So you want to have a skien of yarn...

So you have taken up knitting, crocheting, weaving, etc! I offer you my congratulations. However, you will need to know how to properly care for your yarn. How do I do this, you ask? It's easy. Just follow the instructions written here.

Step one: Buying the yarn
Some places specialize in yarn, knitting and crocheting, but most places where one can buy yarn are also craft or fabric stores. I personally would check places like 99cents store, Big Lots, and Walmart. They often have cheaper yarn. Sometimes, stores have sales on yarn. There was recently a $1 a skien sale at a local Big Lots. Though the selection was small, there were several of each type. After you have paid for your yarn, carefully place it in a plastic bag. Paper bags are not good for most yarns. Place it on a seat in your car (the floor is a very bad, intimidating place) or have someone hold it if there are not enough seats.

Step two: Initial care
Yarn likes to have a sense of belonging. Therefore, it should be kept close by during the first few hours and not shown other yarn. (Some yarns are naturally leery or suspicious of each other.) Carry it with you. Eat with it in your lap. Name it. Make it happy or it could snarl and snag later on when you try to use it.

Step three: Housing
Yarns, unlike most pets, do not make a large mess on their own when properly groomed, etc. Therfore, you can keep your yarn in a basket or box, or whatever else you find suitable. I personally keep my yarn under my bed in my room so that it feels a sense of belonging in a large, fine mesh box with other yarns for company and a few knitting and crocheting books and patterns to eat and some beads and ribbons to play with. After a few days, yarn becomes attached to other skiens and will attempt to tangle with that yarn in hopes of staying nearby that yarn. One must be gentle, but firm and untangle them.

Step four: Grooming
Most stores will sell the yarn in an oblong wrapped skien, which is perfectly fine. I, however, prefer a spherical or cubical cut. Do achieve this look, simply wind some yarn around your fingers, wind some yarn around that perpendicular to the original winding. Continue until all yarn is wound.

Step five: Breeding
carefully cast on or prepare your loom. Create something. I prefer scarves and mittens, as well as the occaisonal blanket square.

Note: sometimes your yarn will 'run away' to dark, secluded areas, such as your closet, drawers, boxes buried under more boxes. To ensure you have all of your yarn, simply clean your house every3-6 months, searching out the nooks and crannys. Prepare to be surprised where your yarn ran off to!

Note: If you knit and the yarn and needles dissappear, check places where you knit: in between the sofa cushions, behind cabinets or bookshelves, in between the car seats or the glove compartment. If you knit wherever you are, check purses, backpacks, etc. Yarn likes to go new places, see new things. To prevent this, take your yarn with you in the car and let it look out the windows, maybe even let it feel the wind in it's fibers?

I hope that this guide has helped you decide to buy a skien of yarn or to care for your yarn.
It's been a pleasure.
Emeraldmist01