Interweave Yarn Hacks: Your Yarn Stash Needs Organizing

A few years ago, I was on the hunt for the perfect vessel in which to store my yarn stash. I had sifted through Pinterest to find images of the type of organization that would best suit me, my yarn collection, and my house. I came across a photo of a three-shelved Barrister bookcase with yarn inside. It was pretty much perfect. One day, a coworker was looking through Craigslist and stumbled upon a very similar bookcase and sent me the listing. I bought it from the seller for $40 and it fit absolutely perfectly in the back of my tiny Mazda 2. Seriously—were it an inch taller the hatchback door wouldn’t have closed. The whole situation had me certain it was meant to be.

Ever since then, I’ve been organizing my yarn stash in that cabinet by color in rainbow order. It’s in my living room, so when people come over, they see it and say, “Look at your yarn! That is so pretty.”

Some of my knitting friends don’t find my stash size terribly impressive, but as a wannabe minimalist who owns only a handful of books and barely any furniture, having an entire cabinet devoted to yarn does feel a bit excessive for me. But seeing my yarn in that bookcase brings me joy. Plus, keeping only as much as will fit inside the case holds me accountable to not hoarding an obscene amount.

Yarn Hack: Organize Your Yarn Stash

How do you organize your yarn? What do you put it in? In this Yarn Hack, we run through some ways you can organize your yarn. We want you to find what works best for you! You can sort it by color, like I do. This is good for people who are driven by color in their knitting. Get inspired by your favorite blues, greens, and purples. And when put in rainbow order and put on display in a main room, it becomes a gorgeous decorative (plus functional—my favorite combination!) piece to show off.

You can sort it by fiber type, if that is more your jam. Pool the wools, pack the alpacas, and combine the cottons. You can sort by yarn company if you want. Or, you can organize by shape; keep all the cones together, the balls together, wound cakes together, and twisted skeins all together. You can sort it by yarn weight as well. There are lots of different ways to sort a yarn stash that functions best for each crafter, depending on what drives your project and inspiration.

How do you organize your yarn stash?

Happy stashing!
—Hannah

Know What You Have + Put it to Use