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My Yarn Room Makeover – How To Organize

The other day I decided to post a slightly embarrassing picture to my Facebook Page (here) of my out of control yarn stash in hopes of getting some of your ideas on organizing yarn.  Hehe! After the rush of holiday making, my stash became a jumbled mess and I was determined to finally do something about it. (Don’t they say creativity thrives in an occasional mess? I’ll just keep telling myself that. Lol.)  I also assumed that many of you also have a jumbled mess, but what I found out was that a lot of you have amazingly organized stashes! You gave me so many budget friendly ideas on best ways to organize yarn and I thought I’d share those ideas with you today. Of course, I’ll also show you the before and after photos of my “yarn room”. And yes, I did decide to dedicate an actual room to my yarn because it has become such a huge part of my life. More on justifying my yarn room later (read on).

Above: When I looked at my messy room, it was hard to even know where to start.  There are books, needles, full skeins of yarn, partial skeins of yarn and more. It is a well loved and used craft room that needs help!

But before I get to more details of how I finally organized, I want to share some of the thoughts that you gave me on my Facebook page on ways to organize yarn.

Budget Friendly Methods to Organize Yarn

  1. Clear Plastic Bins – Use clear plastic bins so you can see your yarn.  Purchase sizes that will fit in your closet or even the bins that will roll under your bed.
  2. Food Storage Containers – Not only can you use any clear food storage container, you can also use the space saver versions (you know, the ones where the bag is squished and air tight as can be). One kind lady mentioned that she uses this method and the yarn pops back into shape just fine.
  3. Baskets – Use any and all sorts of baskets to store your yarn. You can even knit or crochet some storage baskets or find great deals on baskets at thrift stores!
  4. Entertainment Centers & China Hutches – Re-purpose an old t.v. entertainment center or dining room hutch to store your yarn
  5. Dresser Drawers – Of course, you can always use a good old dresser
  6. Old CD Racks – perfect for organizing yarn
  7. Cube Shelving, Book Shelves – I chose to use this method as I am lucky enough to have the space and I prefer to be able to see all my yarn in one place. You can also make it look really artful and pretty!

The shelving unit that I chose is the Better Homes & Garden Shelves you see from Amazon below, though I found them to be less expensive at Wal-Mart so I purchased them there (plus I didn’t want to have to wait for shipment). I love the look and picked the grey color.


It was obvious that I needed some sort of shelving or storage, so I decided to go with cube shelving.  A lot of folks suggested I order the Ikea shelves, but I was impatient and found what appeared to be the exact same units at Wal-Mart. These were so incredibly easy to assemble as I didn’t need any tools at all or a husband – woo hoo!  These shelves also didn’t break the bank and they were the only expense in my yarn room makeover. The large unit was on sale for just over $60 and the small unit was around $30.  Everything else used to organize was something that I already had in my home.

It was also apparent that I had some yarn that was several years old that I hadn’t used and probably never would use.  All of this yarn was put in a large bag to go to my friends that knit and crochet, and whatever they don’t want will be donated.

Above: Luxury yarns are in their own special basket within a cube at the top of my shelves.

Above: I decided to organize my yarn by weight and by color.  The chunky and super bulky yarns are in the cubes on the lower left side, and the worsted weight and lighter yarns are in the big unit. I had to make an extra cube for chunky cream yarns because that’s my all time favorite color and weight.  I found inspiration for the color organization from the yarn stores I’ve visited including the Lion Brand Yarn Studio and Purl Soho. They always organize by color and it’s so beautiful.

Above: Budget friendly jars are being used to hold many of my knitting needles and large hooks. And my new water bottle from Stephanie at All About Ami hangs out there too. 🙂

Above: The rack that previously held my yarn now holds my inspirational magazines and all of my knit and crochet books.

 

Above: Baskets are perfect to hold crochet thread, and skeins of yarn that are shaped differently. They are also great for holding partial skeins.

You guys, I am so thrilled about my new yarn room.  Over the last couple of years, yarn has become an integral part of my life as I spend many hours per day designing, blogging about it and making.  It was high time to treat myself to a space of my own where I can do my thang’.  Whether you have a room, a closet or just a drawer for yarn, I hope that you’ve found some inspiration on how you might organize.  And thank you so much to those of you who gave me ideas!

 

How do you organize your stash and what do you think? Please feel free to share in the comments below!

XO

Jessica

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100 Comments

  1. Jessica,
    Your room looks wonderful!!! You have inspired to do more organizing of my stash.
    One thing I have been using to store shorter needles is the container from Lysol or Clorox wipes. After you are finished, rinse them out with soap and water, let them dry thoroughly and add some needles. I also use larger empty medicine bottles to store yarn needles, stitch markers, stitch holders, TPins, etc., they work great and don’t take up a lot of space!!

    1. Great ideas and tips Denise! Love the idea of using larger empty medicine bottles for the small items!

      1. Thanks for the tips. I use shoe boxes. I make dolls and I keep all me small balls of assorted will in shoe boxes. It’s easy to get at them when I need them.

    2. If you fill that container with small plastic beads or popcorn, the needles will stay upright. You can even use sand, something cheap and easy. That’s how I store my paintbrushes until I can figure out a way to hang them bristles down.

      1. On a tension rod – use shower curtain clips (the ones with clips). Clip the end of the brush to the holder that has been placed on the rod.

  2. I love it looks really nice and cozy. Now i got to do this . My oldest daughter uses the same cubes you did and she bought them at Walmart to and there the good house keeping ones and she has had them for three years still in great shape. So i say you made a great investment thank for sharing and all the great tips .Enjoy your weekend

    1. Thanks for the kind words Cindy! I do love the cubes from Wal-Mart so far and that’s so cool that your daughter has them too!

  3. What a successful outcome to your stash clean up project! I have to admit that my yarn stash actually looked much worse than yours. I have about 3X as much yarn & about 200 pattern books, plus all the hooks, needles, etc. It took me nearly a week (10 years ago) to get it all organized & straightened. As I have moved 3 times since, all the organizing definitely made it much, much easier to pack my stash to move. Congratulations! And thank you for the tips….I’m going to put a couple of them to good use…..time for a few changes in my stash.

    1. I’m just happy to hear from someone who can relate to how mine looked before! Sounds like you have a LOT of yarn – that’s awesome!

  4. Your room is beautiful. I need to get busy and make a room just for my yarn and fabrics. This would be easy and i expensive. Enjoy your space and thank you for all the work you do in the projects you share with us.

  5. We are in the midst of re-doing my yarn/book (ME) room! On break now & then back to it. Love what you accomplished 😀 Thank you and Denise for the tips. Timing, in this case, was superb!!

  6. I know it took a lot of work, bec I did much the same thg with my yarn stash. But yours looks much better than mine that I did a few months ago. I need to redo some of it to look as good as yours. You Go Girl!

  7. It looks so good!!! I have to admit I got a chuckle from the “before” pic – what a hot mess! 😉

  8. I purchased large plastic boxes to hold my yarn and other paraphernalia (hooks, needles, etc.) Now at least I know what I have but I need to find a place to put these (I have 10 BIG ones). Of course that is just my yarn. My fabric tho is neatly stored on my ‘lawyer bookshelves’ along with whatever I have for sewing and in a corner of my basement. So it is not too bad and I am trying to use up what yarn I have before I buy any more (very hard).

  9. Love it! I’m jelly. My room is full of junk and a real challenge to transform it into a real work space. But I think you’ve inspired me to do something with it….as soon as I’m done with this one crochet project….hahaha! Nice work.

  10. Omg! Jessica!!
    As a fellow lover and “collector” of yarn (although my husband and son affectionately call me a yarn hoarder… well just a craft hoarder in general but specifically yarn lol )
    First I want to tell you how proud I am of you for getting that organized.. ughhh I know how difficult it is…because that has been my goal for the last couple of years is to get my yarn hoard under control! Currently, I have those SpaceSaver bags, you know the extra large ones? LOL but I have lost count of how many I have full of yarn. They are all vacuumed up and stacked neatly in my craft room closet… but I still can’t find anything because it’s sealed up… ughhh frustrating
    I did organize the bags of yarn by brand and then I started doing it by the weight type.. then I tried doing it by color.. ughh then by special yarn, I call it my “good yarn” special hand dyed stuff… expensive yarns I got on sale etc etc… Nothing works perfectly.
    Then inspiration struck!
    A few years ago my husband took me to the lion brand studio in NYC, we only live about an hour away by car and like an hour and 1/2 by train into the city. We live in Connecticut. But anyways, I fell in love with how they displayed their yarn, using the cubby units on the wall!! So I got all the stuff I thought I could use too duplicate that idea, keeping in mind that our house was built in 1880 and hanging true wood cubbies from the walls. Would more than likely bring our house tumbling down Lol sooo mind you, I started this project about two years ago..to make something similar.. I choose to use heavy duty cardboard moving boxes from Home Depot. They are inexpensive and very sturdy!
    so then I got to work, mocked up
    A visual drawing of how I wanted them to come together ..soooo…
    I was all work and no play for a week
    After that visit, thinking I got this! I was so excited to get mynysrn under control and be able to find it!!!
    Ummmmm… I got bored fast…. I got as far as putting the boxes together, lining the insides with pretty contact paper, and cutting the top flaps off. Then I gave each cubby box a coat of modge pogde hardcoat inside and out. I can’t believe how strong they are now just by doing that. I tested a few to see if they’d hold up. They do.
    So I have all these box cubbies made up , lined with pretty contact paper, no flaps lol.. sealed with modge podge all ready to go…I left the outsides unpainted for now so when I put them into the configuration I want, I’ll deal with that then.
    so then my idea was to keep them light enough to create one cohesive unit that I could hang off the wall or have the choice to keep it freestanding like a bookshelf.. I haven’t decided yet!
    it’s sturdy enough to hold the hoard of yarn either way I do it.
    So where am I in this two year saga???? I’m so glad you asked ! Currently my craft room has these empty “cubby” boxes that are prepped and ready to be put together. Slowly somehow they became catchalls for random crap lol… but The master plan?
    I am going to put them altogether as a unit and reinforce the outsides and areas that might need stability by using wooden shims because I don’t want to use anything heavier but the shims are perfect In size and weight to create a cubby unit without adding a lot of weight but adding stability.
    All this inspiration from just one visit to the lion brand studio lmfao. In conclusion, and again, Sorry for the long post but i’m so proud of you because I know how hard it is to actually get this done. I know for me personally, when I start to organize my craft supplies, I always end up finding something I forgot about or didn’t know I had and then I start playing with my toys lol… it sucks having ADHD!!! But of course who wants to organize their crafting supplies when you could be crafting? Nobody I know!
    Great job! I hope to follow in your footsteps soon! Thanks for sharing- Jess

    1. Very nice!
      I’m page protector /three ring binder queen. I have crochet patterns in one, knitting in another, and my circular needles in a third. But I haven’t done anything yet with my yarn. This inspires me

      1. Hi Susie,
        I have a co-worker who is also a page protector. She keeps telling me to bring all my loose patterns in and she will page protect and three ring binder them. I think I am going to do that. Have an awesome day!
        Shari hookedonhandmaid.com

  11. Hi, I just re-did my craft space as well. I did use clear bins but found they took up a lot of space. I switched over to a wall storage cube set-up. But I have more yarns than I realized.
    I have photos on my Facebook page of before and after.

  12. I want those exact gray shelves! I’m having to move my stash out of my guest room to prepare for our new baby, so my yarn and fabric stash is being placed wherever it can fit around my house. These shelves would be perfect!! I didn’t see them on Walmart online, any possibility you’d have or could find a link to them?

  13. It always seems that when a room is organized and cozy it makes one want to just get in there and create something. Although I don’t crochet a lot your designs are fabulous.

  14. LOVE it! Feeling organized feels so good. And when the weight of procrastination, frustration of not being able to find anything and overwhelmedness (is that a word?) of just looking at my messes day after day is lifted, I have a whole lot more room in my brain for creativity, positivity, happiness and a bit of energy! Sometimes all it takes is seeing “someone’s” (ahem) post about how they did it (cough, cough) to motivate me into action. Glad you got inspired. It’s contagious! Thank you!

  15. I use large plastic bins as well, primarily to keep the yarn dust free. I also arrange by color and weight, and skeins that are the same color lot are placed in a zip-type bag to keep them together. I’m a great-grandmother, so I expect there will be lots of yarn left over when I die (because I buy yarn I think I might use sometime soon). That way, the yarn will be organized and ready to donate to our church which sponsors a prayer shawl ministry.

  16. Great job, I’m envious, I’m retired and gave up my apartment and take turns traveling to spend time with my children (their request), but spend time knitting while there, which means I drag my yarns, etc. with me.
    You did a great job, be proud. Love your patterns.♥

    1. Hi Pat,
      Do you travel with a camper or by car? Maybe you can leave a stash of yarn at each of your kids house. Have an awesome day!
      Shari www,hookedonhandmaid.com

  17. I saw a diy for shoe storage recently which jogged my memory that I’d seen something similar in a yarn shop years ago. You go down to Lowe’s or Home Depot and buy cement forming tubes, cut them into eight,ten, twelve inch sections…..whatever the depth you require. Then you start attaching them together by gorilla gluing them them together, drilling holes and using zip ties….I’m sure that there are other methods that could be employed. Then you start stacking them. For example, a row of six then a row of five then a row of six, etc. Or you could create a pyramid shape.. (My husband just told me that they’re called Sana Tubes.) The tubes are very sturdy. I think that it’s an idea that could be employed for a number of storage needs. Thought that I’d add it to the list. 🙂

  18. Your room is just lovely and warm. I just realized I have a 6 ft. book shelve which would be perfect for my yarn. Donate the books and I’m ready to go.
    You have inspired me to do it. I only use cotton yarn, and have many cones, plus skeins. Now I will have floor space.
    I am so glad I found you, or did we find each other?? Do you have knitting patterns???

  19. Right now all my yarn is in bins, but in a few months I am having half my garage divided into my craft area. I will not be able to knit and sew thre , too cold in winter but too hot in summer. But my late husband built me 5 foot trolleys on wheels with shelves. So I will use my baskets for my yarns. I moved in December so right now I have some yarn out and the rest is in plastic bins but I want my stuff organized.

  20. Jessica,

    Geez Louise you have a lot of yarn… I don’t have that much, and I feel like I’m nearing my (well, my parents’) limit on yarn capacity. I don’t even have enough to fill one of those giant plastic storage boxes!

    lol Sorry about the rant… Your yarn room is looking good! Congrats on getting it organised!

    All the best,
    -Jane

    1. Interesting thought Andrea. My yarn has always been out in the open and I’ve never had moth damage. Fingers crossed I guess!

      1. Actually moths just do not like light, any well lite room or area is good, In fact that is the number one thing. I have so much yarn now almost 5 times this much so storage is an ever growing issue for me. I like vintage yarns (uh-oh). I have mine in those zip totes that you can suck the air out of, but I want some air in there because if they have any natural fiber they should be able to breath a bit. I actually worry about my yarns, lol. For any moth concerns you can just make a room spray with cedar oil!

  21. Pretty, but unless your yarns are synthetic, you are better off keeping them in sealed containers to keep them safe from pests. Also, UV light will damage the colors, so you are better off keeping them away from UV as well.

  22. Thank you for showing not only the results, but the before! I have a stash of fabric for quilting, but not that much yarn. The yarn I have is cotton yarn for knitting dishcloths. I don’t really understand a yarn stash – how do you know how much to buy? I guess the confusion comes in as there is so much you can do with fabric scraps (scrap quilting), but you don’t really do scrap knitting or crocheting, do you? I would think you’d often find you don’t have the right amount of yarn for any project you want to do. To me it makes more sense to buy what you need for a specific project, but maybe I’m missing something.

  23. I am both a quilter and collector of yarn… So I bought an old China hutch years ago and that holds my personal hand dyed yarns and fabrics. For the rest, they are in clear tots by types of yarn… Then the projects I’m working on are scattered throughout the house in bowls and baskets!

  24. Jessica, you have inspired me to get my room in order. I’d been looking at the Ikea bookcases but love the color of the ones that you have purchased. Thank you!

  25. Jessica, YES!!!! You have inspired me! Love the cubes, my next thing on my “to do” list!! My yarns are in my laundry room and when I do a load, I’m faced with a giant MESS!! That is going to chNge, thanks to you!!! I love your beautiful patterns, also a giant thanks! Enjoy your blog very much, keep it coming

  26. Looks beautiful and inviting!! I use empty spice jars for my stitch markers, point protectors, etc.
    I love how you organized by weight and color.

  27. It looks great! I have a LOT of yarn and other quilting projects. I use a 1950-1970s era Early American china hutch (the yarn looks nice in the upper glass doors), clear bins, and I put future known projects with yarn and pattern in their own giant ziploc bag and store those in an antique dresser. I’m going through a massive clean out/sell off of furniture and other things in my house and am trying to not buy more projects. I need to do my projects and start getting rid of bins

  28. I have my yarn in clear bins but since the holidays it doesn’t look like it was EVER organized! I can’t stop buying yarn! I see a pattern I like, and it calls for some yarn that I don’t have, so I buy more! It looks like I have more yarn than you do! I’m so embarrassed…

  29. Great ideas. Your room is incredible. Can I give you my address and plane fare!

    I found an easier way to escape the havoc in my office/yarn comes first room…I’m leaving in the morning for a camping trip. Maybe the gremlins will try something different and put my stuff away! No, I’m not holding my breath.

    Enjoy your new space.

  30. Hi Jessica,
    Your yarn room looks great. I have also done the same work before 4-5 months. I have some book selves and number of books in them but then as I retired (as a professor), I converted those book selves to yarn selves and study room to hobby room where I am in very much happy mood.
    Thanks for sharing your organized room.

  31. Your room is so gorgeous and inspiriting! I have a ton of stash, and it badly needs to be organized the way you have do it – by color and weight. I bought a lot of plastic “milk crate” containers a few years ago and just stuffed my stash haphazardly into the spaces. Now I sort of know what I have but even if I know, I have no system for finding it! Thanks for the great inspiration! I am definitely going to go all out and sort, process, and store my yarn in the most logical and lovely of ways. I also need to protect it from dust- but I use sealed bags to store my yarn so that makes it simple.
    PS – I bet it is so soothing to sit in your room with a cup of tea and just… be. How wonderful!

  32. That is quite a difference, I bet you got atouch of inspiration in that Lion brand Studio. This looks really really good! I just went over the pics I will have to read the story to get the low down on those bins.

  33. I just love your organization. Beautiful! I wish I had only one type of craft to organize!!!
    I get carried away and do many creative things; I have too many hobbies. The room I made MINE, houses crafts such as: jewelry, painting, crocheting (of course), scrap booking, sewing, and floral designs and wreaths (my previous profession).
    I really need to limit myself, but one of these days I may get serious and do it. You are an inspiration to get me movitated to better organize all my STUFF.

  34. Looks beautiful! I don’t have a ton of yarn but what I have is in a basket with a scrap of fabric over it to keep dust off. I love the color shelf unit you picked. It looks really nice- never would have guessed it was so affordable and from Walmart. Great job!

  35. I, too, have a yarn room. It’s actually our 2nd bedroom, that was transported a couple years ago. I have 2- 7 ft bookcases that have my everyday yarns that I use to crochet animals. I use clear bins for my remnant balls of yarn, my desk has a flat basket with all kinds of “accessories” like notions, notepads, stitch markers. I have a short rolling cart for my laptop, and underneath it, it has 2 shelves for small items sitting in baskets. I know I need yo reorganize my room, as my IKEA cubes have gotten messy….you did a great makeover!

  36. Great look. I keep my yarn in clear plastic containers, by yarn weight and colors. I just recently purchased some containers to use on my closet shelves, which I don’t normally use. Space is saved.

  37. Love your “new” room. I also have organized my stashes by weight, brand and color and a bin for left-overs that will someday be used for multi-colored something or other. I have become an addict at the age of 76 so like one other lady, my yarn will be given away to friends and donated to organizations when I go. At least nothing will be wasted. I counted 40 clear plastic large Walmart bins that are packed full so I have sworn off buying any more yarn. I will never live to use half of this stuff but every time a new color combination comes out, I have to have it. My bedroom has stacks of bins in all the corners and it is bad because when I want a specific color I need to take down bins. The one you want is always on the bottom of the pile. But my place is very small and this is the best I can do to keep it neat and clean and fairly clutter free. I am addicted to yarn but aren’t we all?? Love your news letters. Hazel

  38. Looks grear and this is one thing I very much need to do. Can you specify what brand of shelving at Walmart these are?
    Thanks again for sharing.

  39. I love it! I feel inspired now to try and organise all of my supplies. I knit, crochet and also tapestry and cross stitch. Over the years I have accumulated so much stuff and different works in progress I don’t really know what I have as it’s so mixed up.

  40. It is beautiful!! You did a super job. Love it. So organized and so neat.
    Makes want to do mine. :))

  41. I love your makeover yarn room. You gave me great ideas. I am already organized but with very large, see-through, plastic ziplock bags. I have at least 9 of them completely full and stacked. It’s just so much yarn I am not sure if two large wall units would be enough. But, I thank you for sharing. You have inspired me to remodel my yarn room too.

  42. I like the color of your cube shelves. mine are the basic black from Ikea and show a lot of dust. I need to get in to my stash and do a deep declutter and get rid of the stuff I know I will no longer use. Sounds like a great project for this afternoon. Thanks for the motivation.

  43. Your makeover looks lovely and soooo organised now. I have a small spare room chock full to the ceiling and very messy. I have a sewing machine on one bench and yarn, fabric and every kind of crafty stuff you could imagine. My husband bought me a shed that he painted inside and out, carpeted and gave me a heap of new crates as well. My room still looks a tip and I’d be too embarrassed to share picks. I think I must be what you call a pack rat! Here in UK I’m just a hoarder, lol.

  44. Good for you! It is beautiful. It looks like a yarn store now. AND…I am sure a much more pleasant space to work in now.

  45. I use cube storage too, but mine are fabric and you put together yourself. So you can buy more and add on to it if you need more. I also use the zippered bags that sheets and comforters come in to keep dust out. I have on another wall sterilize plastic rolling drawers that are clear so I can s we see whats in them. I have a 3 drawer rolling cart that my winder is attached to and all partial skeins go in those drawers till they are wound then put in the correct cube or drawer. I bought a rolling Yarn tote and I keep all my tools and patterns in it. IT was a gift last year. I use reusable cloth grocery bags as project bags and I have hooks on the wall to hang them as sometimes I work on more then one at a time. Yours is pretty, mine isn’t, it’s just functional and organized. It was finding all that good yarn at the dollar tree that did me in, plus clearance sales, lol!

    1. Open cubby holes don’t work for me, because I also raise Siberian kittens, and cats and yarn are a bad combination!
      I bought an 8 x 10 metal storage shed, and sorted my stash by color and type, and most of it is in plastic storage tubs with lids out back in the storage shed. The tubs are labeled and I bring in what I think I will need for certain projects for the winter. I make cat napper beds out of scraps and give each one with a kitten as it leaves home.

  46. I had to smile because I was in the same situation and used many of the same ideas that you did. I also got some metal shelving units from RESTORE that hold a lot. I, too, had lots of yarn I know I’ll never use, so I donated them to Comfort for Critters, a place that takes yarn and blankets and donates them to shelters for homeless animals. That also felt good! Congrats on your success!!

  47. This just don’t work for me, as a military wife today I am here but I have no idea were I am going tomorrow, so just keep everything in baskets and out of the way, I only have one magazine that I really like so is not a problem there, but it can be hard to keep everything nice,,,,,

  48. This can be an overwhelming, daunting task (even on a good day), but once you’re done …. it’s amazing! I bought some kitchen cabinets from a tag sale, cleaned them up and mounted them on one wall in my craft room. Then I bought six of the cube storage units from Wal-Mart and went to work. I also went to Home Depot and purchased a closet system – only the open wire drawer units and filled my closet. Now I can pick out any yarn for any project without having to spend hours trying to find what I need and having to go out and buy more yarn (not that that’s a bad thing). I love having my room so organized that I have the space to use my sewing machine and am now quilting again!

    You did a great job – now all you have to do is keep it organized ….

  49. I just recently organized all of my yarn. I did it by brand. Now I know exactly what I have for any project.

  50. I saw an idea for storing each yarn project in multiole large sized ziplock bags. I saw them but didn’t want to spend the money until I found out Dollar Tree has these large zip bags! Three sizes too choose from. Large (3 per box), X Large (2 per box) and 2XLarge (1 per box). All for $1 each. I stocked up. Now each project is portable and I have all the yarn I need included.

  51. Ohmygosh – I didn’t realize how unorganized I am! Part of my problem is enjoying multiple crafty hobbies and party of my problem is storage. I’ve been keeping my yarn in storage totes (2) and of course, I can’t see what I have. I already have built in cubbies in one of my craft closets!!! I may have to just move my yarn there! My hooks are bunched up at the end of some books on my bookshelf. Need to relocate my hooks too! Thanks!!

  52. I’ve seen so many yarn organizations with the yarn displayed like yours is now, and I have a question: won’t the yarn get dusty if you don’t use it fast enough? I would worry that my yarn would get dusty being exposed like that.

  53. Hello,
    Great job with organizing and such awesome tips from all. I recently went from buckets scattered around the house to a small spare bedroom to a living room for my yarn room. Living room meaning I own a duplex house and we opened the house up to make it one house. I took the second living room for my yarn room. I am in the process of organizing it. For mothers day I received three of the 9 cube shelves and my boys also made me a shelving unit that has 54 cubby’s in it. All of these shelves are full with two rows in each cubby plus I have some big boxes full of yarn. I am hoping to finish up with my room real soon and I will post pictures on my blog. Have a fabulous day!
    Shari http://www.hookedonhandmaid.com

  54. My room is worse. I did buy some stacking plastic drawers at Fred Meyer. That works great until you buy more yarn and still don’t have enough room. I got some large plastic bags that you vacuum the air out of at the Dollar Tree. Then you can use skirt/slack hangers to hang them on rods. You can get an amazing amount of yarn in once of these bags and you can see exactly what you have. I put all the same kinds in each bags — Scarfie, baby yarn, Woolease ThicknQuick in another, etc. Also Sweater storage bags. they hang and have zippered fronts. I think there are 5 compartments in each bag. What do some of you do with you partial skeins?

    1. It’s actually a piece that holds baskets from Costco. I removed the basket and am hanging my tote. 🙂

  55. Gosh I’ve been organizing my bedroom closet for the past several days and organizing my yarn is next on the list for me. This article is perfectly timed for me as currently I’m stashing yarn in every nook and cranny I have!! Thanks for the tips!

  56. Great room you created! I see there are many empathetic souls with growing yarn stashes. Mine started to grow after my mother, a fellow knitwit, died in 1980. On my next trip to visit my dad, I brought home her yarn stash and big collection of pattern books. I have made things for my 4 kids and myself, but there is more to use up, including lots of little bits of mohair in many colors, as she used to knit striped skirts and had fun making up her stripe patterns. My husband and I built a home 17 years ago, and I planned a room that would combine laundry, sewing, and gift-wrapping. It has a long counter for folding, sewing, and wrapping, and many cupboards and drawers. A lot of my knitting supplies are in a drawer, small items in old film canisters. Books are on a cupboard shelf. The washer and dryer are Whirlpool Duet, with big drawers below, and I store yarns there. But I also have several large spools of yarn bought from a factory several years ago. In a basement storage room, those reside in big drawers of an old Simplicity Pattern filing drawer (such as stores used), which I painted bright yellow, along with fabric and sewing patterns. I would like to find a better solution for a large collection of circular knitting needles, now in a mess in a drawer.

    1. For my circular knitting needles, I use ziploc freezer bags . I use 1 for each size then store them in a flat drawer in my empty company bedroom. It helps me a lot when I start ( or continue and go to other project) because I can’t seem to stay on same project very long. Maybe it will get better after I retire in June?? Is there a possibility I will get more knitting done?

  57. I have a 6 foot tall bookcase that I bought a couple of years ago that I use for my yarn stash. Problem is a need at least 2 more of them! I am a yarn addict for sure . Your new cubes looks great! Thank you for all your wonderful patterns, I love your newsletters. Happy New Year!

  58. Hi Jessica,
    Your blog always inspires me and thank you for sharing your yarn makeover! i am crazy about yarn and have mine (yes, too much of it!) in cloth “drawers” and those are each placed inside the cubicle units you have. Each drawer is a different color range marked outside and in crayon order: red-pink, yellow-orange, green, blue, purple, gray, white-cream. What i need to do is sort out what i won’t likely use and give away, and use the yarn i have before buying any more! It’s hard because every pattern asks for a specific yarn!

  59. I love your room! I redid mine in the Spring of 2018! I repainted the room in Tiffany blue and purchased a blingy chandeliar with cubbies and a fur rug! I also wanted to say great idea Denise! I reuse the glass jars from the Oui yogurt line to organize my stitch markers, yarn needles and scissors! They are tiny glass jars but really cute! Great job Jessica!
    Happy yarning everyone!
    Carolyn Denise aka
    Gethookedbyneece

  60. Looks great! Are the cubes from Walmart made of wood or plastic?
    Can’t seem to find them as I live in Canada.

  61. Jessica,
    Thank you for sharing your talent and making it easier for us. I love your directions (usually I dislike to follow directions, but you make it not complicated.) when I first saw your yarn room make over, it inspired me to get into knitting, I already loved to crochet. I have made a couple of your blanket sweaters.
    Keep bringing your projects to us.
    Thanks
    Delia

  62. Hmmm. Beautiful except not even 1% of the yarn I have lol. Mine is in plastic tubs, which I like because it keeps dust, sun and cats out. But when I continued to collect, overflow filled bags etc and organization was lost. First solution – I BUY NO MORE YARN. I sorted it all last year, with some help from the one daughter who crochets and regularly raids the stash. There are different levels of organization. Fiber is one, so cottons and luxury or unusual fivers are separate. In cottons, the bins are separated by weight and then color. Synthetics have a few tubs sorted to yarn type (eyelash, glitter, galaxy, furry, etc) and the rest sorted by color. Luxury yarns are in smaller tubs by type. All tubs are labelled with signs taped on one side and one end.
    Inside tubs, I have sorted as well. First, we rolled everything if practical. Then depending on the tub, batches, Colors, yarn types etc are sorted into bags. I invested in lots of rubber bands as well hoping to avoid the crazy crazy tangles we came across. All yarn is bagged or rubber banded. Store skeins are insufficient in many cases because if you rummage through a tub, ends can be disrupted and tangle more each time. When not refilled the skeins were banded as is.
    I am still struggling because I don’t have room for more of large shelving units needed to hold the tubs. I have one such unit filled and the rest of the tubs are stacked up in adjacent piles. That means I have to move the tubs on top each time I want to access something lower, but eventually I will have shelving to solve that. Other than that, things are working well. I do need to restock the leftovers from projects from time to time, which I hate lol. But sometimes that has meant deciding on a new yarn scrap project instead lol!

  63. Mine yarn stash is absurd. I had it all in my closet..in bags, and I had two 3-drawer plastic thingies. One day I was in Walmart trying to figure out the most economical way to do this aside from having shelving built (I’m getting ready to downsize, so that was a no!) I saw those collapsable cubes….they have small and larger ones ($3 and $6). I bought a bunch of them and they each can hold soon many skeins of yarn. I stack them on top of each other and it’s perfect. I recently moved everything into my office downstairs and made it into a office/yarn studio. I also got a filing slot to put all the printed patterns sorta like you have here. I love what you did, it looks awesome (love the jar idea for the hooks/needles, I’m stealing that one, thx) . It makes it so much nicer to do your thing, doesn’t it? We will still have all the things in our head we want to make torturing us all at the same time, but at least we will feel little more organized and can stare at our beautiful displays of yarn! It’s eutrophic (blushy face). Happy Making, Mama……great job and thanks for sharing!!!

  64. I must organize also. I didn’t keep many of the labels for leftover yarns so don’t know, for sure, which are washable or not. I’d like to combine leftovers in striping and such. Is it important to figure out the care of each, thinking of the finished projects? If so, how do I do that?

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