Why My Yarn Looks Like My Yarn

Notice the ties.

You may have noticed that my yarn in my photos does not look as neat as others yarns available online.  There are several reasons for this.  The first is about me.  The rest is about the yarn.

First, I have fibromyalgia.  I have some days that I feel pretty good.  I have other days that are . . . well, not so good.  They undyed, commercially spun yarn I use comes in skeins , ready to dye.  It doesn’t come on cones and requiring me to wind it into skeins to be dyed.  I could purchase an electric skein winder to wind the yarn from cones.  This would save my a few cents per skein.  But the cost of the electric skein winder would add to the cost of the skeins.  So, in order to save me – and you – a little on the cost overall, and to save me potentially a lot of pain, I’m still purchasing the yarn in pre-wound skeins.  These skeins are tied with the same yarn as the skein in three places.  I usually add a nylon tie or two of my own to make it a little less likely to tangle.  My primary source is relatively close to home rather than across the country (less shipping, a little ‘greener’ and lot more economical).  This company also tries to use domestic fibers.  This is a big plus for me.  I’m picky about the softness/scratchiness of my fibers and will only offer yarns that pass my ‘next to the skin softness’ test.

Next, when my yarns go to your homes, you should receive yarns that are easy to wind into center-pull balls or yarn cakes. The less my yarns have been handled, the more likely you will receive skeins which do not tangle.  I could remove all the ties and manipulate the yarn so that it looks neat and pretty.  But I would rather handle it as little as possible between the time I hang it to dry till it arrives at your home.  I even try to twist the yarn into loose skeins rather than tight skeins so that your yarn will not be stretched or under any tension or stress while stored.  Sometimes I do twist them tighter than I really like, but it’s still not to the point that it will make your knitted or crocheted work twist or skew as you work.

If you have any concerns at all about your yarns tangling when winding into a center-pull ball, I will be happy to do that for you, free of charge.  Just let me know.

I hope you will enjoy working with  TLS Hand Dyed Yarns and Fibers as much as I do.  It is  joy for me to create the supplies you want.

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