Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Gift Idea: Yarn Bowls

by

Gift idea for knitters: yarn bowlsI don’t have a yarn bowl, but I love the idea of them and I know a lot of knitters use them and love them.

A yarn bowl is basically a bowl with some kind of hole or groove in the side through which yarn can travel. You put your yarn cake or ball in the bowl, thread the working end through the hole and knit away, with the bowl keeping your yarn from rolling around on the floor (and protected from cats/toddlers, if that’s a concern in your house). This teapot is way too small to actually use as a yarn bowl, but you get the idea.

Some models have multiple holes for doing colorwork or for holding needles when you’re not knitting. There are all sorts of handmade ceramic versions on etsy, from beautiful pieces of pottery to whimsical pieces shaped like animals, faces with the yarn coming out of the mouth or nose and more.

I think a yarn bowl, with or without some yummy yarn included, would be a great gift for a knitter on your list.

Do you have a yarn bowl? I’d love to hear about how you use it and if you use it in a functional or decorative way, or both!

Comments

  1. How about s strawberry pot? LOTS of holes to use and there are some nice big ones out there. I see them at flea markets all the time… and they’re so pretty!

  2. I ‘ve used a panettone tin with great success. Drill a hole either on lid or on side of tin, a large tin can easily hold a 400g ball of yarn

Have you read?

Knit a Mosaic Shawl Inspired by Mythology

Sometimes when I’m scrolling through Ravelry a pattern will catch my eye as much because of the name as the look of the design (which is a little hard to see in those little thumbnails sometimes, anyway). 

So it was with the Stellify shawl by Paola Albergamo. Stellify means to turn into a star, and the name and the story behind the shawl come from the story of Ariadne. The better known part of her story is that she helped Theseus escape from the Minotaur, but he then abandoned her. What comes after in many stories is that Dionysus found her, fell in love with her and later married her. 

When he threw her jeweled crown into the sky, the Corona Borealis constellation was formed. 

What does all this have to do with shawl knitting? 

The shawl itself looks like it has a scattering of stars on it, as if it, too, has been stellified. The shawl begins with an I-cord tap and is shaped into a triangular shawl with both lateral and central increases. I-cord edging is incorporated into the sides, and the colorwork is done with mosaic knitting, which means this shawl is easier than it looks. 

Mosaic knitting has you working with just one color per row, slipping stitches that appear in the other color to make the colorwork visible. Even better for people new to this kind of colorwork, the pattern includes written and charted instructions throughout so it should be easy to follow along. 

The pattern comes in two sizes (the larger one is shown here) and calls for two colors of fingering weight yarn. It looks great in black and yellow, but don’t miss the other projects on Ravelry to see other fun and beautiful color options. 

You can find the pattern in English and Italian on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Paola Albergamo]