By Marie Greene, founder of Olive Knits® and Knit Camp®
Raise your hand if keeping your fiber projects and supplies organized is a bit of a… challenge. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Finding the right spot for current and future projects, plus storing a growing collection of yarn, fiber, tools, and cones, is a perpetual struggle for many makers. Few of us have unlimited space to hold our creative supplies, and we’d rather spend our time making beautiful things than digging, searching, and organizing our stash.
As challenging as it might be to stay organized, a cluttered and chaotic space is anything but inspiring. I compare it to the difference between shopping in a storage unit vs. shopping in a yarn store. You might find the same supplies in both places, but it is definitely not the same experience. When your stash isn’t organized – at least to a degree that works for you and makes it easy to use – you may find yourself wasting time searching for the thing you know is in there… somewhere. If only you could find it. And that’s time you’re not spending weaving, knitting, or spinning.
What if your stash felt inspiring, instead of overwhelming?
In my book, The Joy of Yarn, I share a range of tips, tricks, and mindset shifts to help makers get organized and find more joy in their stash. But what I didn’t cover are cones; cones of yarn are in a league of their own. What works for skeins (cute little baskets and square cubbies), may not be as practical for storing all the cumbersome - but fabulous - cones in your stash.
Storing cones in an efficient, organized, and beautiful way might be tricky, but it’s not impossible.
Today I’m sharing 5 tips for keeping your yarn cones organized so you can spend more time being creative, and less time searching.
Tip 1: Use Vertical Space.
If you’ve participated in any of my workshops or read my books, you know I’m a huge fan of vertical space – especially when you’re trying to organize cones of yarn that are taller (and wider) than your average skein of yarn. What most of us lack in square footage, we make up for in floor-to-ceiling height; you can fit a lot of cones into a small corner or closet if you work with your vertical space. Tall, skinny shelves can help you fit more into less room. Instead of letting things spread out across the room, consider going up.
Tip 2: Think Outside the Box for Shelving.
Most of us are trying to organize with the usual bookshelves and cubbies that we already have on hand. But a little extra ingenuity goes a long way when it comes to yarn storage. The absolute best shelving for storing cones of yarn can be found in the unlikeliest of places: kitchen organizers and plant shelves.
One of my favorites is this adjustable kitchen storage shelf. Not only can you adjust the height and spacing of the shelves, but each one pulls out like a drawer, making it easy to store and access the cones in back. The shelf shown here has a storage capacity of 14 in (35 cm) deep and 13 in (32.5 cm) wide - and I’ve adjusted most of the shelves to be between 7-8 in (17.5-20 cm) high so they’re perfect for storing cones.
A corner plant shelf, like this one, makes it easier to use a portion of the room that might otherwise be wasted. (I don’t typically use this shelf for yarn, so don’t panic that it’s next to the windows – this is a plant shelf that I do use mostly for plants. BUT, if I ever move things around, I could just as easily use it to store yarn.) Plant shelves can be perfect for cone storage, because they tend to be relatively tall, and have multiple, short(ish) shelves that work well for the size of yarn cones.
Tip 3: Upsy-Downsy Stacking
Okay, sure, “upsy-downsy” isn’t a real term, but the idea of alternating your cones upside down and right-side up means you can fit between 38-45% more cones into the same amount of space by alternating them between upside down and right-side up. The exact use of space will vary depending on the size of the cones and the space on your shelf, but I have a range of cones for weaving, hand knitting, and machine knitting, and I can always fit at least 8, but sometimes 9 cones on just one of these freestanding kitchen organizer shelves. And if running out to buy new shelves isn’t on your list at the moment, be sure to check your local thrift stores and estate sales; you might be surprised by what you can find secondhand.
Tip 4: Use the Edges of Your Space, Too
Sure, we’re talking about yarn cones. But the makers I know keep a lot of other random things in their stash, too. Depending on the type of shelving you use for your storage, you can increase the functionality of your shelf by adding a series of “S” hooks (or something similar) to do more with what you have. Kitchen shelves, especially, tend to have sections that are perfect for adding hooks so you can store extra things along the sides. Just think of all the pom-pom makers, project bags, and other tools you can store this way!
Tip 5: Find What Works for You – and Keep Doing It
The way I store yarn skeins and cakes in my stash is very different from how I store cones, but I’ve learned that what matters is having a system that works. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks – if it works for you and it’s easy to use, then great! That’s how you know you’ve found your system. I organize most of my stash by color (I know this sounds utterly ridiculous, but if you read The Joy of Yarn, you’ll understand how I landed there and why it works for me). It’s a system I’ve used (and loved) for over 6 years, and it’s helped me stay organized and maintain my stash in a way that is useful and inspiring. I’ve been knitting and storing yarn for nearly 40 years, so I know a little something about what it’s like to work from a disorganized stash. So when I finally landed on something that works – and continues to work – I embraced it.
But my color system doesn’t work for cones, in part because I simply don’t keep enough of them for that system to make sense; I have hundreds of skeins, but only a few dozen cones. Plus, the way I use cones is usually different from how I use skeins, so it makes sense that they need a separate system. I suspect that many of us are trying to store all-things fiber in relatively the same way, but we might find more success by approaching these different resources in ways that are unique to how we use them. I find that it works better for me is to store my cones with the same weights together, so that when I’m searching for something, I know just which shelf to check.
Find a method of sorting and storing that works for you and then be consistent with it. That’s the key.
Your stash is an investment – finding a few tricks for staying organized will make it so much easier (and more inspiring) to use what you have.
Bio:
Marie Greene is an internationally known knitwear designer, best-selling author and instructor who’s been knitting since childhood. She is the founder of Olive Knits® and the Knit Camp® app, host of the Good Enough Creative Podcast, and the author of six books on knitting (so far!), including Seamless Knit Sweaters in 2 Weeks, Knitting Light and Knit a Little. Her clever knitting tricks and cheerful style have helped knitters around the world knit with skill and confidence. Marie teaches the how AND the why and empowers makers to be the boss of their knitting. Marie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband.
Find Marie online here:
- Website: https://www.oliveknits.com/
- Knit Camp: https://www.oliveknits.com/join-knit-camp/
- Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-enough-creative/id1462587336
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliveknits
Marie’s books (available wherever books are sold, or with these links):
- Seamless Knit Sweaters in 2 Weeks - https://amzn.to/4hEN9Pi
- Knit Shawls & Wraps in 1 Week - https://amzn.to/4i0CcYn
- The Joy of Yarn - https://amzn.to/40ZjbOX
- Knitting Light - https://amzn.to/3X2nAQ3
- Knit a Little - https://amzn.to/4bhU8M1
- Knit in One - https://amzn.to/4b0MrcG