<p>I've always wound my yarn into a "cake" using a yarn winder. This gives me the opportunity to inspect the yarn as it winds and also produces a compact, center-pull cake. I find the center-pull cakes handy when it comes to portability, organizing and cleanliness. I place each one into a Zip-Lock baggie (from the dollar store) and zip it almost shut leaving enough room to pull the yarn out. If I need to move to a different location all I need to do is grab my project and the baggie(s). If I'm using more than one strand of yarn they're less likely to get tangled and even if they do they're easier to untangle. Unlike balls, the baggies don't roll around and get into trouble and the yarn doesn't pick up lint or stray people or pet hairs. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-01T01:46:51.533Z
2020-04-01T01:46:51.533Z
T.Allen Freeland
<p>For me, I <em>really</em> hate pulling from skeins, inside or outside, mainly because a skein of yarn is really loose, and using something like a yarn bowl with a ball of yarn works really well and allows me to rewind it without looking <em><strong>very</strong></em> tight because skeins are wound around a center spoke as you see on yarn winders, just smaller. Balls of yarn are also easily portable, and you don't have to worry about it tangling (another side effect of skeins being loose) as several loops of yarn tend to fall off and impede knitting or crochet. But it's always a personal choice, there are reasons for leaving in a skein like if you don't actually take it around, then you don't need to spend time winding a ball, and for some people it's the ball winding process that gives them the most tangles.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-22T22:18:12.797Z
2023-04-23T09:15:14.553Z
2023-04-23T09:15:14.553Z
Ryan Christiansen
<p>I'm still new to crochet, but when I complained about the yarn strands coming apart while I worked, I was told I might be working against the direction of the twisted strands and should roll into a ball so I could work from the other end. So, I'm guessing different manufacturing machines have a different twist?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-17T06:32:19.867Z
The advice you were given is entirely wrong. The twist on the yarn is the same no matter which end you start with. Untwisting of the yarn is connected to the way the yarn was plied and how a stitch is formed. Very shortly: in knitting you usually wrap the yarn clockwise and in crochet counterclockwise on your tool and most yarns are plied in such a way as to work well with knitting, not crochet. Look into s- and z-twist to learn more
jkadlubowska
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-09T21:08:05.800Z
Sorry mate... but this should be a comment or even its own question. Not an answer.
rebusB
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-20T22:49:15.640Z
2020-03-21T01:00:46.537Z
2020-03-21T01:00:46.537Z
D. H.
<p>I find that breaking a skein down into balls helps when using multiple working yarns (for instance, with color changes) helps keep the working yarns manageable. Ever tried changing between four difference skeins?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-18T02:40:40.550Z
2023-10-18T02:40:40.550Z
J.R. Woodcock
<p>I have noticed so many people take a brand new skein of yarn, and then they create a ball of yarn. What is the purpose of doing so?</p>

<yarn>
Why take a skein of yarn and make it into a ball?
Lilibete
# Why take a skein of yarn and make it into a ball?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-06-26)

I have noticed so many people take a brand new skein of yarn, and then they create a ball of yarn. What is the purpose of doing so?

**Tags:** yarn


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-04-01. Score: 4

I've always wound my yarn into a "cake" using a yarn winder. This gives me the opportunity to inspect the yarn as it winds and also produces a compact, center-pull cake. I find the center-pull cakes handy when it comes to portability, organizing and cleanliness. I place each one into a Zip-Lock baggie (from the dollar store) and zip it almost shut leaving enough room to pull the yarn out. If I need to move to a different location all I need to do is grab my project and the baggie(s). If I'm using more than one strand of yarn they're less likely to get tangled and even if they do they're easier to untangle. Unlike balls, the baggies don't roll around and get into trouble and the yarn doesn't pick up lint or stray people or pet hairs.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2023-04-22. Score: 1

For me, I *really* hate pulling from skeins, inside or outside, mainly because a skein of yarn is really loose, and using something like a yarn bowl with a ball of yarn works really well and allows me to rewind it without looking ***very*** tight because skeins are wound around a center spoke as you see on yarn winders, just smaller. Balls of yarn are also easily portable, and you don't have to worry about it tangling (another side effect of skeins being loose) as several loops of yarn tend to fall off and impede knitting or crochet. But it's always a personal choice, there are reasons for leaving in a skein like if you don't actually take it around, then you don't need to spend time winding a ball, and for some people it's the ball winding process that gives them the most tangles.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2020-03-20. Score: 0

I'm still new to crochet, but when I complained about the yarn strands coming apart while I worked, I was told I might be working against the direction of the twisted strands and should roll into a ball so I could work from the other end. So, I'm guessing different manufacturing machines have a different twist?

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: The advice you were given is entirely wrong. The twist on the yarn is the same no matter which end you start with. Untwisting of the yarn is connected to the way the yarn was plied and how a stitch is formed. Very shortly: in knitting you usually wrap the yarn clockwise and in crochet counterclockwise on your tool and most yarns are plied in such a way as to work well with knitting, not crochet. Look into s- and z-twist to learn more  
> **username_5**: Sorry mate... but this should be a comment or even its own question. Not an answer.  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2023-10-18. Score: 0

I find that breaking a skein down into balls helps when using multiple working yarns (for instance, with color changes) helps keep the working yarns manageable. Ever tried changing between four difference skeins?


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