fully. The skein can‘t escape and I can knit peacefully and am able to concentrate to the lecture. (And don‘t have to search for the skein on the floor)
Great tips, frugal too leaving more to spend on yarn 😊 My yarn ‘bowl’ is a white plastic basket, like the one on your top shelf. I put a knitting needle through one side, through the yarn ball, and then through the other side of the basket. No matter how hard I yank the yarn, the ball stays in the basket. I can put more than one ball in there, each on its own needle, for doing colourwork without tangles. If I need to take the project away from home, I just slip the knitting needles out to free the ball. Between sessions, I can simply drop the project on top and put the basket away. ❤
You can wash the yarn right in those pantyhose cozies! Some yarn from. The thrift stores can be dusty or smoky smelling. 😊 great video Elise, praise Jesus!
I have been using Dollar store SPONGE ROLLERS as my ergonomic grips on my crochet hooks. Just remove the plastic piece. It already has a hole in the middle. If need be, you can cut them to size ( in case 1.5 rollers needed) and just use painters tape to secure them together. Feels really nice in the hand and has saved me hours of pain!
Love it!! I was just about to add a paper towel holder to my amazon shopping cart when you mentioned it. Oh and I like to use binder clips on the side of any bowl to make it into a yarn bowl. I just slip my yarn through the little silver grippy part and then if I need to take the yarn out I can unhook it from the bonder clip. I don't know if that makes sense but it's easy and they're removable and you can use multiples if you're doing colorwork. Love your videos :)
15:44 Chop sticks. I realize this is about Crochet but i thought I'd add this. Others may like this idea. If I'm in a pinch (say at the cottage) and I want to knit a dishcloth, I'll use chop sticks.. They're a perfect size for that. Just file off any snags and voila, knittng needles.
I buy cotton balls at the dollar store for stuffing pillows. I used to use them for stuffed animals I made as well. They are early to fluff up and make them harder if you want a hard stuffing. I also made yarn out of cotton balls and two cat wire brushes. You process the cotton balls with the wire brushes and wound it into threads between your fingers. That is how cotton and wool is processed into yarn. You have to break down the fibers and they will thread together between your fingers. I am very good at making good quality yarn. I have a lot of practice. 😊
The problem with using cotton balls for that is: that they can't be washed. I checked because I use cotton balls to make pillows for my own head [polyester makes me SWEAT!]
I just found your channel! Thank you so much for all the great tips. I too have an (adult) son who has a disability. We use shelf liner and silpat baking mats for a lot of things. When I was young, my mom would cut the bottom off 2-liter soda bottles , put her yarn in it and feed it through the top. The she would turn the bottom upside down and shove it back inside the part she cut off.
I've been using scrap yarn as place markers, but I didn't realize making the yarn longer and utilizing the same piece of yarn as I move through the project would help to lock it into place with an easy remove when I'm ready to do that. I'm going to be using that technique now.
The wooden yarn bowl I made from and old wooden bowl! Used dremel tool and sandpaper. I stained it and it’s lovely! Good needle holders are M&M tubes that you can get at holidays! They are colored and fun!
This vid was so helpful! I’m a 12 year old girl and I’ve been watching your videos from day one! Elise you have literally taught me how to crochet!!🧶 ❤❤
My #1 favorite tool for holding crochet hooks are tooth brush holders. Nothing, in my opinion, is better. Give it a try and you will thank me. Love all your videos Elise.👍
I’m currently using an old tp holder for my crochet string. It holds what I’m using, and all the other colors on it too. Just swap out the one you’re using. I have an antique metal lunchbox that I use for my crochet tools (and small projects) on the go. I love how it opens up. I’ve also used a red wine purse. Opens up WIDE! Both of them were a dollar each at the second hand store. I just got an old suitcase set that looks s0 pretty! Instead of an unsightly pile of yarn balls/skeins next to the couch, I just cut a notch in the suitcase and Wala I feed my yarn through the hole. When I’m done for a bit I just open the suitcase to put my project in. Beautiful, and Meowswa can’t get it! It’s a yarn holder with storage to boot. Don’t forget to add epoxy to dry over the notch so it slides without snags.
7:49 One hack that I use to keep my yarn nice and clean is that I use the Five Below “Pop up bin” which can be used as a car storage or trash can. It’s big enough to put a giant cake of yarn and what’s neat is that is has a bungee secure tie, so when i pull it all the way in there’s a center where to yarn can feed through and it has a strap for you to hang it anywhere you like. I find this super useful when i wanna hang it on a shelf above me when i knit or crochet. It’s out of the way and i have more free space for my project.
Great hacks!! I‘ve been using travel packing cubes to organize yarn for WIPs (works in progress). They zip up and most have a mesh on one side so that the contents are viewable. I haven’t been doing much travel lately, so may as well put the cubes to work. Thank you Elise for continuing to inspire us!!!
@@happy_times01 Usually, when I purchase a bedding set (1 flat sheet, 1 fitted sheet, and 2 pillow cases) it comes in a clear plastic container with a zippered opening. The idea is that when you aren't using the set, you can store it in the container, that way it all stays together. I usually wait until January to purchase new sets (during their "white sales") at Target, Marshall's, or Walmart. I hope this answers your question. PEACE
8:31 The netting from fruit, also works to hold a skein of yarn. It helps to hold the skein together. I usually buy the big skein, put it in the netting and tie it if I was going somewhere. Thanks for the great ideas!! from Ohio🇺🇸
Bread ties, who would have thought??? lol I love it! I also like the paper towel holder idea as well (yes I live under a rock). I have a cat one that is a pain to use for a paper towel holder but my daughter got it for me and so it has been a decoration. NOW I can use it!! Love you videos Elise!
Great tips! Another advantage of using yarn as a stitch marker is that it stays in place as you work in the round, so if you need to frog a few rounds, you know where each of the previous rounds starts and can go back there! Whereas if it's a locking marker that you remove each time, you don't know where a previous round started or ended. I've actually never had to buy stitch markers as my yarn supplier gives a few colourful plastic locking ones with every order, so now l have a bunch that l use for keeping count of stitches etc ! It's a great free gift 😊
I use bobby pins for stitch marker also! Another good tool to stuff amigurumi is a pencil, the eraser side is wonderful to help stuff, I keep one always with my hooks.
I use a straight side Rubbermaid drink pitcher for a yarn holder.It’s perfect because it’s big and tall enough for even the one pounder skeins, and because the lid has the perfect opening to feed yarn through
My favorite yarn holders are 6 bottle of wine tote bags. Slip each skein pull side up and yhe compartments keep the yarn from tangling together. The tote bag handles make it easy to travel with your work.
I'm a retired grocery store associate. Wish I had known that before I retired & I could have had one if I'd asked! We've moved to a small town that might not have those for their wine customers. It's an awesome idea‼
@@wandam8642 Lots of options online! The store I got some from only held 4 and I ordered the 6 bottle bags. Plus there is a bonus wine and cheese pairing chart printed on the side.
I like the idea for using your hand for measuring since my tape measure always seems to go missing. Something I use for a yarn cozy is old socks. The heel and toe area gets the holes, so cut the cuff off and use that part for the cozy.
I love keeping leftover yarn on toilet paper rolls. You can stuff the label on the inside or write on the roll itself. I also use hair clips, Bobby pins, etc. to keep the outside end of a yarn cake or ball in place. My best yarn bowls are wooden salad bowls I picked up at thrift stores. Great for large projects! Many thanks, Elise.
Really great tips. I put two balls of yarn in a oatmeal circulae box so they don roll all over the place. My tiny chihuahua loves to steal balls of yarn and play with them all over the house. Now he only gets old yarn l. Sincerely, Debbie and Dexter-Dog my sweet tiny rescued Chihuahua companion living a quiet crafty life in southern California.🙋🐾🧑🦽🏡🎠🎄🐦😘❄️⛄✝️🌻🙏💕
When my hand gets tired from crocheting a lot I like to push my hook through a beauty blender. The blender makes a great handle, is soft and comfortable.
Great ideas! I love Altoids cans for needles and other notions. They can obviously be used as is, or covered in a variety of different way, including polymer clay. Many of mine are still in the pill bottles my mother put them in back in the 60s or 70s (yes, I kept all of her crochet and knitting tools after she died in 1987), but I've been using the Altoids cans for beading needles and other jewelry-making smalls, and they will fit the new clipping stitch markers you showed at the beginning of your video better than most pill bottles will. The hand measurements you gave don't work for people with small hands, like my size 6 to 6-1/2 ones. In our case, the distance between the first two knuckles of the index finger is about an inch, and thumb tip to baby fingertip spread out is about 6". The distance from the tip of one shoulder to where I hold something in my thumb and index finger with the other arm stretched out straight to the side is about 3', which is a very common and helpful measurement for many things in the craft world. My size 6-1/2 feet measure more or less 12", so that's a helpful shortcut for quick and dirty measurements of room sizes. People should measure their own body parts to ensure they're using the right dimensions *for them*, but once you do know these shortcuts, they are *sooo* helpful in so many situations.
So I have a good tip for those of us who use digital stitch counters and take our projects with us when we go somewhere. Early on I found out that if I put the counters just in the bag with my crocheting it can add counts or reset it from movement as you're walking. I use the prescription bottles to put my stitch counter in there. It works great for on-the-go crocheting. 🙂 also works great if you have multiple counters with multiple wips. You could use a piece of masking tape and write down the project name, along with the hook size or any other pertinent information.
These are great! I always enjoy your tips and tricks videos. One of the useful tips I now use, but was not my idea, is the hair clips that you bend/snap to open. They're great as stitch markers, keeping your yarn bound nicely, and to hold granny squares together when seaming. Because I'm extra like that, I match the clip to the yarn I'm using 🤭🧶
Hair clips seem to multiply for me, but it's really that I pick up a pack at Dollar Tree any time I see colors that I like. 😂 They really are great for keeping the yarn end with the rest of the yarn cake, skein, or ball, instead of it going "off to explore the house." 😉
When I started sewing decades ago, my mother taught me how she measured fabric yardage on the fly. Works for rope, twine, yarn, etc. Take an edge and hold in one hand to the tip of your nose, run your other hand along the length of the fabric/yarn/ribbon/whatever until your arm is fully outstretched to the side. You've measured out approximately three feet/one yard. To measure further, drop the fabric from your "nose hand", grab the fabric at your side hand and bring to your nose while sliding the fabric. You can get really speedy at this and find good deals on fabric and such at yard sales
The wooden yarn holder would be great for thread crochet. I love the idea of using the towel holder to hold yarn. I have two holders my hubby DIY'd from an old pole lamp that had gotten damaged. The base is very sturdy. ON THE BOTTOM, I put a round piece of wax paper and on top of that a piece of felt to help it spin. I use cotton yarn on cones, and this works great for them. One of my favorite decorations in my craft room is a glass jar with a cork in the top that came with Italian seasoning. I made an afghan with a box of Scheepjes River Washed Mini Skeins, and all of the little bits left over I made into little skeins, and placed in the spice jar. I use the beach towel holders from the dollar store for bobbins- holds a lot of yarn! I also use binder clips to hold cords, the clip comes off, so you can thread it thru. I can see using it on your colander the same way. Thanks for all of your tips, I have used most of them!.
For my crocheting and knitting I often grab my husband's discarded protein shake containers. They're large so they can handle those jumbo skeins of yarn or keep multiple balls/skeins clean and handy for color work. It's also easy to travel with them, I just stuff the project into the container (if it still fits), put the lid on, and stick it into my project bag with my water bottle. If you need a break from the project you can easily line them up on your shelf with a label of what project it is, hook size, etc.
My favorite yarn holder is a plastic tea pitcher with a lid . They're mostly a dollar or two at the most at the dollar stores and they have some that are designed with about a quarter size hole in the lid for the poor spot with a hinged cap on it that you can take that part off keeps the yarn clean and accessible all the time and easy travel
I moved to using regular socks that I wear, as yarn socks. Stitch markers pop through regular socks really easily, and can hold a tag for information. If you use a pair of socks that naturally wore out, you can just sew any holes closed any way you want to, since you won't be wearing them anymore, and don't have to worry about feeling an uncomfortable or ugly seam. (Or just leave the holes since you can often adjust the sock so your yarn is still covered, unless the hole is huge, like a very big worn out heel hole.. I'm lazy so not fixing is what I did after "fixing" one sock. (Unless I need to) I use them mainly for compression, storage for wip yarn and as a dog hair/dirt shield.) Just an fyi- regular socks don't generally show the contents like pantyhose, and can be longer than the skein. When i'm ready to use the yarn, I fold the open end down so the top of the sock is inside out, and the center pull isn't obstructed by the sock or it's elastic top. When im done, I just fold the sock back over the yarn. Don't cut the elastic tops off of socks... It won't end well. The socks fall apart if you use scissors to cut off either end! If I have partial small cotton skeins at the end of an amigurumi project, I wrap the skein hollow carefully with it's paper wrapper tightly in a little embroidery floss-looking tube without disturbing the skein skeleton except to compress it carefully in its wrapper tube, and then lay multiple skeins together into a new "skein of bundles." Then I turn a sock inside out over my hand, pick up all the bundles so the end rests in my palm and just invert the sock back the right way over all the bundles. Everything is neat and compressed together, won't tangle or fall apart, and I just need to grab the 1 sock and all the yarn I should be using first, if possible, is all in 1 place. Old clothes/shirts can be sewn into draw string project bags easily too with a sewing machine. They're a beginner first-project, and you can help keep your old mass produced textiles out of landfills. ❤
Hi Elise! When I first started crocheting, I used a piece of scrap yarn to mark my stitches and it worked perfectly!! By the way, great video!! I will definitely be using some of these the next project I will have! ❤🎉
These are great. A paper clip! Of course! I've used threads and bits of yarn and occasionally a safety pin... Toilet roll winder - fantastic. I love a yarn bowl but don't own one! I do use a heavy ceramic bowl if I've made a neat cake that stays inside...a colander is a great idea. I'll have a rummage for a big container, I have a few big tins saved in the cupboard. Ergonomic sounds great, can't afford at the mo so making one would be awesome. I have polymer clay and some shelf liner! Such great ideas for my ongoing crochet obsession 😊 I use a metal kitchen roll holder for big yarn skeins that I haven't rolled into round cakes yet! Well goodness me my finger joint is an inch long. My hand span is also not 9 inches (and I have big hands). Hook Size markers and using chip clips is a great help! I'm crocheting a cushion cover right now. I've been reading about whittling a hook from a Chopstick! So maybe that's another hack if you go somewhere and forgot your hook 😅 I have used stuffing from cushions, it's often much much cheaper than buying stuffing separately! Thanks so much for all the brilliant tips. 💚
@@EliseRoseCrochet also, sort of related to crochet... I make tassels on a metal ruler with 2 tight clothes pegs to wind the yarn around. You can peg them the exact length you need apart and wind away, then gather each side to make 2, or all of it to make 1 tassel by wrapping a length of yarn around the hank halfway along (the ruler makes this easy). Then cut at each end and finish with binding, rings, or whatever. I'm doing this at the moment for the cushion I've almost finished.
I have used the plastic cake covers .. you could also use the bottom of it and put holes in it to feed your yarn through. For a yarn cozzie you could use some of the cheap/cheaper knee high stockings.
I use a bag strap, knitting needle, and a hair type to create a yarn dispenser that I can prop up on the corner of my tv, around my shoulder when walking, etc.
14:53 Even used up candles can be a good way to use them for storage or even small yarn cakes. Just clean them out and they will be a perfect container for store anything in.
Another amazing video! I've been using a bobby pin as a stitch marker for years. Some of these ideas I have never heard of. Thank you so much for all the hard work it takes to research these ideas and making them accessible to us. ❤
I use some plastic gallon bags where I've snipped the corners. I pull the yarn through the corner. When there is extra yarn, I use a bobby pin to pin them to the outside. I LOVE that lysol cannister idea!
A great idea with the pantyhose and that type of yarn ball, especially if it stops is collapsing. When I use that type of yarn ball I push a long, fat wooden knitting needle through the centre and loosely attach it to the top of a plastic basket using craft pipe cleaners and use the yarn from the outside. The needle turns very easily and smoothly and of course the pipe cleaners can be removed when the project is finished and you need somewhere to store that next batch of yarn you shouldn’t have bought but couldn’t resist.
Hi Elise - great ideas! In addition, I use those plastic net things, that they tend to put liquor bottles in to prevent them from rattling around and crashing into each other, to contain my yarn skeins. I have no other idea of what to do with the blasted things other than trash them. Also, I use the empty containers for mechanical pencil leads to carry a few yarn needles around.
Those "plastic net things" can also be used to remove the skins off roasted hazel nuts (aka filberts) and boiled almonds. Just thought you might like to know. PEACE
I use small cool whip containers to hold most of my cake yarns I use. They also work great for cakes I wind on my ball winder. Also, plastic blue bunny ice cream containers work great for small skeins of yarn.
I have the wool genie (the hanging white and gray one) and I LOVE IT! I am sure the price went up now but when I bought it it was around 30 dollars. Totally worth it in the long run because I can easily take it with me in my WIP bag, and I just put a fresh skein on there without having to re-wind the yarn or anything. I am usually wary of gadgets but I use that guy every day ❤ I got so excited when you talked about it!
same! I got one for Christmas and my mind was blown at how well it worked! kept the yarn coming off at a regular rate until the last 2 feet! 🤯 a great tool, but when using multiple colors, it's not as beneficial 🤷🏻♀️
I bought a travel bag for a large Stanley cup. It holds my genie. You pull the base off the genie and store it in the front zippered pocket. The yarn can stay on the genie down in the center of the bag. Get where you are going, pull it out, pop the base back on and carry on crocheting or knitting. It even has a shoulder strap on it.
Very interesting. I’m saving my cats’ treat containers as yarn bowls. It works the same as the disinfectant containers. I’ll be looking to thrift a paper towel holder.☺️
Hi Elise, great video. I use toilet tissue rolls to cake my yarn, paper clips, safety pins, Bobby pins all as stitch markers. I even have old lever backs earrings that work well also. I thought of the paper towel holders for holding yarn if worked from the outside. Love your vids. There’s always something new to learn. Thank you.
For a stitch marker just use an alligator clip. It stays where you put it , and you can move it with one hand. I've still got the one my gran gave me when I was 8 from back in the 70s. I always clipped it to the inside of my hook case when I wasn't using it. They are strong and will be where you clip them.
My fave is for the partly used yarn skeins .... you rap then around empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls then when I need them I toss the whole thing, tub n all, on a paper towel holder
Thanks so much for the great fun videos. A couple of thoughts and ideas. First, I picked up a couple of large measuring bowls. You can get them at the dollar store too. You can drop yarn in and thread through the pour spout. They are not as pretty as wooden bowls but will hold a larger skein. And if it is a smaller project you can drop the project in as well. When I was in foods class years ago our teacher taught us how to set a table properly. The inch measurement we learned was the end of the thumb to the first knuckle. You bend the thumb and place on the edge of the table. The cutlery and plates aligned with the end of the thumb so that it was an inch from the edge which was proper. I still use the measure as an emergency for an inch. Then years later when quilting I learned that from the tip of the fingers to the end of the nose was close to a yard. It is how the measured fabric in those old stores. And the last old top which is rather gross has to deal with squeaky hooks and hooks with burrs that catch. Modern hooks are better than the Boyes I learned with in the 1960’s. I was crocheting while waiting for my grandmother at the doctor. I was not very old. A kind older lady corrected a few things I was doing wrong and gave me pointers. She also said that when a hook was catching or had a burr to rub it in your hair. That puts a little oil on it and it will crochet better. That sounds bad but people put pencils behind their ears. It does work. I have not done it recently but I have wondered about it and Prym hooks when they squeak a little.
To wind yarn on a cardboard toilet tissue core or paper towel core, I bought an old cheap electric hand mixer and remove one of the beaters and put the other beater inside the cardboard core and turn it on, guiding the yarn back and forth with my hand. It works like a charm. And I got my mixer for like $3 at a insurance surplus sale store. Thrift stores have them too. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that ans is much faster than hand winding and no limit to the diameter of the yarn cake you make. 💁🏽♀️
My mixture runs so fast, I think I would get rope Burns on my hands.Try to hold the yarn.Well it wound up period good idea to get an old mixer from my thrift shop though period l o l
I love your ideas. Another idea is using a small upright tote and drilling holes in the top of the tote to pull the yarn through. This is perfect if you are using two colors for alternating your colors. Thank you for sharing, and God bless.
The best tool was the toilet paper roll, loved it! The strainer I use, but don't use the holes. I just drop the yarn inside the bowl and away I go. And the bread bag clip was a good one, I'll use that. Thank you sincerely.
I love these hacks, and will start using the ones I hadn’t heard of before. I personally use an old prescription bottle for “caking” my smaller scraps of yarn. Just put an end of the yarn into the bottle, cap it to hold it in place, and wrap around it. You can make it into a ball or cake, depending on how much yarn and how tall the bottle is. I use old plastic snack containers from wholesale stores to store the scrap balls, and make holes in the lid for the ends to come out of when needed. For those scraps of yarn that are too small to use to make anything, or don’t want to use for “stitch markers”, I use them to stuff my amigurumi projects. I unravel the ply’s of the yarn, especially if it’s thicker, to make it more versatile when stuffing. I try to use similar colors to what I’m stuffing, so that it won’t show through as much if there’s any gaps in my stitches Lastly, I use bobby pins and small hair flat clips for the end of yarn of my cakes, to hold them in place when not in use, or when I want to pull from the center.
I use a tin container that used to hold Buccee’s mints for my needles, stitch markers, small folding scissors, etc. It’s easy to also line the bottom with a strip of a magnetic sheet to keep all metallic items in place.
I purchased the Wool Jennie and absolutely love it. Crocheting has since I bought it has been a lot easier. I do checker prints and putting my main color on it and using Clover Bobbins for the drop and pickup method is the way to go.
Easy cheap yarn holder idea, pvc piping secured into any smooth base by either making a hole the diameter of the pipe and feeding it into the hole or super glue. Super durable, customizable, and cheap.
The polimar clay handles is so creative! I have a few metal hooks from when I started to crochet just laying around. I am going to try this hack! I also love the idea of hte bread bag clip. THAT is Genius.
Great video. My favorite freebie is the project baskets I crochet out of my scrap yarn. I use clothes pins in lot of ways, one is when I stop crocheting I clip where I stopped so it doesn't get pulled out.
Great tips! I use round vented plastic storage containers for yarn sometimes. I just tear off the tab that closes the hole. Yup, old pillow are great for stuffing crochet projects! So much less expensive and sometimes the stuffing is really premium.
I use hair clips to hold my long tails in both crochet and knit which the long tails are for sewing seams. I just figure 8 the tails and clip them to the foundation row or the cast on row.
Regarding stuffing, my grandmother made so many handmade dolls, and stuffing was one of the worst expenses. My aunt once brought her all of the fake snow after the neighbors got rid of their nativity display. It was trash bags full of poly fill, but it had Little shimmer bits in it. She made so many dolls with that. When I worked at a certain national craft Shane, I noticed that Buffalo snow, which is the same thing, cells for peanuts once it gets down to the wire at Christmas time. And after Christmas, it’s almost like they pay you to take it from the store. So if you think you’re going to need to stuff anything swing by the craft store on Christmas Eve or on the eve of a holiday or in the days just after you will make some scores if there are any to be had.
For ball winding into center-pull I use the short or long tubes that fizzy vitamins come in. (My husband used to buy these and saved them for me. Now he buys the vitamins in boxes of packets/sachets. The original brand was Airborne and now others brands also use the tubes. I remove the fresh sachet inside the lid as it isn't necessary. I slip one end of yarn in the tube, put on the lid and wind. Remove the lid and slip off the end. The diameter of the tubes is perfect. I can keep a hook, stitch markers, needles inside as well. A bit of wadding (fabric, etc.) to keep the items from slipping out when I wind a ball is optional. I've also crocheted little 3" x 3" squares using #3 crochet thread to clip markers or slip tapestry needles onto that fold and slip into the tube to have small tools with my project.
Hi Elise, Thank you for sharing and for all you do for the crochet, knit and yarn communities! I love all these tips and tricks, there are always great ways to make the craft you do less expensive if you can use what you have at home. In the USA and wherever else the dollar tree stores are you can get heavy duty clothes pegs that are big enough to wind yarn around and use as a bobbin (some people may have some at home, but as I live in Australia I had a family member get me a couple of packs to use). Crochet blogger 1dogwoof has created bobbins using a block of wood and spindles, I’ve had one made for me by my father. I absolutely loved the idea of a paper towel holder. Also, you could use the bread tags if you’ve got fine embroidery thread, as a bobbin. I just wanted to put a side note on using safety pins 🧷 with the spiral, as I’ve heard from another crochet blogger/TH-cam channel PlanetJune, that the yarn can get stuck in the spiral and that may damage the yarn. Another TH-cam channel Crafty Yarn Owl with Darla, always has the hair clips to hold the end of the yarn on the yarn cake. When I first started taking classes on learning to crochet one of the teachers told us to use scrap yarn to mark our stitches, so I use both scraps of yarn and occasionally stitch markers which I have plenty of but after some time they start breaking (I got a pack cheaply off Amazon from China). If you are interested in having something homemade that would allow you to use both ends of the same yarn, Mikey from the crochet crowd has just created something using a clothes hanger and a block of wood. Sorry for the long message. I hope these are helpful tips for others. Thank you so much Elise. Take care and stay safe and well. God’s blessings 🙏🏼💗🧶😻🦋🐶
My favorite DIY solution for crochet is, believe it or not, a shoebox. It's a sketchers box and on the lid it's got little circles cut out that don't go all the way to the end. I feed my yarn through that and it makes it real easy to keep it out of reach of the cat most of the time and keeps the yarn organized. It also holds multiple skeins, which is great for on-the-go projects that require multiple colors! Only problem with it is the same as the collinder, though. There's a little piece of exposed yarn, so when I go sleep if my project's not done I have to press that wall of the box up against the back of my chair or bury it under a blanket to protect the project. I also keep all my crochet hooks in a 'Hawaiian Sunset' flavored rock salt container we were using for the hottub, so it smells all tropical and relaxy whenever I open that. And, for the most unusual... I keep buttons and project pieces that need to be attatched later in gum cups and candy keepers! I have a little rotary Nerds container thing that looks like a pill keeper that works great for my limited button collection, but we do a lot of Trident and Orbit gum in our house, so they make great (Notion catchers, product keepers, coin banks, whisker collectors, water flavor packet holders, needle minders, etc.)
I use chip clips for my projects too, but I actually use the barrette style ones that work like hair clips. (They are V-shaped when they’re open, and snap shut on the two ends to hold things like a sandwich.) I found a really cheap pack at IKEA, and use them to hold my working loops open and pin the working yarn in place.
These are great ideas. Some I already use, like the Bobbie pins as stitch markers, which I prefer over the locking stitch markers I have, because they are easier to move. But some I had not heard of, like the paper towel yarn holder. I'm going to try that one! I save all my tiny scrap pieces of yarn, like the stuff I clip off after sewing in most of the tail, and I use it as stuffing for amigurumi when I don't have regular poly fill. I make a lot of hats that have small areas that need stuffing, like a snout or ears, and it works well - especially if most of the yarn is the same color as whatever I'm working on, because you can't see any of the stuffing through the stitches; it's camouflaged.
Love your videos! Another way to make your hook handle thicker is to use self adhesive bandages. I use them a lot! It's cheap, the handle is really comfortable, you can remove it if you don't want it anymore and it doesn't leave a sticky residue behind and bonus you can buy them in a ton of different colors!
The self-adhesive bandages are even cheaper if you buy them from a veterinary supply co - they use them to wrap horses’ legs. They come in different widths and colors!
I use a popcorn tin with a hole in the lid. If i want to take it with me no big deal pop the lid and put it in it and close the lid. Its been working great
can we take a minute to appreciate all of the work and amazing videos Elise makes? Thank you for these !!
Awww! Thank you so much! 🧶🧶🧶
I agree! Wish there was one for each day - an apple /video a day, keeps the doctor away. All the way from South Africa.
Thnx Elise, once again love all the diy options and ideas, which i already tried and still do. Love your videos!
Yes! Not only are they helpful, her presentation style and video quality is always the best. My fav new TH-cam channel of the year ❤️🧁🧁
bravo, Elise! yes!
Love these! Just wanted to add a tip I learned from my friend who sells fully recycled yarn crochet - if you fluff up scrap yarn on a dog slicker brush you can use it as stuffing and it works really well & uses all those little scraps that otherwise get tossed!
That's a great idea! 🧶🧶🧶
came here to say this! I save all my ends to do this with!
Love that idea!
thanks for the idea!! i have scraps set away for this purpose, but never thought to brush them to make them fluffy
Your tip for turning scrap yarn into toy filling is great as you can match the stuffing to your project I also use my poodles slicker brush to fluff up her fur to create dolls hair 😁💐🌺🌹
I recently made a baby blanket using three different colors of the Bernat Blanket yarn. I used a round plastic laundry basket (from Dollar Tree) for all three skeins, putting each strand through a different slot in the basket. It kept all those HUGE skeins nicely contained while I was making my stripes but also when I wasn't working on it, I just folded up the blanket and laid it on top of the yarn. It worked BEAUTIFULLY!! 😊
Great tip! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
Great idea. I will have to remember this. I have 5 longcoat German Shepherds. I try very hard not to include hair when I crochet a gift for someone else. I have a plastic thing with a lid, looks like Tall Tupperware with a lid. I dont much care do if.
Exactly what I do. 🎉
I've recently started using ziplock bags as yarn bowls for my center pull cakes. Works great and can be sealed, reused, folded up and stored easily.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
That is exactly what I do. Also, works well when knitting fair isle or stripes etc.
And also great if it falls to the floor…no dust/dirt/pet hair and your cat won’t take the ball and run with it. Lol
❤
Same here! Started out of desperation, cat hair does not go well with cotton crochet thread! 😸
In addition to the grippy shelf liner for ergonomic grips, you can use the self-sticking bandage wrap. They come in different colors. Works great!
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
That is such a good idea!, and I have lots of that around.
This is what I do too and I love it so much. Very customizable and easy to adjust if needed. And a little squishy :)
What a great idea!! I've also been trying to think of something to add to my plastic hangers so my blouses or trousers don't slip. This would work perfectly!! Thanks for your idea❤
I came here to say that ❤
A substitute for a yarn bowl that I use is a lovely, thrifted stoneware teapot. It has a wide opening on the top so the ball of yarn will fit with the working yarn coming out through the spout.
That's a great idea! 🫖
I love this one. I'm going to put my
teapot (I have never used) to work.
Thanks for the IDEA.
😅 bonus- looks cute if you leave it out for quick projects.
Now that is smart and adorable!!!
Great idea
A good way to remember what size hook you are using for a project is to just take a picture of the project with the hook size in view. Make a folder on your phone called “crochet projects” and then if you put it away for awhile and the hook isn’t with it you just look at your phone to find out.
That is such a good idea!!! 📸
I have yarn on my wooden yarn holder, hook in the bag 50
Stitches around on around 11! I have absolutely no idea what I was making!!!😩😩
Love your ideas. I actually use most of them. However, my cheapest (but most valuable) yarn holder is the plastic grocery bag. Simply place the yarn inside the bag, pull the working yarn through a handle hole, and tie the bag closed. Yarn moves easily and stays clean. Not to mention you can store the unfinished project in the bag.
Great idea!! Thanks for sharing!! 🧶🧶🧶
Hi! Elise I love your videos please keep them coming. I'm in a nursing home in VA because of strokes and I need your help.Could you please tell us where you can buy the Big Bubby craft handle and what they cost? Thanks so much 😊❤❤❤
@@denisehaley2448 Hi there! I don't know if you're still looking, but chunkyboycraft makes large ergonomic handles! They're sold out rn, but walmart/michales has a Boye branded ergonomic handle that you can insert aluminum hooks into for about $10-13! A DIY I (by I, I mean my mom, who is a home health nurse) see often is a tennis ball with a hole in it! I hope that helps!
I do something similar when I knit or crochet in university. I put the skein into my bag and close the bag - but not fully. The skein can‘t escape and I can knit peacefully and am able to concentrate to the lecture. (And don‘t have to search for the skein on the floor)
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That bread tie hack for the size of the crochet hook is genius!
I thought so too!!! Such a good idea!! 🧶🧶🧶
I too thought this was a wonderful idea!
Great tips, frugal too leaving more to spend on yarn 😊 My yarn ‘bowl’ is a white plastic basket, like the one on your top shelf. I put a knitting needle through one side, through the yarn ball, and then through the other side of the basket. No matter how hard I yank the yarn, the ball stays in the basket. I can put more than one ball in there, each on its own needle, for doing colourwork without tangles. If I need to take the project away from home, I just slip the knitting needles out to free the ball. Between sessions, I can simply drop the project on top and put the basket away. ❤
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶
Great idea!!!
Smart!
You can wash the yarn right in those pantyhose cozies! Some yarn from. The thrift stores can be dusty or smoky smelling. 😊 great video Elise, praise Jesus!
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I have been using Dollar store SPONGE ROLLERS as my ergonomic grips on my crochet hooks. Just remove the plastic piece. It already has a hole in the middle. If need be, you can cut them to size ( in case 1.5 rollers needed) and just use painters tape to secure them together. Feels really nice in the hand and has saved me hours of pain!
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
Love it!! I was just about to add a paper towel holder to my amazon shopping cart when you mentioned it. Oh and I like to use binder clips on the side of any bowl to make it into a yarn bowl. I just slip my yarn through the little silver grippy part and then if I need to take the yarn out I can unhook it from the bonder clip. I don't know if that makes sense but it's easy and they're removable and you can use multiples if you're doing colorwork. Love your videos :)
That makes total sense! Thanks for sharing!! 🧶🧶🧶
That's a great idea also! Thank you for sharing!
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Great idea. Now I have a use for my huge metal mixing bowl I got for popcorn. I don't need to eat that anymore 😂
That's a good idea.
15:44 Chop sticks. I realize this is about Crochet but i thought I'd add this. Others may like this idea. If I'm in a pinch (say at the cottage) and I want to knit a dishcloth, I'll use chop sticks.. They're a perfect size for that. Just file off any snags and voila, knittng needles.
Great tip! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I buy cotton balls at the dollar store for stuffing pillows. I used to use them for stuffed animals I made as well. They are early to fluff up and make them harder if you want a hard stuffing. I also made yarn out of cotton balls and two cat wire brushes. You process the cotton balls with the wire brushes and wound it into threads between your fingers. That is how cotton and wool is processed into yarn. You have to break down the fibers and they will thread together between your fingers. I am very good at making good quality yarn. I have a lot of practice. 😊
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
The problem with using cotton balls for that is: that they can't be washed. I checked because I use cotton balls to make pillows for my own head [polyester makes me SWEAT!]
@@lynneclark5313-oh, did not think of that. Thanks for that.
@@lynneclark5313
Why can't they be washed? Is it because they don't dry out as easily as polyfil?
The cotton balls losses its loft and will quickly shred.@@MM-jf1me
I just found your channel! Thank you so much for all the great tips. I too have an (adult) son who has a disability. We use shelf liner and silpat baking mats for a lot of things. When I was young, my mom would cut the bottom off 2-liter soda bottles , put her yarn in it and feed it through the top. The she would turn the bottom upside down and shove it back inside the part she cut off.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
Brilliant!
Thanks..💞
I've been using scrap yarn as place markers, but I didn't realize making the yarn longer and utilizing the same piece of yarn as I move through the project would help to lock it into place with an easy remove when I'm ready to do that. I'm going to be using that technique now.
It really is a nice way to mark your stitches! 🧶🧶🧶
I use yarn also with a slack knot one end so I don't pull the yarn out .
And I feel so dumb for not thinking of it sooner! I use multiple scraps of yarn when I could be using one long piece!🙄
The wooden yarn bowl I made from and old wooden bowl! Used dremel tool and sandpaper. I stained it and it’s lovely! Good needle holders are M&M tubes that you can get at holidays! They are colored and fun!
Oooh! Nice! I bet it's beautiful! 🧶🧶🧶
Yes on the tubes. Fizzy vitamins come in tubes also. Airborne is one brand and store brands also have the tubes.
This vid was so helpful! I’m a 12 year old girl and I’ve been watching your videos from day one! Elise you have literally taught me how to crochet!!🧶 ❤❤
My #1 favorite tool for holding crochet hooks are tooth brush holders. Nothing, in my opinion, is better. Give it a try and you will thank me. Love all your videos Elise.👍
What a great idea! And there are so many different styles to choose from, too. Thanks for sharing your tip.
A clean tea pot makes a cute yarn bowl. Thread yarn through the spout.
What a great idea!! 🫖
I’m currently using an old tp holder for my crochet string. It holds what I’m using, and all the other colors on it too. Just swap out the one you’re using. I have an antique metal lunchbox that I use for my crochet tools (and small projects) on the go. I love how it opens up. I’ve also used a red wine purse. Opens up WIDE! Both of them were a dollar each at the second hand store. I just got an old suitcase set that looks s0 pretty! Instead of an unsightly pile of yarn balls/skeins next to the couch, I just cut a notch in the suitcase and Wala I feed my yarn through the hole. When I’m done for a bit I just open the suitcase to put my project in. Beautiful, and Meowswa can’t get it! It’s a yarn holder with storage to boot. Don’t forget to add epoxy to dry over the notch so it slides without snags.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
7:49 One hack that I use to keep my yarn nice and clean is that I use the Five Below “Pop up bin” which can be used as a car storage or trash can. It’s big enough to put a giant cake of yarn and what’s neat is that is has a bungee secure tie, so when i pull it all the way in there’s a center where to yarn can feed through and it has a strap for you to hang it anywhere you like. I find this super useful when i wanna hang it on a shelf above me when i knit or crochet. It’s out of the way and i have more free space for my project.
Oooh! Great idea!! Thank you so much for sharing! ❤
Great hacks!! I‘ve been using travel packing cubes to organize yarn for WIPs (works in progress). They zip up and most have a mesh on one side so that the contents are viewable. I haven’t been doing much travel lately, so may as well put the cubes to work. Thank you Elise for continuing to inspire us!!!
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
Me too! Works well!
I use the zippered pouches you get from sheet sets for a similar purpose. Just big enough for one project, plus they're see through
What are those exactly? Where do you get them?
@@happy_times01 Usually, when I purchase a bedding set (1 flat sheet, 1 fitted sheet, and 2 pillow cases) it comes in a clear plastic container with a zippered opening. The idea is that when you aren't using the set, you can store it in the container, that way it all stays together. I usually wait until January to purchase new sets (during their "white sales") at Target, Marshall's, or Walmart. I hope this answers your question. PEACE
8:31 The netting from fruit, also works to hold a skein of yarn. It helps to hold the skein together. I usually buy the big skein, put it in the netting and tie it if I was going somewhere. Thanks for the great ideas!! from Ohio🇺🇸
Good to know! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I have also saved and used the netting from fruit. Works well around open yarn skeins. 💖
Great idea! And here I was throwing them away.
I trash the fruit bag also.
Oh Wow! Didn't think of it before I tossed the tangerine bag last week! I will have to pick up another bag of tangerines! Lol great idea!
Travel yarn holder- ziploc bag with corner cut off for yarn to thread through. Works great and keeps yarn from tangling.
Great idea!! 🧶🧶🧶
Lasts even longer if you cover the cut edge with painter’s tape. I use freezer bags that have been used 3-4 times and have thinned.
Bread ties, who would have thought??? lol I love it! I also like the paper towel holder idea as well (yes I live under a rock). I have a cat one that is a pain to use for a paper towel holder but my daughter got it for me and so it has been a decoration. NOW I can use it!! Love you videos Elise!
That's wonderful!! It sounds adorable! 🧶🧶🧶
Great tips! Another advantage of using yarn as a stitch marker is that it stays in place as you work in the round, so if you need to frog a few rounds, you know where each of the previous rounds starts and can go back there! Whereas if it's a locking marker that you remove each time, you don't know where a previous round started or ended.
I've actually never had to buy stitch markers as my yarn supplier gives a few colourful plastic locking ones with every order, so now l have a bunch that l use for keeping count of stitches etc ! It's a great free gift 😊
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I use bobby pins for stitch marker also! Another good tool to stuff amigurumi is a pencil, the eraser side is wonderful to help stuff, I keep one always with my hooks.
They work great! ❤
I use a straight side Rubbermaid drink pitcher for a yarn holder.It’s perfect because it’s big and tall enough for even the one pounder skeins, and because the lid has the perfect opening to feed yarn through
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I do that too. I got mine at the dollar store and they come in different colors.
I use sports wrap around my hooks to make them easier and more comfortable to hold and it's cushiony. It doesn'tleave any sticky residue either.😊
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing!! 🧶🧶🧶
Is sports wrap the same as vet wrap? Elastic that sticks to itself, not Velcro though, just tacky?
@@robinr6399I believe they work the same way.
My favorite yarn holders are 6 bottle of wine tote bags. Slip each skein pull side up and yhe compartments keep the yarn from tangling together. The tote bag handles make it easy to travel with your work.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I'm a retired grocery store associate. Wish I had known that before I retired & I could have had one if I'd asked! We've moved to a small town that might not have those for their wine customers. It's an awesome idea‼
@@wandam8642 Lots of options online! The store I got some from only held 4 and I ordered the 6 bottle bags. Plus there is a bonus wine and cheese pairing chart printed on the side.
I like the idea for using your hand for measuring since my tape measure always seems to go missing. Something I use for a yarn cozy is old socks. The heel and toe area gets the holes, so cut the cuff off and use that part for the cozy.
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing! 🧦
My next tatoo!
I must learn to do this.. I'm always losing my tape measure!
I love keeping leftover yarn on toilet paper rolls. You can stuff the label on the inside or write on the roll itself.
I also use hair clips, Bobby pins, etc. to keep the outside end of a yarn cake or ball in place.
My best yarn bowls are wooden salad bowls I picked up at thrift stores. Great for large projects!
Many thanks, Elise.
Ooh! Love the idea for the wooden salad bowls! Thanks for sharing! 🥗🧶❤️
I also love wooden salad bowls for yarn bowls. I have three that never get used for salads so why not?!
Really great tips. I put two balls of yarn in a oatmeal circulae box so they don roll all over the place. My tiny chihuahua loves to steal balls of yarn and play with them all over the house. Now he only gets old yarn l. Sincerely, Debbie and Dexter-Dog my sweet tiny rescued Chihuahua companion living a quiet crafty life in southern California.🙋🐾🧑🦽🏡🎠🎄🐦😘❄️⛄✝️🌻🙏💕
Awww, so sweet! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶
When my hand gets tired from crocheting a lot I like to push my hook through a beauty blender. The blender makes a great handle, is soft and comfortable.
Great ideas!
I love Altoids cans for needles and other notions. They can obviously be used as is, or covered in a variety of different way, including polymer clay. Many of mine are still in the pill bottles my mother put them in back in the 60s or 70s (yes, I kept all of her crochet and knitting tools after she died in 1987), but I've been using the Altoids cans for beading needles and other jewelry-making smalls, and they will fit the new clipping stitch markers you showed at the beginning of your video better than most pill bottles will.
The hand measurements you gave don't work for people with small hands, like my size 6 to 6-1/2 ones. In our case, the distance between the first two knuckles of the index finger is about an inch, and thumb tip to baby fingertip spread out is about 6".
The distance from the tip of one shoulder to where I hold something in my thumb and index finger with the other arm stretched out straight to the side is about 3', which is a very common and helpful measurement for many things in the craft world. My size 6-1/2 feet measure more or less 12", so that's a helpful shortcut for quick and dirty measurements of room sizes.
People should measure their own body parts to ensure they're using the right dimensions *for them*, but once you do know these shortcuts, they are *sooo* helpful in so many situations.
Yes! You should do your own measurements! 👋
You can also cut a thin magnet strip for the inside of the tin if you want to keep your needles from rolling around. 🙂
So I have a good tip for those of us who use digital stitch counters and take our projects with us when we go somewhere. Early on I found out that if I put the counters just in the bag with my crocheting it can add counts or reset it from movement as you're walking. I use the prescription bottles to put my stitch counter in there. It works great for on-the-go crocheting. 🙂 also works great if you have multiple counters with multiple wips. You could use a piece of masking tape and write down the project name, along with the hook size or any other pertinent information.
These are great! I always enjoy your tips and tricks videos. One of the useful tips I now use, but was not my idea, is the hair clips that you bend/snap to open. They're great as stitch markers, keeping your yarn bound nicely, and to hold granny squares together when seaming. Because I'm extra like that, I match the clip to the yarn I'm using 🤭🧶
Haha! I love it! I will have to pick a pack of those up sometime! ❤
I have starting to use hair clips that snap to keep the ends of yarn clipped to the ball saves the yarn getting tangled up
@@jenniferking6989 Yes, me too, as I mentioned. They're very versatile 🧶
Hair clips seem to multiply for me, but it's really that I pick up a pack at Dollar Tree any time I see colors that I like. 😂
They really are great for keeping the yarn end with the rest of the yarn cake, skein, or ball, instead of it going "off to explore the house." 😉
@@jenniferking6989❤
When I started sewing decades ago, my mother taught me how she measured fabric yardage on the fly. Works for rope, twine, yarn, etc. Take an edge and hold in one hand to the tip of your nose, run your other hand along the length of the fabric/yarn/ribbon/whatever until your arm is fully outstretched to the side. You've measured out approximately three feet/one yard. To measure further, drop the fabric from your "nose hand", grab the fabric at your side hand and bring to your nose while sliding the fabric. You can get really speedy at this and find good deals on fabric and such at yard sales
I have a little zippered pencil pouch to hold my extra hooks, needles, stitch markers, and tiny scissors. Easy to put into my to-go crochet bag.
Great idea!
I do this too
The wooden yarn holder would be great for thread crochet. I love the idea of using the towel holder to hold yarn. I have two holders my hubby DIY'd from an old pole lamp that had gotten damaged. The base is very sturdy. ON THE BOTTOM, I put a round piece of wax paper and on top of that a piece of felt to help it spin. I use cotton yarn on cones, and this works great for them. One of my favorite decorations in my craft room is a glass jar with a cork in the top that came with Italian seasoning. I made an afghan with a box of Scheepjes River Washed Mini Skeins, and all of the little bits left over I made into little skeins, and placed in the spice jar. I use the beach towel holders from the dollar store for bobbins- holds a lot of yarn! I also use binder clips to hold cords, the clip comes off, so you can thread it thru. I can see using it on your colander the same way. Thanks for all of your tips, I have used most of them!.
You've got a lot of great tips! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I have beautiful small skeins in a litre pickle jar. You can see them so easily. So pretty as well.Great video!❤️
Oooh! I bet they look gorgeous! ❤
Oh you just gave me a great idea! I’ve got some tiny skeins and little ball jars with wooden tops.
Ty for sharing I will be using the jars for my little scrap balls of yarn 🧶 ❤❤❤
For a stitch marker you can also use broken clip earrings, the ones that close plus if they have something hanging on it makes it cute,
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
For my crocheting and knitting I often grab my husband's discarded protein shake containers. They're large so they can handle those jumbo skeins of yarn or keep multiple balls/skeins clean and handy for color work. It's also easy to travel with them, I just stuff the project into the container (if it still fits), put the lid on, and stick it into my project bag with my water bottle. If you need a break from the project you can easily line them up on your shelf with a label of what project it is, hook size, etc.
Great tip!! Thanks for sharing!! 🧶🧶🧶
i love when DIY videos have good tips with things that we can actually find at home easily. thank you for this video, it helped a lot❤
My favorite yarn holder is a plastic tea pitcher with a lid . They're mostly a dollar or two at the most at the dollar stores and they have some that are designed with about a quarter size hole in the lid for the poor spot with a hinged cap on it that you can take that part off keeps the yarn clean and accessible all the time and easy travel
Great idea!!! 👏👏👏
I use a gallon size Ziploc bag and a large binder clip! I clip the bag to a shelf and pull yarn thru the clip
I love the bread tie tip. That's an awesome idea
I thought so too!! I hope the person who mentioned it chimes in! 🧶🧶🧶
I moved to using regular socks that I wear, as yarn socks. Stitch markers pop through regular socks really easily, and can hold a tag for information.
If you use a pair of socks that naturally wore out, you can just sew any holes closed any way you want to, since you won't be wearing them anymore, and don't have to worry about feeling an uncomfortable or ugly seam.
(Or just leave the holes since you can often adjust the sock so your yarn is still covered, unless the hole is huge, like a very big worn out heel hole.. I'm lazy so not fixing is what I did after "fixing" one sock. (Unless I need to) I use them mainly for compression, storage for wip yarn and as a dog hair/dirt shield.)
Just an fyi- regular socks don't generally show the contents like pantyhose, and can be longer than the skein. When i'm ready to use the yarn, I fold the open end down so the top of the sock is inside out, and the center pull isn't obstructed by the sock or it's elastic top. When im done, I just fold the sock back over the yarn. Don't cut the elastic tops off of socks... It won't end well. The socks fall apart if you use scissors to cut off either end!
If I have partial small cotton skeins at the end of an amigurumi project, I wrap the skein hollow carefully with it's paper wrapper tightly in a little embroidery floss-looking tube without disturbing the skein skeleton except to compress it carefully in its wrapper tube, and then lay multiple skeins together into a new "skein of bundles." Then I turn a sock inside out over my hand, pick up all the bundles so the end rests in my palm and just invert the sock back the right way over all the bundles. Everything is neat and compressed together, won't tangle or fall apart, and I just need to grab the 1 sock and all the yarn I should be using first, if possible, is all in 1 place.
Old clothes/shirts can be sewn into draw string project bags easily too with a sewing machine. They're a beginner first-project, and you can help keep your old mass produced textiles out of landfills. ❤
Such great tips!! Thanks for sharing!! 🧶🧶🧶
Hi Elise! When I first started crocheting, I used a piece of scrap yarn to mark my stitches and it worked perfectly!! By the way, great video!! I will definitely be using some of these the next project I will have! ❤🎉
Thanks for sharing! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! 🧶🧶🧶
These are great. A paper clip! Of course! I've used threads and bits of yarn and occasionally a safety pin...
Toilet roll winder - fantastic.
I love a yarn bowl but don't own one! I do use a heavy ceramic bowl if I've made a neat cake that stays inside...a colander is a great idea. I'll have a rummage for a big container, I have a few big tins saved in the cupboard.
Ergonomic sounds great, can't afford at the mo so making one would be awesome. I have polymer clay and some shelf liner!
Such great ideas for my ongoing crochet obsession 😊
I use a metal kitchen roll holder for big yarn skeins that I haven't rolled into round cakes yet!
Well goodness me my finger joint is an inch long. My hand span is also not 9 inches (and I have big hands).
Hook Size markers and using chip clips is a great help! I'm crocheting a cushion cover right now.
I've been reading about whittling a hook from a Chopstick! So maybe that's another hack if you go somewhere and forgot your hook 😅
I have used stuffing from cushions, it's often much much cheaper than buying stuffing separately!
Thanks so much for all the brilliant tips. 💚
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
@@EliseRoseCrochet also, sort of related to crochet...
I make tassels on a metal ruler with 2 tight clothes pegs to wind the yarn around. You can peg them the exact length you need apart and wind away, then gather each side to make 2, or all of it to make 1 tassel by wrapping a length of yarn around the hank halfway along (the ruler makes this easy). Then cut at each end and finish with binding, rings, or whatever. I'm doing this at the moment for the cushion I've almost finished.
I have used the plastic cake covers .. you could also use the bottom of it and put holes in it to feed your yarn through. For a yarn cozzie you could use some of the cheap/cheaper knee high stockings.
Great idea! 🧶🧶🧶
I use a bag strap, knitting needle, and a hair type to create a yarn dispenser that I can prop up on the corner of my tv, around my shoulder when walking, etc.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
14:53 Even used up candles can be a good way to use them for storage or even small yarn cakes. Just clean them out and they will be a perfect container for store anything in.
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing! ❤
Another amazing video! I've been using a bobby pin as a stitch marker for years. Some of these ideas I have never heard of. Thank you so much for all the hard work it takes to research these ideas and making them accessible to us. ❤
You are so welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! 🧶🧶🧶
Same here... or I've been too lazy to implement them but watching this highlights the monetary savings! Great tips!
I use some plastic gallon bags where I've snipped the corners. I pull the yarn through the corner. When there is extra yarn, I use a bobby pin to pin them to the outside.
I LOVE that lysol cannister idea!
Awesome idea! ❤️
A great idea with the pantyhose and that type of yarn ball, especially if it stops is collapsing. When I use that type of yarn ball I push a long, fat wooden knitting needle through the centre and loosely attach it to the top of a plastic basket using craft pipe cleaners and use the yarn from the outside. The needle turns very easily and smoothly and of course the pipe cleaners can be removed when the project is finished and you need somewhere to store that next batch of yarn you shouldn’t have bought but couldn’t resist.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
Hi Elise - great ideas! In addition, I use those plastic net things, that they tend to put liquor bottles in to prevent them from rattling around and crashing into each other, to contain my yarn skeins. I have no other idea of what to do with the blasted things other than trash them. Also, I use the empty containers for mechanical pencil leads to carry a few yarn needles around.
Great idea!! 🧶🧶🧶
Those "plastic net things" can also be used to remove the skins off roasted hazel nuts (aka filberts) and boiled almonds. Just thought you might like to know. PEACE
I use small cool whip containers to hold most of my cake yarns I use. They also work great for cakes I wind on my ball winder. Also, plastic blue bunny ice cream containers work great for small skeins of yarn.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I have the wool genie (the hanging white and gray one) and I LOVE IT! I am sure the price went up now but when I bought it it was around 30 dollars. Totally worth it in the long run because I can easily take it with me in my WIP bag, and I just put a fresh skein on there without having to re-wind the yarn or anything. I am usually wary of gadgets but I use that guy every day ❤ I got so excited when you talked about it!
That is so good to know!!!! Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
same! I got one for Christmas and my mind was blown at how well it worked! kept the yarn coming off at a regular rate until the last 2 feet! 🤯 a great tool, but when using multiple colors, it's not as beneficial 🤷🏻♀️
I bought a travel bag for a large Stanley cup. It holds my genie. You pull the base off the genie and store it in the front zippered pocket. The yarn can stay on the genie down in the center of the bag. Get where you are going, pull it out, pop the base back on and carry on crocheting or knitting. It even has a shoulder strap on it.
Very interesting. I’m saving my cats’ treat containers as yarn bowls. It works the same as the disinfectant containers. I’ll be looking to thrift a paper towel holder.☺️
Great tip!!! Thanks for sharing! 🧶
I’ve used contrast yarn for a stitch marker for years 😊 good video Elise hope the weather is nice back there ☺️👍🏼🧡🧶
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Karen! And the weather is getting really nice here! I bet it's gorgeous where you are right now! 🏔
Hi Elise, great video. I use toilet tissue rolls to cake my yarn, paper clips, safety pins, Bobby pins all as stitch markers. I even have old lever backs earrings that work well also. I thought of the paper towel holders for holding yarn if worked from the outside.
Love your vids. There’s always something new to learn. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your tips!! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! 🧶🧶🧶
And your lever back earrings would be so pretty as stitch markers! What a great idea!
For a stitch marker just use an alligator clip. It stays where you put it , and you can move it with one hand. I've still got the one my gran gave me when I was 8 from back in the 70s. I always clipped it to the inside of my hook case when I wasn't using it. They are strong and will be where you clip them.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
My fave is for the partly used yarn skeins .... you rap then around empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls then when I need them I toss the whole thing, tub n all, on a paper towel holder
Great idea!!! Thanks for sharing!! 🧻🧻🧻
Thanks so much for the great fun videos. A couple of thoughts and ideas. First, I picked up a couple of large measuring bowls. You can get them at the dollar store too. You can drop yarn in and thread through the pour spout. They are not as pretty as wooden bowls but will hold a larger skein. And if it is a smaller project you can drop the project in as well.
When I was in foods class years ago our teacher taught us how to set a table properly. The inch measurement we learned was the end of the thumb to the first knuckle. You bend the thumb and place on the edge of the table. The cutlery and plates aligned with the end of the thumb so that it was an inch from the edge which was proper. I still use the measure as an emergency for an inch. Then years later when quilting I learned that from the tip of the fingers to the end of the nose was close to a yard. It is how the measured fabric in those old stores.
And the last old top which is rather gross has to deal with squeaky hooks and hooks with burrs that catch. Modern hooks are better than the Boyes I learned with in the 1960’s. I was crocheting while waiting for my grandmother at the doctor. I was not very old. A kind older lady corrected a few things I was doing wrong and gave me pointers. She also said that when a hook was catching or had a burr to rub it in your hair. That puts a little oil on it and it will crochet better. That sounds bad but people put pencils behind their ears. It does work. I have not done it recently but I have wondered about it and Prym hooks when they squeak a little.
Oh I forgot to add about the large measuring bowls that usually they have grips on the bottom and they are easily portable.
Thanks so much for sharing all those tips!! And I have heard the one about rubbing the crochet hook in your hair! 🧶🧶🧶
When I have a rough hook you can slso take wax paper & rub it over an aluminum hook.
I've used empty tissue boxes as yarn bowls - both the smaller square ones and the larger rectangular ones, and they work great! Thanks for the ideas.
Those are great tips!! 🧶🧶🧶
Good idea!❤️🧁
Hi Jacqueline 🌹🌹
How are you doing?
To wind yarn on a cardboard toilet tissue core or paper towel core, I bought an old cheap electric hand mixer and remove one of the beaters and put the other beater inside the cardboard core and turn it on, guiding the yarn back and forth with my hand. It works like a charm. And I got my mixer for like $3 at a insurance surplus sale store. Thrift stores have them too. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that ans is much faster than hand winding and no limit to the diameter of the yarn cake you make. 💁🏽♀️
Great idea!!! 🧶🧶🧶
My mixture runs so fast, I think I would get rope Burns on my hands.Try to hold the yarn.Well it wound up period good idea to get an old mixer from my thrift shop though period l o l
I love your ideas. Another idea is using a small upright tote and drilling holes in the top of the tote to pull the yarn through. This is perfect if you are using two colors for alternating your colors. Thank you for sharing, and God bless.
The best tool was the toilet paper roll, loved it! The strainer I use, but don't use the holes. I just drop the yarn inside the bowl and away I go. And the bread bag clip was a good one, I'll use that. Thank you sincerely.
Thank you! ❤️
Wow! Useful, practical, and affordable ideas!!! Thank you!
You are so welcome! ❤️
I use straws cut at a angle & us different colors
Using the plastic bread loaf's as bobbins
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I love these hacks, and will start using the ones I hadn’t heard of before. I personally use an old prescription bottle for “caking” my smaller scraps of yarn. Just put an end of the yarn into the bottle, cap it to hold it in place, and wrap around it. You can make it into a ball or cake, depending on how much yarn and how tall the bottle is.
I use old plastic snack containers from wholesale stores to store the scrap balls, and make holes in the lid for the ends to come out of when needed.
For those scraps of yarn that are too small to use to make anything, or don’t want to use for “stitch markers”, I use them to stuff my amigurumi projects. I unravel the ply’s of the yarn, especially if it’s thicker, to make it more versatile when stuffing. I try to use similar colors to what I’m stuffing, so that it won’t show through as much if there’s any gaps in my stitches
Lastly, I use bobby pins and small hair flat clips for the end of yarn of my cakes, to hold them in place when not in use, or when I want to pull from the center.
I use a tin container that used to hold Buccee’s mints for my needles, stitch markers, small folding scissors, etc. It’s easy to also line the bottom with a strip of a magnetic sheet to keep all metallic items in place.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
It’s a gorgeous Fall out here☺️🧡I’m flying back to Virginia next week for a visit and am looking forward to a beautiful Virginia Fall 🍂☺️🍁
Oh nice!!! I bet Virginia will be beautiful! 🍁
Hi Karen🌹🌹
How are you doing?
btw, this is the first channel I recommend to anyone interested in crochet
Thank you so much!! 🧶🧶🧶
I purchased the Wool Jennie and absolutely love it. Crocheting has since I bought it has been a lot easier. I do checker prints and putting my main color on it and using Clover Bobbins for the drop and pickup method is the way to go.
Thank you so much for sharing!! Great info! 🧶🧶🧶
Easy cheap yarn holder idea, pvc piping secured into any smooth base by either making a hole the diameter of the pipe and feeding it into the hole or super glue. Super durable, customizable, and cheap.
Thanks for sharing!! 🧶🧶🧶
The polimar clay handles is so creative! I have a few metal hooks from when I started to crochet just laying around. I am going to try this hack! I also love the idea of hte bread bag clip. THAT is Genius.
There are so many amazing tips out there! Glad you enjoyed! 🧶🧶🧶
I've been using Bobby pins my whole life for counting my stitches. Lol now I feel better that I'm not weird!
You're not weird at all! ❤️
All your crochet animals caught my eye ❤. Thanks for all your tips some i already use and some i never geard of.
You are so welcome! 🧶🧶🧶
Bobbie pins great idea.
Glad you enjoyed it! 🧶🧶🧶
Great video. My favorite freebie is the project baskets I crochet out of my scrap yarn. I use clothes pins in lot of ways, one is when I stop crocheting I clip where I stopped so it doesn't get pulled out.
That's a great idea! 🧶🧶🧶
I picked up so many great tips from this video... thank you! And I completely that those bobby pins appear out of nowhere.
Haha!! Thank you! 🧶🧶🧶
Great tips! I use round vented plastic storage containers for yarn sometimes. I just tear off the tab that closes the hole. Yup, old pillow are great for stuffing crochet projects! So much less expensive and sometimes the stuffing is really premium.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
Hi Diane🌹🌹
How are you doing?
Take your chip clip (in our house, we use binder clips for chip clips) attach it to a bowl from the $1.25 store and voila - yarn bowl!
Great idea! 🧶🧶🧶
I use hair clips to hold the end of my yarn to the ball thanks 😊
Great idea! Thanks for sharing! ❤
I use hair clips to hold my long tails in both crochet and knit which the long tails are for sewing seams. I just figure 8 the tails and clip them to the foundation row or the cast on row.
For the yarn sock, I use old boot cuffs. Remember those? They work wonderfully. Another helpful video Elise. Thank you!!
That's a fantastic idea!! Thanks for sharing!! 🧶🧶🧶
Hi Susan🌹🌹
How are you doing?
For stuffing, my grandma always used yarn scraps. And those were the best pillows I ever napped on.
Yes! I do that too! 🧶🧶🧶 great tip! ❤️
Regarding stuffing, my grandmother made so many handmade dolls, and stuffing was one of the worst expenses. My aunt once brought her all of the fake snow after the neighbors got rid of their nativity display. It was trash bags full of poly fill, but it had Little shimmer bits in it. She made so many dolls with that. When I worked at a certain national craft Shane, I noticed that Buffalo snow, which is the same thing, cells for peanuts once it gets down to the wire at Christmas time. And after Christmas, it’s almost like they pay you to take it from the store. So if you think you’re going to need to stuff anything swing by the craft store on Christmas Eve or on the eve of a holiday or in the days just after you will make some scores if there are any to be had.
Oooh!! What a great tip!! Thank you for sharing!!!! 🧶🧶🧶
For ball winding into center-pull I use the short or long tubes that fizzy vitamins come in. (My husband used to buy these and saved them for me. Now he buys the vitamins in boxes of packets/sachets.
The original brand was Airborne and now others brands also use the tubes. I remove the fresh sachet inside the lid as it isn't necessary. I slip one end of yarn in the tube, put on the lid and wind. Remove the lid and slip off the end. The diameter of the tubes is perfect.
I can keep a hook, stitch markers, needles inside as well. A bit of wadding (fabric, etc.) to keep the items from slipping out when I wind a ball is optional.
I've also crocheted little 3" x 3" squares using #3 crochet thread to clip markers or slip tapestry needles onto that fold and slip into the tube to have small tools with my project.
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
Hi Elise, I just recently started crocheting and I have been watching your videos a lot lately. Thank you for all the tips
You are so welcome! ❤️
Hi Elise,
Thank you for sharing and for all you do for the crochet, knit and yarn communities!
I love all these tips and tricks, there are always great ways to make the craft you do less expensive if you can use what you have at home.
In the USA and wherever else the dollar tree stores are you can get heavy duty clothes pegs that are big enough to wind yarn around and use as a bobbin (some people may have some at home, but as I live in Australia I had a family member get me a couple of packs to use). Crochet blogger 1dogwoof has created bobbins using a block of wood and spindles, I’ve had one made for me by my father. I absolutely loved the idea of a paper towel holder.
Also, you could use the bread tags if you’ve got fine embroidery thread, as a bobbin.
I just wanted to put a side note on using safety pins 🧷 with the spiral, as I’ve heard from another crochet blogger/TH-cam channel PlanetJune, that the yarn can get stuck in the spiral and that may damage the yarn.
Another TH-cam channel Crafty Yarn Owl with Darla, always has the hair clips to hold the end of the yarn on the yarn cake.
When I first started taking classes on learning to crochet one of the teachers told us to use scrap yarn to mark our stitches, so I use both scraps of yarn and occasionally stitch markers which I have plenty of but after some time they start breaking (I got a pack cheaply off Amazon from China).
If you are interested in having something homemade that would allow you to use both ends of the same yarn, Mikey from the crochet crowd has just created something using a clothes hanger and a block of wood.
Sorry for the long message. I hope these are helpful tips for others.
Thank you so much Elise. Take care and stay safe and well. God’s blessings 🙏🏼💗🧶😻🦋🐶
Great tips!! Thank you so much for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶
I hope you don’t mind that I mentioned other TH-cam channels. I’ll apologise as I should have asked first before posting!
💜🙏🏽😻🧶
@@user-st1ru6kc9k I don't mind at all! I encourage it! We can all learn from each other! ❤️
Thank you and I will agree with you 💜🙏🏽
My favorite DIY solution for crochet is, believe it or not, a shoebox. It's a sketchers box and on the lid it's got little circles cut out that don't go all the way to the end. I feed my yarn through that and it makes it real easy to keep it out of reach of the cat most of the time and keeps the yarn organized. It also holds multiple skeins, which is great for on-the-go projects that require multiple colors! Only problem with it is the same as the collinder, though. There's a little piece of exposed yarn, so when I go sleep if my project's not done I have to press that wall of the box up against the back of my chair or bury it under a blanket to protect the project.
I also keep all my crochet hooks in a 'Hawaiian Sunset' flavored rock salt container we were using for the hottub, so it smells all tropical and relaxy whenever I open that.
And, for the most unusual... I keep buttons and project pieces that need to be attatched later in gum cups and candy keepers! I have a little rotary Nerds container thing that looks like a pill keeper that works great for my limited button collection, but we do a lot of Trident and Orbit gum in our house, so they make great (Notion catchers, product keepers, coin banks, whisker collectors, water flavor packet holders, needle minders, etc.)
Thanks so much for sharing your tips!! 🧶🧶🧶
I use chip clips for my projects too, but I actually use the barrette style ones that work like hair clips. (They are V-shaped when they’re open, and snap shut on the two ends to hold things like a sandwich.) I found a really cheap pack at IKEA, and use them to hold my working loops open and pin the working yarn in place.
Wow, what a superb video. Thank you, Elise! This one is being saved to my Pinterest for future reference, for sure!
Glad it was helpful! 🧶🧶🧶
These are great ideas. Some I already use, like the Bobbie pins as stitch markers, which I prefer over the locking stitch markers I have, because they are easier to move. But some I had not heard of, like the paper towel yarn holder. I'm going to try that one!
I save all my tiny scrap pieces of yarn, like the stuff I clip off after sewing in most of the tail, and I use it as stuffing for amigurumi when I don't have regular poly fill. I make a lot of hats that have small areas that need stuffing, like a snout or ears, and it works well - especially if most of the yarn is the same color as whatever I'm working on, because you can't see any of the stuffing through the stitches; it's camouflaged.
Thanks for sharing!! 🧶🧶🧶
Love your videos! Another way to make your hook handle thicker is to use self adhesive bandages. I use them a lot! It's cheap, the handle is really comfortable, you can remove it if you don't want it anymore and it doesn't leave a sticky residue behind and bonus you can buy them in a ton of different colors!
Great tip! Thanks!! 🧶🧶🧶
Tnx -sounds perfect ❤
The self-adhesive bandages are even cheaper if you buy them from a veterinary supply co - they use them to wrap horses’ legs. They come in different widths and colors!
I use a popcorn tin with a hole in the lid. If i want to take it with me no big deal pop the lid and put it in it and close the lid. Its been working great
Thanks for sharing! 🧶🧶🧶