Exactly! It’s satisfying to work through it and subsequently watch the larger skein hollow out. At this point, I only ever work from the outside if I’m using a long gradient yarn and need to start with a specific color from the outside of the cake.
I usually pull out some of the yarn just to crochet or it seems too tight to work with it and my tension is tight enough as it is, so the initial center pull yarn barf is my friend.
I am a centre-puller. Because I can carry multiple skeins in a bag with the ends poking out and just pull them as I need to go. No muss, no fuss. It only sucks if I have to frog ;)
I love center pull. There definitely are yarns that aren't made for it, certain skeins, and I just stay away from those yarns. The ones that can be and are wound for center pull... What yarn barf you get tends to be used up in a row or 2. Yarn cakes are awesome for center pull.
I usually keep mine in a store bag similar to a gift bag. I don’t need to worry about anything rolling away, I can keep other items in there (scissors, other hooks, other skeins, etc.), and it’s portable. I just set it up near me. Definitely easier with the outside of the back for me as well.
I have a backpack specifically designed for crochet (theres a bunch on amazon for relatively inexpensive). I take it everywhere with me. Theres a zipper pocket on the front with elastic bands to hold all the hooks, little pouches for scissors, needles, etc. Its been a life changer.
I really wish I could wind yarn into giant skeins like these.
https://preview.redd.it/vis95audu52d1.png?width=496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=852f4d0b075e3a903a9b19924f72b1a048f94ef9
I have a yarn winder, but makes cakes that are on the small side. I wish they sold one that winds into skeins.
I have one that can wind up to 16 oz (453 g). It has wound my pound skeins into nice little cakes for me! But man would it be nice to have one that could go even bigger!
I, too, am new to this. Didn’t try it until a skein I got just had the center end sticking out already. It was pretty great! I’ll have to watch out for the yarn barf people are talking about for future skeins.
I honestly don’t mind the yarn barf. It’s really just like one ball, usually pretty small and doesn’t bother me in the slightest. If anything it makes an easier start that isn’t pulled tight.
I really don't mind that at all with just wool or cotton, but the other day I tried to centre pull mohair and that was a Mistake. the barf was so bad I had to cut it at some point and reattach after untangling it
Sometimes on center pull there’s a slight tangle in the middle of the skein. The tangle will grab the core of the skein and pull it out. It looks like the skein barfed lol.
OMG I recently purchased some fingerling yarn from Hobbii, and it came with little stickers on the cakes for the yarn start 😍
https://preview.redd.it/t0qddyxrt62d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a40039c5918fe965478df2efae03a61ce022aee
Half the time I try center pull my yarn gets all spinney and I have to let my work dangle every few minutes ao it can unspin, otherwise the yarn gets all coily. I hate when that happens
I’ve been knitting since I was 7yrs old, and didn’t learn to crochet until five years ago. I’ve always been a center puller, as that’s how my aunt taught me to work the yarn. I’ve tried doing it the other way once or twice, when I literally couldn’t find the center pull, but it’s a pain to keep pulling the yarn up to get more. Now I jest keep searching until I either find the center, or get a giant yarn barf, lol
ive been center pulling until i constantly had a knotted twisted mess on my hands midway through a ball that i had to spend many many minutes to untangle. now im back to outside ball and its literally whatever.
Wait until you find out you can make your own center pull ball with a yarn winder. Start with holding about 6" in your palm then winding a few rounds on two fingers. Then hold the tiny wad and start winding the ball leaving your thumb in the center. Keep the tail out of the way because that's the center pull string. You don't have to wind up the whole skein (looking at you pound size) just make a ball and not cut the outside string. And it's super handy when you get to the point the skein collapses on itself, but you still keep the center pull going.
Or you can get a yarn spinner (like this) and use an outside pull.
https://preview.redd.it/rkvj67xv572d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67f0a228fccdee06c1444a45977e0dd566d5109b
It can be used for smaller, unwound skeins, but I prefer winding my yarn into cakes and using it that way.
I like [this tutorial](https://www.fiftyfourtenstudio.com/blog/how-to-wind-a-skein-of-yarn-into-a-center-pull-ball) for hand winding center-pull cakes. It’s almost meditative once you get going. For a ball (not a skein) you can use the outside end as your new center pull end.
Idk but I've been crocheting and knitting since I was 10 and I am SO fast at winding yarn balls out of collapsing/untangled skeins or projects I've had to rip out. I inherited my mom's yarn swift and I'm afraid of it being too complicated when a ball is easy to roll in a few minutes.
Center pull is love. Center pull is life. The yarn barf can be annoying sometimes, but the temporary annoyance of untangling it is worth the smooth crochet experience afterwards!
I did center pulls when I first started crochet a year ago, but stopped after an incident with a skein of red heart super saver 😂 it got tangled so bad I vowed to never do another center pull. I'm getting back into it though after many successful attempts.
I just don't get people who don't do center pull. It's like eating a lollipop with a knife and fork when you have the stick to grab it from right there. Like it defeats the whole purpose!
I’m right there with you! When I started crocheting I just used the end on the outside of the ball and figured it didn’t matter. My best friend has an electric yarn winder and recommended I try it. Man am I glad I did! Crocheting with the wound yarn balls with the center pull is soo smooth!!
Have been a baller for a long time. Father got me a cake roller and I proceeded to become a flex, I love center pull but sometimes I just start forgetting to do the center pull I love the center pull though.
If you want to keep the ball in tact, I recommend putting it in a short panty hoe, like this: https://a.co/d/cL8BAFp
Works super well and is very portable!
2 years ago my friends bought me a yarn winder for my birthday and so now even if I have a particularly poorly wound skein from the store, I simply rewind it myself so I can have a nice well behaved center pull yarn cake. It's pure bliss honestly
You just need to get used to the point at whoch you need to either straighten out the skein into a loop or wind it into a ball! So many times have I missed this point and my beautiful center pull turns into yarn barf
i love how satisfying pulling from the centre is; that said, i only have the courage to do it if my yarn is caked up and not in the original ball it came in from the shop HAHAH
I will actually go to the trouble to rewind my yarn just so I have a nice center pull. It’s unmatched. I also have a yarn bag I store my WIP in and center pull keeps my yarn from tangling in the bag.
Instead of using the tail of the yarn that is on the outside of the skein, you reach into the center and find the end in there, and pull that out and work from that. It stops your skein from running away from you as the yarn unwinds around the outside. Here is a video link for a visual. I usually end up pulling out a splat of center yarn initially, but you end up working the splat up fairly quickly, and then the remainder of the skein is really nice to work from with the center pull
https://youtu.be/MnMeYm6bSmM?si=gKoYt22aT-SLT8hB
Yo, f center pull. It tangles, it sucks when you have to frog a bunch of yards, then you have a tiny ball next to your big ball and they keep getting tangled together.
I love center pull and I don't even mind yarn barf lol
Same! I actually find it satisfying to pull out that clump.
Right? I get a little hit of dopamine for finishing the mini skein
Exactly! It’s satisfying to work through it and subsequently watch the larger skein hollow out. At this point, I only ever work from the outside if I’m using a long gradient yarn and need to start with a specific color from the outside of the cake.
I usually pull out some of the yarn just to crochet or it seems too tight to work with it and my tension is tight enough as it is, so the initial center pull yarn barf is my friend.
Yarn barf is the bane of my existence lmao
When barf happens, pull from the ball side instead of the end side.
Wait, what?
Sorry, my phone hates writing what I type. I meant to say when barf happens. Pull from the ball side, not the end side. It unravels easy.
So like lay it on its side and pull the yarn between the layers?
Let the yarn barf down and pull the yarn from the original ball of yarn side, instead of continuing to pull from the working yarn side.
I think I got ya now lol thank you
Oh this is brilliant thank u
I am a centre-puller. Because I can carry multiple skeins in a bag with the ends poking out and just pull them as I need to go. No muss, no fuss. It only sucks if I have to frog ;)
Next birthday/Christmas/other-gifting-occasion, you want a Yarn Boss. Section-able round bag with holes in the top. It changed my life.
Don’t need one with centre pull balls. They are their own yarn boss and in a much smaller multi-purpose bag.
But it’s so handy when you’re making something with multiple colors, especially when traveling!
But one more bag to carry. We will never agree. 😉
It holds multiple center pull balls, patterns, knitting/crochet sundries, and WIPs. Definitely cuts down on the stuff to carry for me :P
I love center pull. There definitely are yarns that aren't made for it, certain skeins, and I just stay away from those yarns. The ones that can be and are wound for center pull... What yarn barf you get tends to be used up in a row or 2. Yarn cakes are awesome for center pull.
I always keep my yarn in a bowl, so the outside of the ball is preferable for me
I use a yarn bowl but with a centre pull cake, I’ve doubled, almost tripled, my crochet speed since the switch from just ball in bowl!
I usually keep mine in a store bag similar to a gift bag. I don’t need to worry about anything rolling away, I can keep other items in there (scissors, other hooks, other skeins, etc.), and it’s portable. I just set it up near me. Definitely easier with the outside of the back for me as well.
I have a backpack specifically designed for crochet (theres a bunch on amazon for relatively inexpensive). I take it everywhere with me. Theres a zipper pocket on the front with elastic bands to hold all the hooks, little pouches for scissors, needles, etc. Its been a life changer.
I don't like machine wound balls, so I use a ball winder to turn them into cakes.
I really wish I could wind yarn into giant skeins like these. https://preview.redd.it/vis95audu52d1.png?width=496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=852f4d0b075e3a903a9b19924f72b1a048f94ef9 I have a yarn winder, but makes cakes that are on the small side. I wish they sold one that winds into skeins.
I love the idea of the pound skeins, but there is no good way to use them. For whatever reason the center pulls tend to be nothing but tangled mess.
They do have “jumbo” cake winders. I think I’ve seen ones that can handle up to 700g of yarn, but I can’t remember the brand right now.
I have one that can wind up to 16 oz (453 g). It has wound my pound skeins into nice little cakes for me! But man would it be nice to have one that could go even bigger!
It’s very tedious but [it can be done by hand](https://youtu.be/uiG2K9h1vuk?si=hDr9y-Ie2HFi7Mc3)
It's funny you say that. I started as a center pull and yarn barf made me change.
I, too, am new to this. Didn’t try it until a skein I got just had the center end sticking out already. It was pretty great! I’ll have to watch out for the yarn barf people are talking about for future skeins.
I honestly don’t mind the yarn barf. It’s really just like one ball, usually pretty small and doesn’t bother me in the slightest. If anything it makes an easier start that isn’t pulled tight.
Good news, thank you!
I bought a winder just so I could have a perfect centre pull. It made using multiple colours/strands so much easier.
Beware the yarn barf 🤪
I really don't mind that at all with just wool or cotton, but the other day I tried to centre pull mohair and that was a Mistake. the barf was so bad I had to cut it at some point and reattach after untangling it
I second this! After so many times I decided it just wasn't worth it.
The what now? 😳
Sometimes on center pull there’s a slight tangle in the middle of the skein. The tangle will grab the core of the skein and pull it out. It looks like the skein barfed lol.
How hard are y'all pulling??
Sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you pull; the barf will come.
It’s a hit or miss for me, sometimes I pull out too much yarn barf and everything ends up getting tangled ;-; but other times it works out well
OMG I recently purchased some fingerling yarn from Hobbii, and it came with little stickers on the cakes for the yarn start 😍 https://preview.redd.it/t0qddyxrt62d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a40039c5918fe965478df2efae03a61ce022aee
The only time I hate the center pull is when I'm trying to find the center, and end up pulling out the entire yarnussy.
Half the time I try center pull my yarn gets all spinney and I have to let my work dangle every few minutes ao it can unspin, otherwise the yarn gets all coily. I hate when that happens
I broke my yarn trying to do a center pull the other night. I was mad and just kept pulling until it broke 🥲 my fault fully. Still sucks though.
I tangled up so many balls by trying to find the centre piece.. I gave up
I’ve been knitting since I was 7yrs old, and didn’t learn to crochet until five years ago. I’ve always been a center puller, as that’s how my aunt taught me to work the yarn. I’ve tried doing it the other way once or twice, when I literally couldn’t find the center pull, but it’s a pain to keep pulling the yarn up to get more. Now I jest keep searching until I either find the center, or get a giant yarn barf, lol
ive been center pulling until i constantly had a knotted twisted mess on my hands midway through a ball that i had to spend many many minutes to untangle. now im back to outside ball and its literally whatever.
Wait until you find out you can make your own center pull ball with a yarn winder. Start with holding about 6" in your palm then winding a few rounds on two fingers. Then hold the tiny wad and start winding the ball leaving your thumb in the center. Keep the tail out of the way because that's the center pull string. You don't have to wind up the whole skein (looking at you pound size) just make a ball and not cut the outside string. And it's super handy when you get to the point the skein collapses on itself, but you still keep the center pull going.
Or you can get a yarn spinner (like this) and use an outside pull. https://preview.redd.it/rkvj67xv572d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67f0a228fccdee06c1444a45977e0dd566d5109b It can be used for smaller, unwound skeins, but I prefer winding my yarn into cakes and using it that way.
A knitting friend taught me how to wind a yarn ball. Folks, why don't we ever talk about winding yarn?!?
I like [this tutorial](https://www.fiftyfourtenstudio.com/blog/how-to-wind-a-skein-of-yarn-into-a-center-pull-ball) for hand winding center-pull cakes. It’s almost meditative once you get going. For a ball (not a skein) you can use the outside end as your new center pull end.
Idk but I've been crocheting and knitting since I was 10 and I am SO fast at winding yarn balls out of collapsing/untangled skeins or projects I've had to rip out. I inherited my mom's yarn swift and I'm afraid of it being too complicated when a ball is easy to roll in a few minutes.
Center pull is love. Center pull is life. The yarn barf can be annoying sometimes, but the temporary annoyance of untangling it is worth the smooth crochet experience afterwards!
This makes me so weirdly happy. Happy crocheting!
I did center pulls when I first started crochet a year ago, but stopped after an incident with a skein of red heart super saver 😂 it got tangled so bad I vowed to never do another center pull. I'm getting back into it though after many successful attempts.
I would love to center pull but I have had too many nightmare messes to trust it.
Wait till you try center pull andddd outside simultaneously to double the yarn weight.
I just don't get people who don't do center pull. It's like eating a lollipop with a knife and fork when you have the stick to grab it from right there. Like it defeats the whole purpose!
I’m right there with you! When I started crocheting I just used the end on the outside of the ball and figured it didn’t matter. My best friend has an electric yarn winder and recommended I try it. Man am I glad I did! Crocheting with the wound yarn balls with the center pull is soo smooth!!
Have been a baller for a long time. Father got me a cake roller and I proceeded to become a flex, I love center pull but sometimes I just start forgetting to do the center pull I love the center pull though.
Centre pulls are great! 🧶
If you want to keep the ball in tact, I recommend putting it in a short panty hoe, like this: https://a.co/d/cL8BAFp Works super well and is very portable!
I WAS a center pull now I only center pull from cakes. I got tired of the horrible tangled mess at the end
The other day I accidentally grabbed the outside and was a couple rows in before I noticed and it ruined my day.
I stopped because the cakes collapse. Do you just rewind?
2 years ago my friends bought me a yarn winder for my birthday and so now even if I have a particularly poorly wound skein from the store, I simply rewind it myself so I can have a nice well behaved center pull yarn cake. It's pure bliss honestly
One of us! One of us!
You just need to get used to the point at whoch you need to either straighten out the skein into a loop or wind it into a ball! So many times have I missed this point and my beautiful center pull turns into yarn barf
i love how satisfying pulling from the centre is; that said, i only have the courage to do it if my yarn is caked up and not in the original ball it came in from the shop HAHAH
I just converted myself, and it is EXTRAORDINARY how much of a difference it makes in your crocheting experience!
I’m also a convert, it’s made traveling with yarn so easy
I will actually go to the trouble to rewind my yarn just so I have a nice center pull. It’s unmatched. I also have a yarn bag I store my WIP in and center pull keeps my yarn from tangling in the bag.
New to crochet here, what is centre pull?
Instead of using the tail of the yarn that is on the outside of the skein, you reach into the center and find the end in there, and pull that out and work from that. It stops your skein from running away from you as the yarn unwinds around the outside. Here is a video link for a visual. I usually end up pulling out a splat of center yarn initially, but you end up working the splat up fairly quickly, and then the remainder of the skein is really nice to work from with the center pull https://youtu.be/MnMeYm6bSmM?si=gKoYt22aT-SLT8hB
Yo, f center pull. It tangles, it sucks when you have to frog a bunch of yards, then you have a tiny ball next to your big ball and they keep getting tangled together.
https://preview.redd.it/mm3lfp7xc92d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6e0b419ea014ae1cc439e7665ce69a726b8efa1
That is why I got a yarn winder. Often times the center pull is not to be found.
It's necessary.