yarn counters

1693 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by courier770, Mar 7, 2011

bonbarnie

Discussion Starter · Mar 7, 2011

i would like to find a good yarn counter to measure my stash. i like to make sweaters with the old yarn running between aran yarn, this make a nice cardigan. the problen is that some times the yarn is just a little short and i have to remove the whole row. i looked in the local stores and the workers looked at me like i was crazy. bonni

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courier770

· #2 · Mar 7, 2011

You aren't looking for a yarn counter, those count rows. What you are looking for is a yardage measure. Using one of those can be tedious as you have to actually run ALL of the yarn through it, necessitating having a ball winder handy, to rewind the skein.

A yarn scale might be a better option...this will tell you how many ounces or grams you have. I purchased a yarn scale and find it comes in handy. When I finish a project, I "weigh" my left over yarn...use my ball winder to wind it into a tighter, center pull ball. Then I place the yarn in a zip lock bag and mark on the bag how many ounces or grams of yarn it contains. Most of these scales give you the option of weighing in either ounces or grams.

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bonbarnie

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 7, 2011

thanks for the update. i was worried that as you pull the yarn through that it would slip and where do you put the loose yarn while you pull it through. i had planned to ask my husband to sit next to me and rewind the yarn. UGH1 i will now go to knit-picks and see what they have, thanks again. lol

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courier770

· #4 · Mar 7, 2011

Knitpicks has a very good scale, good point about possibly "slipping" with the yarn.

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Lidlamzdiv

· #5 · Mar 7, 2011

courier770 said:
You aren't looking for a yarn counter, those count rows. What you are looking for is a yardage measure. Using one of those can be tedious as you have to actually run ALL of the yarn through it, necessitating having a ball winder handy, to rewind the skein.

A yarn scale might be a better option...this will tell you how many ounces or grams you have. I purchased a yarn scale and find it comes in handy. When I finish a project, I "weigh" my left over yarn...use my ball winder to wind it into a tighter, center pull ball. Then I place the yarn in a zip lock bag and mark on the bag how many ounces or grams of yarn it contains. Most of these scales give you the option of weighing in either ounces or grams.

Also, if you know the yardage per oz that you started with from the ball band, then when you know how many ounces you have left, you can calculate the approximate yardage left.

How cool is that?

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BarbaraSC

· #6 · Mar 7, 2011

Better yet - save a band and put it into the baggy with the leftover yarn.

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SEA

· #7 · Mar 7, 2011

I learned something new. Thanks for asking the question.
Also thanks for the answers.

SEA

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luelue

· #8 · Mar 7, 2011

there is a tool called the McMorran Balance. Very useful and it is possible to measure the yarn to get almost the exact yardage.

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courier770

· #9 · Mar 7, 2011

FYI, I first tried a small digital scale from a local kitchen place...it was touted as very accurate. Turned out the opposite was true, so much so that I returned it and ordered one from knitpicks..which is a really nice one.

The one I bought from the kitchen store and returned, still bothers me though. I've wondered if the inaccuracy of it could lead to problems with people who have medical problems, that require they carefully measure food amounts?

A ALWAYS keep yarn bands, for a variety of reasons. Years and years ago, if you sent in so many yarn bands you got a free skein of yarn from that company. Old habits are hard to break, when my sister passed away there were yarn bands all over the place!

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