I'm a dolt. Need help with skein tangles....

[boo1]

Sometimes I don't have problems with my yarn. But sometimes I end up with a tremendous mess!

 

Any hints, or would someone just come over and take all of my yarn, and roll it into balls so I won't have a rat's nest?

 

 

Thanks!

[losingmymind2]

Patience, grasshopper...just shake the tangles gently, work on them a bit, shake a bit, work a bit and in the fullness of time they will come untangled. Or else get a good sharp pair of sissors.

[LittleJadeFrog]

I stick my fingers in the most center I can find and pull out about 1/2 in or less if I can of the center, then I unwind it from the outside of that section until I find the end. Hopefully I dont have to unwind too far.

[kiwikitti]

Speaking of yarn tangles, this is slightly off subject but around the same. What do you guys do when you simply can not find the center pull strand on the skien? Even when you did in there a bit, it just seems to have disappeared. I've had this happening far too often for my likes.

[losingmymind2]

Then of course there is the occasional evil skein...I had one took DAYS to untangle. Or just ask FunkyReporter about her skeins from the place of eternal punishment.

[shebear]

I learned something about how they do the skeins that helps me alot. Find the outside end (it's stuck in one end of the skein), pull it out and remember which end you pulled it out of. Now go to the other end and look for an end there......that's the center pull end......if you can't find it, fish around in there and pull out a bit. Trust me you'll find it if patient. And Darski is correct, the yarn is just stuck in loops.......there's no knot like in a shoelace knot.

[losingmymind2]

When I use my ball winder, I use my right hand to wind and the left to adjust the tension of the yarn, so I can make a softer, looser cake or a tighter, firmer one.

[benee16]

I've noticed that a few of the homespun skeins I had, have the label and glue stuck to the yarn, which ends up causing a big tangle. Sometimes I just hand it to my hubby when we're watching tv, lol. If I'm working with the one pounders, I put the skein in a zip top bag and start from the outside. The zip top bag doesn't let it roll too far away, lol. I also rewind the red hearts acrylic yarn with my ball winder so that it it doesn't tangle.

[rainbowridergrma]

Gosh, it is nice to know other people have this problem. It is not that I can't eventually untangle the yarn, it is just that I hate to waste so much time untangling the center pull mess. Using from the outside seems to work better, allthough not as convenient. Don't know if others have the same problem, but I use a lot of baby yarn and when I use a ball winder, it seems to stretch the yarn too much and make it thinner.

 

Glenda

[LittleJadeFrog]

I use RH mostly and I have noticed that lately the pull method comes out with a huge mess. After I scream, I GENTLY pull out the tangled center. Then I work from the end that is closest to the skein of yarn straightening out the yarn. Working from that part of the yarn outside - in usually works for me.

[kiwikitti]

Wow darski, I wish i had seen that before! All my center pull balls seem to not be so center pulling... I think I lost my ability to do it. But I definatly like that method.

 

And Boo, I have issues with that sometimes with really big skeins. My black one pound just ended up being a complete tangled mess where I even lost the ends of the yarn in it. It is currently just in lots of balls. More ends to weave in eventually but the smaller balls are defiantly easier to deal with, although now they roll around.

[tita]

That's happen to me with the Red Heart and arcylic yarns wound in a pull center skien. I find that just pulling out the pull center yarn and just leave it alone! I then use the outer thread.

Hope it helps!

[Aggie May]

Because of the way yarn is wound, it is never so bad that you cannot undo it.

The secret is DO NOT PULL IT TIGHT.

Often it is just a loop which has become trapped by another loop so finding where this has happened makes it easier to untangle.

Give a gentle tug to the yarn and see where it moves or where it goes tense, then fiddle with it until it becomes loose and it should come undone.

I always work from the middle but lately have pulled out some nasty birds nests but they always come undone eventually.

I have to admit that if the tangle is near the end of the yarn, I do break it off and hope I am not short by that much, later.

Have fun.

Colleen:hug

[boo1]

I bought some wool yarn yesterday to try to make a scarf that I'd like to felt. But at $5 a skein, I'm afraid to touch it!

[darski]

It seems the first rule of untangling is that you never pass the end of yarn through parts of the mess... or you just create more mess. It is because the yarn is one continuous strand and is not crossed- it may be messed but it isn't crossed naturally - until you cross it. You have to trust me on this because it is hard to believe.

 

Secondly, the best bet (I've found) is to shake out the yarn. it loosens stuff and you can then begin to separate strands. I pull large parts apart and can eventually find where the mess is located. Although the yarn is not truly crossed (You are trusting me at this point remember ) some parts can get caught in loops of other parts and these may need some undoing gently.

 

I always use the Centre pull method and when the skein gets small enough I do tend to rewind it (centre pull style) around a TP tube http://www.belindaroozemond.com/?p=220 so as to keep it tidy... this takes care of a lot of the problems with yarn because with the centre gone, the yarn falls into itself and tangles.

 

The best way to find the Centre pull end is to work your fingers in from both ends of the skein and wiggle them together in the centre. it usually either finds the end or gets really close to it.

[butterfly_girl]

I feel your pain! I sometimes get that problem too. I notice it more with the large skeins of yarn, like red heart and most recently with a large skein of crochet cotton. forget the brand.

 

and no matter what, it seems if you try to get more out of the centre, a large wad of tangled mess comes out......yep. i just deal with it as i'm crocheting. Sometimes i'll start from the outside and roll it into a ball, but then that leads to it's own problems.....rolling around..........etc.

[hookdonU]

Do you pull from the inside or outside of the skein? I stopped pulling from the inside b/c I would end up with hideous tangles every time. I only pull my yarn from the outside of the skein now.

 

Is this what you were looking for or can you be a bit more specific as to what the problem is and I will try to help further.