Susan Cropper of Loop London (loopknitting.com) uses a wooden and glass cabinet to display her yarn, and keep it safe. “Humidity is probably the main concern,” she explains, “so keep your yarn somewhere warm and dry. Also, keep it out of the sun because long periods of exposure can fade yarn, especially beautiful hand-dyed yarns.”
Susan’s retro yarn stash cabinet, above.
And have you thought about using drawer dividers to stop your balls and skeins tangling together? Stephanie Lau from allaboutami.com created her own using corrugated plastic strips.
Deter pests
You also need to consider the risk of moths. “Winters in London don’t often go below freezing these days, so moth eggs are not killed off the way they used to be. Moths like dark and crowded places so it’s a good idea to take your garments out once in a while to shake and check them.”
Laura Batten of woolbath.co.uk prefers a more old-school approach: “I love moth papers – they don’t smell and take up no room.”
Seven top tips
Here are Susan’s top tips for keeping your yarn safe and secure:
1
Clear zippered bags that bedding comes in works great for yarn storage
2
Small ‘ziplock’ bags are great for partially used skeins – make sure you keep the ball band in with it so you know what is in there.
3
If you’re storing yarn away that was wound into a ball, rewind it loosely, as if it is stored away highly wound, the yarn may lose some of its elasticity over time.
4
Keep it out of the sun.
5
Large plastic boxes with lids work great for larger volumes of stash that you just need to store away for while. These can be labelled by yarn weight (4 Ply, DK, or by brand or type of yarn.)
6
The smell from cedar balls and sachets will deter moths.
