Working with a hank of lace yarn

[JillD]

I bought 3 hanks of lace-weight yarn from Knit Picks. I don't know how to work with it. Am I suppose to wind it into a ball? Will it just unwind like a skein?

[Craw]

I was just reading about this on another forum the other day. They said to wind it into a ball or you'd be sorry, lol. I've never worked with yarn from a hank so I don't have first-hand experience.

[losingmymind2]

To work with yarn that comes from a hank, you must first get it into a ball or you will be very tangled and unhappy.

 

Untwist the hank until you have a circle of yarn (like kids play 'cat's cradle' with). It should be tied in several spots - DO NOT UNTIE YET.

 

If you have a yarn swift available, you can use that and a ball winder to unwind the yarn from the hank into a ball. Or you can do it the old fashioned way.

 

If you have not got a friend available to hold the hank on gently outstretched arms while you wind, you can get creative. A straight backed chair works well to hold the hank, but some very coordinated people use their knees or a foot and knee and go it alone. I'm too clumsy for that one, so I bought a swift. Once the yarn is securely on the swift or chair, you can gently remove the ties and start winding the loose end into a ball. DO NOT WIND TIGHTLY. If you don't have a ball winder, you can start winding around two fingers, leaving the end dangling down your wrist if you want center pull balls, and just keep turning the blob until it looks like a ball.

 

Enjoy working with your yarn.

[grandmalolly]

Yes, wind it into a ball first! It can tangle badly if you try to work with it in a hank. You will save yourself hours of frustration.

[JillD]

Thanks for all the speedy replies! I will wind it and thanks for telling me about the knots. I saw those in the yarn and was wondering if that was normal.

 

I will be winding this afternoon!

[HomekeepingGran]

Which lace from KnitPicks did you buy, Jill? I have some of their Shimmer lace yarn in Turquoise Splendor, but I plan to knit it instead of crochet it.