Sunday, July 22, 2018

Little yarny bags and cakes...


I finished another of the Christmas Gift Bags this week:

And started on the fourth (and I think my last) one:

Super cute and easy to make now that I've found a suitable (for me) yarn to make them in.  I'd like to mention something in case anyone looks at this pattern and wonders about how the designer carried her yarn on the back...  She doesn't cover the yarn on the back side of the fabric, but all those long crisscrossing threads on the back would make me crazy, so I carried my unused yarn under the stitches of the yarn in use.  With a more solid yarn, or a less dense fabric being created, carrying the yarn under the stitches normally creates some show through, but I accept that as normal when doing crochet colorwork.  Using this stonewash-look yarn in these bags, though, makes the show through virtually undetectable.  Which makes me even happier with how these turned out.


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And I learned something new this week!  I learned how to hand-wind skeins of yarn into cakes!  There are a number of videos on Youtube that will help you understand how to do this (if you're interested),  but I used this one:




I also found the following tutorial helpful in seeing how she holds the yarn. I found slippage a bit of an issue and look forward to trying this again by using my left-hand thumb as a guide for the yarn being wrapped.




Not having a nostepinne, or an empty TP tube, for that matter, I went on a hunt around my house for something round with the right amount of thickness.  I had no idea what I might have that would work, but when I saw a short closet rod that wasn't being used I grabbed it and gave it go. 
While it's just a tad long (about 17 inches long) it worked great!   I found making yarn cakes so addicting I didn't want to stop.   

I only stopped because I didn't want to make cakes of any yarn I wasn't looking to use soon.  But you can be sure I'm eyeing some skeins of yarn that are sitting in a basket waiting to be crocheted up into my Spicier Life blankets...



The little rolled up pieces of paper in the middle of the cakes is the ball band from the skein.  I just rolled each one up and put it in its respective cake.  So far I've been able to pull the yarn from the center, leaving the label inside.  It's a great way to store the label, and when I want to weigh the cake before using it next time I can just pull the label out and put it back in once weighed.

I couldn't be more pleased with this new skill I've just learned.  And I'm now going to be on the lookout for a nostepinne that I like. While my rogue closet rod works for now, I know eventually I'll need to put it back.  I have to say, I really like how the sides of it are straight instead of tapered (most nostepinne's seem to be tapered) and I like the nice size hole it makes in the wound cake.  Maybe I should just find a shorter dowel rod that has a similar circumference and diameter.  

It's been a great week for me.  I didn't mention it before, but earlier in the week I learned how to voice text and how to open group text messages on my half-witted cell phone.  I'm limping into the 21st century finally.

And now I can make yarn cakes!  

Life is good.  😊

To see what other YOPpers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.





24 comments:

  1. Your little bags are so sweet. I am wondering what will be stuffed into them. I will keep watching.

    Congrats on learning how to hand wind a center pull cake. I am the weirdo that dislikes using my cakes from the center. I don't like the way they collapse when they get towards the end of the yarn. So I use them from the outside in.

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    1. I'm wondering how I will like the cakes once they start collapsing. I might just conclude that my hand-wound ball of yarn (and working the yarn from the outside) is my preferred method. Time will tell...

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  2. The bags Becki are just great, I love how they turn out. Looking forward to seeing what you next make with all those cakes of yarn and for this week I'll imagine you caking up all the skeins you can find.

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  3. The reindeer is my favorite bag so far! I had no idea there was technique for winding yarn balls by hand -- you learn something new every day.

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    1. It might just be mine, too. Though the snowflake design is pretty.

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  4. I love those bags!!! The deer with the leather string is so nice. I had no idea what a nostopinne was so thank you and the fact that I can learn how to make center pull cakes is a wonderful gift! Thank you! Also, thank you for the tips on yarns for those bags and construction.

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    1. I like that leather tie, too. I just happened to have it in my jewelry making supplies. I'm going to look for other options (than the ribbon I used on the Christmas tree bag). Maybe jute, or just string!

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  5. Hi Becki oh i love your reindeer bag so cute,well done my friend on learning to make yarn cakes xx

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  6. I have a Nostepinne and haven't used it. I've had it for a few years, actually. I have a dislike for hand-winding so I prefer my ball winder. But I'm weird that way.

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    1. Nothing weird about that. If I find I really like using cakes of yarns I imagine I will come to the conclusion that having a ball winder is a good idea. This is all just novel for me at the moment.

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  7. I like using my Nostepinne for winding remnants, something I need to do as bags of balls of yarn glare at me for neglecting them. You are on a roll with those colorwork motif bags. They are awesome.

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    1. Winding remnants with a nostepinne makes a lot of sense.

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  8. Look at you go with your new skills! I love the reindeer bag.

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  9. The reindeer bag is so great! And you’re right, the stonewashed yarn really does hide the carried yarn. It looks just perfect.

    I love knitting form cakes. Have you tried a winder at your LYS? Definitely worth the investment imho

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    1. I actually think using some balls pulled from the inside will give me an idea if I like using cakes this way. I don't know how the cakes will behave, actually, when they get to where they may be falling in on themselves. I've thought that if I decide I like crochet (or knitting) from cakes that investing in a winder might be a good idea.

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  10. I'm going to have to make some yarn cakes that way!! Love the bags!

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  11. I've often wondered how those yarn cakes were made...thank you for appeasing my curiosity! And your little reindeer bag is so cute!

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  12. Those Christmas gift bags are so cute!

    And well done on using the closet rod for your centre-pulling yarn cakes, that's a really good idea.

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  13. Your bags look so lovely! And that's coming from somebody who absolutely isn't into christmassy stuff. ;-) Thanks for linking that video, this really is helpful. I think I'm going to make little cakes out of my leftovers, they'll be so much easier to store that way.

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