Crochet Yarn Tamer
For center-pull balls of yarn that refuse to stay put. This pattern uses any gague, any yarn, but I recommend your most hated acrylic yarns, although it may not use it up quickly enough.
Directions are in US crochet notation.
Materials
~ 50 yards of worsted weight yarn
~ 5-10 yards in a worsted weight contrasting color
Size I, J or K hook. (you can modify the hook size to match the yarn and the desired size of the tamer slightly)
Gauge:
Gauge does not matter for this project, as long as the finished product can fit over a ball of yarn. I specifically needed to tame small mill-end balls of yarn, perhaps 1-2 ounces of slippery DK yarn, probably rayon. You can increase the size of the project with hook size, or by adding Vs in round 1 so that you can tame larger balls of yarn.
Abbreviations
- ch
- chain stitch
- slst
- slip stitch
- dc
- double crochet (US)
- tr
- triple crochet (US)
- C
- contrasting color
- B
- base color
- V
- V-stitch: tr in indicated stitch, ch 3, tr in same stitch
- picot V
- tr in indicated stitch, ch 4, sl st in the top of the tr, ch 3, tr in indicated stitch
Note: If you're going to do multiple V or picot V stitches, I recommend that you leave the last 2 loops on the hook. On the first tr of the next V go through all 3 loops on the hook when you have 3 loops left on the hook. In other words, the first tr ends like a half-double crochet (US) using 2 loops from the previous tr. I found this keeps the Vs very tidy at the top.
Pattern
Row 1: ch 4, * skip 1 stitch and V in next stitch * do * to end, tr in base of ch4, ch 3 and sl st in top of ch4. 9 Vs made (including the ch 4 V). [for a larger yarn tamer, you can skip fewer stitches and make additional Vs]
Rows 2 & 3: ch 4, * skip ch 3 and V in the next tr * to end then tr in base of ch4, ch 3 and sl st in top of ch 4. 9 Vs made (or same # Vs as row 1). [To make a longer yarn tamer, continue making rows.]
Ending Row: ch 4, * skip ch 3 and picot-V in next tr * to end then tr in base of ch4, ch 4 and slst in top of tr, ch 3 and slst to top of starting ch4.
Cut yarn, pull through slst and weave in loose ends.
To use
Pull center-pull string through magic ring eyelet, pull tamer over ball of yarn with center-pull feed down, pull drawstring closed. I made this to fit firmly over a small 1-skein ball of yarn. Optionally, you could pull the center-pull yarn through the drawstring area instead.