I just finished reorganizing my yarn stash, which has made me curious about how others organize theirs.  I had sorted it out by fiber - silk in one bin, cashmere in another, cotton/linen/cellulose fibers in another, etc.  Then I realized that 90% of the time, I select the yarn first based on the size, THEN by fiber content - also that fiber content isn't a really accurate way of storing things because what do you do with blended yarns?  So I reorganized my stash by yarn size - 1 bin for 20,000 ypp and finer, 1 bin for 10,000-20,000 ypp, 1 bin for 6,000-10,000 ypp, 1 bin for 3000-6000 ypp, and 1 bin of anything heavier than 3000 ypp.  (Plus one bin of rayon and cotton chenille, because I've got enough of it to fill 1 huge bin, and one bin for 30/2 silk, because I have 10 kg of it!)  The only thing that is still separate is my linen/cotton/cellulose yarns, because they fall into a different dye class than everything else.

It's also easier for me to index my yarn this way because in my yarn database (yes, I have a yarn database - I'm such a geek!) things are sorted by weight, and that way I can always find the right yarn without rooting through everything.

I don't sort by color because everything's white!  I dye my own as I need it, so probably 90+% of my stash is white.

How do YOU organize and keep track  of your stash?

Comments

lkautio (not verified)

I sort by fiber, then size, then color.  So, I have a bunch of cotton bins, one with novelty, the rest sorted by weight (a bin of 3/2, a bin of 5/2, a couple of bins of 10/2, 20/2, and finer, etc.).  If there is more than one bin of a weight, it may get sorted into warm and cool colors (I dye only rarely).  The best arrangement really depends on how you use the yarn.  If you commonly mix fibers then mixed fiber bins of the same grist are a good idea.  If you mix grists but not fibers, then a cotton bin with 3000-6000 ypp works.  If you are a color person, maybe all the reds, no matter what, go into one bin (or more likely on a shelf, for color people ;-)  ). There is no one right way.

Laurie Autio

Threshkin (not verified)

I keep my yarn on shelves, so you pegged my style Laurie.  I used to sort by Fiber and Color only.  I had the same difficulty Tien mentioned with mixed fibers but I also had trouble planning projects because I would set up a plan by contemplating the colors and preparing a color plan, only to find out that I didn't have the right weights in the colors I wanted to use.  Major let down!

When I moved into my new place a top priority was to 1) get a loom built (done) and then 2) get the shelves set up and yarn out of boxes (done!!!).  This time I decided to change my sort to Fiber, Size, and then Color.  This was an eye opener for me because I discovered i had less than I though of some weights and more than I expected of others. 

This prompted me to re-think some of my planned projects and to start wrapping color samples for new projects that take advantage of my new found abundance.

Actually I like resorting my stash occasionally because I get new project ideas every time.

dreamWeaver Designs (not verified)

I can one-up you on the geekiness, Tien!  My stash, which is still pretty modest compared to some, is organized completely on the computer.  Upon acquiring a new cone/skein/ball of yarn, I record a standard set of properties about it: fiber(s), ypp, thickness, color, approx weight/yards remaining, where I got it, price, etc etc.  I then assign it a unique ID number and pin or tape the number to the cone.  My actual storage is in bins.  I find a bin with space and toss it in, recording where I put it in the database.

As a result, I can quickly and easily search my stash at the computer using any number of characteristics.  I can also quickly look up all info for a cone from its ID. Currently the whole thing is in Excel, since it was the quickest way to get up and running, but someday I think I will whip up a little custom application to make the whole thing even easier. Oh, in case you hadn't guessed by now, I am a computer programmer by day. :-)

71Bear (not verified)

I am in the process of reorganizing my stash I do them by fiber. If the fiber is mixed I place it in its on box: Ex 100% alpaca 1 box 55% Alpaca/45% Wool 1 box etc To make my room pretty I ent to Tuesday Morning and purschased those pretty boxes taht are sqaure with lids and then put the boxes on shelves Since I am just getting into weaving I have orderd some cones and they will be on shelves, most likely by type (8/2, 10/2) Since I tend to lean towards the same colors in different fibers, I dont need to break down my colors. Becky

sally orgren

I subscribe to a "loose organization" system, but having the stash *visible* is most important to me. Stuff I don't use as often goes into the clear bins by yarn type (rug wools, silk, cottonlin, etc). Stuff I use often is in on shelves, easy to reach, and in lots of colors. I'd rather have lots of mini-cones of many colors than jumbo cones of a few. I also keep the tencel together, the cottons (by size, as I have a good color range in 20/2, 10/2, and 5/2 for demo warps). I group the novelty stuff together. JOY yarns get their own special little spot as hanging skeins, for eye-candy decoration and inspiration until they get woven up!

Of course there is the "Holy Grail" of everyone's stash — the super expensive, the rare, the very fine, or the handspun stuff. (I'll never forget where I put those yarns!). I have a skein of nicely hand spun angora (also hand-dyed, but not by me) that is holding the #1 sacred position at the moment. I hope to weave it up this spring/summer.

I used to have all my yarns in labeled boxes in the closet, (and the Weaveatoruim looked much neater!), but I find I need to have the stash visible to really use it, and I think an active stash is a healthier stash. (I don't mind loaning out cones for wind-offs with guildmates if it keeps the dust off the yarn and gets me to move the collection around a bit.)

I DO keep a small card with tails of all the colors I own in the common yarns I use, and also have a separate card of yarns in colors I would like to find/purchase. When I am traveling, I hope this system will prevent me from buying something I already own in spades. Because I don't want to dye and I buy from least at three different cotton yarn producers (UKI, Valley, Silk City), knowing the exact color (by actual sample) is important to me. 

berylmoody

I just cataloged my stash after the first of this year.  I have all of my yarns & spinning fiber (well, almost all) in plastic bins to protect against moths and dust, so I easily  forget what I have. Some time ago, I sorted things by fiber type, then by color and put this on a chart for my studio.  But, I was still opening boxes and finding new treasures that I had completely forgotten (I have a very large stash).  I bought a binder and some hard card stock.  For each box, there is a page (or two) of yarn samples along with anything I know about the yarn - fiber content, grist, ypp, original cost.  I didn't bother to weigh each cone, so sometimes I added information like - small cone, one ball, very large cone or 3 cones!  The yarn samples are looped through punched holes in the sides of the paper so that when the yarn is gone, I can remove the sample.  I also wrote everything in pencil so that I could add new yarns to a box (when there was room).

 

Dawn McCarthy

I use mostly natural/undyed.  I sort by fiber type on shelves with all cones covered in clear plastic.  I use excel and number each cone, I put all yarn info including how $ per oz, purchased from etc.  I also key in the amount used which deducts from the yarn total amount so I always know how much I have left.  I put a little sticker with the ID # inside each cone.

Dawn

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Dawn, do you have all this catalogued in Excel or some other database type program?  How do you feel about sharing the form you have created?

Claudia, who is the polar opposite of a computer geek.  What is that?

tien (not verified)

I'm not Dawn, but my database is online, with Zoho - http://creator.zoho.com .  The handy part about having it online is that I can access it from anywhere.  Handy when you're surfing the web at lunchtime and need to remind yourself how much yarn you ALREADY have, when you come across something tempting...

I could probably have done something similar with a Google Docs spreadsheet, but I wanted to play with a database anyway, so that's how I set it up.  (It tells me I  have WAY too much yarn!)

Dawn McCarthy

Claudia, email me privately and I'll send it as an attachment.

 

Dawn

Dawn McCarthy

If anyone wants a simple yarn inventory spreadsheet, I put one on Google docs - the link is on my blog.  It may have a hiccup or two as I am not a computer genius, but it has worked well for me.  Link is on my blog at 

http://bloominloom-dawnmccarthy.blogspot.com

Dawn

 

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