I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud, but we’re talking about moving again. (Insert see-no-evil emoji.) Not cross-country — just across town. But still! It means I’m giving every single thing in the house the hairy eyeball and asking whether I really mean to own it and if it deserves to be packed up and moved. As well as imagining what our new space might look like and how this time, surely, I’ll finally get everything perfectly organized. And of course you know what I’m really talking about here is yarn.
We’ve talked around the notion of yarn storage before, and I know it’s everyone’s favorite subject. Cabinets or drawers, specialized furniture or industrial bins. All of which I love to hear about. But I also want to get to the real nitty gritty here in today’s Q, which is: How do you store your yarn? The underlying question being: What is the safest way to store yarn?
I know it should be stored in loose skeins and only wound when it’s time to use it. But like everyone I’ve got assorted yarn cakes that were wound for something that wound up not happening right away. I love seeing beautiful shelves full of full of skeins (I mean) but I can’t help wondering about dust and moths and other hazards. My stash started out in four little rubbermaid-like bins that were supposed to be my limit, but then came this giant basket (from my wedding) stuffed with various loose skeins, a few tucked into muslin bags, and multiple sweater quantities in ziploc bags. Keeping the yarn safe from pests? Or keeping the yarn from breathing? I’d love to do what’s prettiest, but I really want to do what’s best for the yarn.
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I hope your move goes smoothly!
I have two curious young cats, so basically I stash my yarn and spinning fiber in a closed closet – either in the clothes closet in my bedroom when I’m being lazy (which is a bad idea because then you get a whiff of sheep’s wool from some of the fiber when you open the closet door) or in the small workroom we have at home. Maybe I’m in denial, or maybe we don’t really get moths in my area, but I don’t really worry about moths. Regarding balls and skeins, you can re-skein yarn that you wound into balls with a niddy noddy if you want. I like to do that, it’s meditative and kind of fun :-) I keep my handspun yarn in a sort of basket on the shelf in the closet. And I really try to use up my yarn or find a new home for it, and not let my stash get too large. Lesson learned from my sewing fabric stash, magazines, etc, that still take up way too much closet space…
I purchased Closet Maid cubes. 4 sets. Assembled they resemble a yarn shop display. Except messy. I’ve apparently overpurchased yarn and it is it bags on the floor in front of the cubes. And in bags around the house. Yes, I have a problem and my husband is reminding me that our retirement savings is in my yarn stash.
My goal is to knit more and stash less…easier said than done when you want the latest beautiful color way. My greatest fear is water, flood, mildew etc in our humid climate so all of my stash is in plastic tubs organized by weight. 2015 goal is to get rid of all of the onesies and lesser quality. Lots of schools and kids clubs love this for teaching purposes.
Knitting charities as well would be happy to take it and put it to good use
I have quite a bit of wool stored in all stages of “production”. Raw fleeces stay in the barn. Washed, roving and yarn in the Wool House. I do my best to not tuck anything into a dark corner and a couple times a year I take everything out into the bright sun and give everything a good inspection and shake out. So far, so good.
I keep my yarn in a big fabric zippered bin from The Container Store, and I have a second one for my spinning fiber. Then I have a metal tub that sits by the couch and has my WIPs and yarn I’m considering using soon. Some of the yarns in the bin are stored in plastic bags. Probably not the safest setup, but (knock on wood) I’ve never had any problems. If I buy fiber or yarn from an unknown source, or it’s especially “rustic” I keep it separate for a while in case it harbors bugs. Good luck! If you find a visually pleasing but organized and careful way of storing your yarn, let us know!
Hmmm, I never thought about the fact that the yarn might have to breathe. Uh oh. I am afraid of moths, moisture and dust so I do keep my yarn in ziploc bags in a (very large) tupperware bin, mostly. Skeins on deck are kept in a couple of Bolga baskets, a bin or a tote scattered around in various areas of the house ;-). I once had it stored in a glass front barrister case but since I wanted to keep the yarn in the bags it looked more like clutter than an artful and inspiring display. We moved recently and I felt a little sheepish when I packed things up and realized how much I have and how long I have had some of it. So, I am trying to work from the stash as much as possible or to pass on what I think I might not use in the near future; use it or lose it. My goal is to eventually get to the point where I have no stash and acquire yarn only when the project is going to go on the needles immediately. We will see how that goes! Good luck with your move!
I had a moth scare a while back so now I’m extra cautious. I put all skeins in Ziploc bags with a lavender sachet and store the bags in Rubbermaid bins. I keep my current on the needles projects in pretty fabric project bags in a basket. I wish I could have all my yarn out to look at, but I feel better knowing it’s protected.
I keep lots of cedar in the yarn shelves and have all my yarn on shelves in my office/craft space. I probably should store it another way but I love sitting in there knitting and getting inspired and motivated by my yarn stash.
What does lavender do? I have lavender in our garden so I will have all the lavender I need.
I use ziploc bags with those little silica gel packets (it gets very humid here in Tennessee, as you know) so I like to take precautions. My second mother (I collect mothers) moved from here to Panama, and had to throw away a lot of yarn that had mildewed, so I’ve been extra cautious since then. Once in the bags, I pack them into 30 gallon storage bins. (They are easier to get in and out of, than those vacuum-sealed space saver bags.)
I used to keep all my yarn displayed in a big bookshelf, but a few moth scares, and I started the sandwich bag system. As a bonus – my cat will not touch yarn in sandwich bags (and if you open it a smidge, you can knit right from the bag)! He only goes after freely swinging (and rolling) yarn.
Love that you mention your collection of mothers. I do the same! :-) I am up to a half dozen now and love them all!
I store a lot of my yarn in shoe bags and hang them over closet doors inside bathroom doors ect. I also have baskets of yarn all over in my sewing room. I do wind my yarn before I store it most of the time. Have never had a problems with prewinding although that being said I use mostly acrylic and cotton yarns not sure if that makes a difference. I stay away from wool as much as I can because there are too many care issues.
When we moved to where we are now I purchased lots of sets of the locking cubes from Target. They come in white and black and there are 6 cubes in each set, probably the size of a milk crate. I got enough to store most of my yarn. All the wool is kept in Zip Lock bags. Scared to death of moths!! Wool for spinning is kept in large plastic storage boxes under my work table. Wool waiting to be combed is in plastic storage boxes in the basement where my combing and drum carding station s are set up. I’m very fortunate to have a dedicated fiber room now as I kept everything in an unfinished basement for years where we lived before.
my stash is absolutely not pretty, but it’s safe. it’s in ziploc bags inside plastic bins. the clear-ish kind you get at target. i appreciate being able to see inside, and i try to keep it organized, with sweater-quantites in one bin, for example, and feltable wool in another… i also keep sachets of dried lavender in with them, just for added insurance. i have a cat and i’m a terrible housekeeper, so i don’t like to keep loose skeins out, tho’ it would be lovely to have that sort of life – with pretty baskets of yarn, yarn on shelves, and out in bowls on the table, to be admired and petted (and gathering dust and being chased by the kitty… ack! never mind! bins and ziplocs it is!)
All my yarn is in ziplocks inside airtight bins after last year’s moth discovery. I took the opportunity to itemize my stash on Ravelry, though, so it’s not hard to find what I need. As for the moths, I put all my yarn in the deep freeze for three days (minus-10 F), then inside the hot car for three days, then repeated. Moths might survive one or the other, but the rapid swing between extremes is sure to do them in.
After losing some beautiful skeins to moths I keep all of mine I large ziplock bags inside large plastic tubs. This has also (so far) kept it safe from mold, which I’m finding is the hardest part of storing things in the South.
I have four rubbermaid bins as well, organized by weight, plus another flatter one for lace, and a sort of plastic cupboard to store the odds and ends. I do go through my stash regularly, so the yarn breathes a bit I hope.
I use a plastic drawer system I got at Target. You can use the caster feet or stack on top of each other. Some of my yarn in the drawers is in plastic bags. After reading the comments I think I need to buy more ziplock bags. What I really wish is that I would give away yarn that is never going to be used and only have handy what will be knit up soon.
I have lost waaay too many woolens to moths, so I put unwound hanks in quart or gallon size zip lock bags, and then those get sorted into large clear 40 gallon storage bins . I’ll wind a cake when I am close to starting a project (I might even swatch that way) and the cake goes into a sandwich zip lock bag which, yes, I can knit from if I do a center pull and it helps to keep the cake together and clean. My craft room is dotted with Safer moth traps (happily moth free ). I have a friend who is so moth obsessed that all new yarn acquisitions must spend a month in a zip lock bag in her freezer, to make sure any freeloaders are destroyed.
Started out using using a basket I brought back from Austria where my roommates taught me how to knit! Outgrew that so moved on to drawers in an armoire. My favorite new storage find are the clear hard plastic hat boxes from the Container Store. I put them on top the armoire so I can see the beautiful colors.
I use rubbermaid clear plastic storage bins with interlocking tops sorted by yarn color on shelves in my garage (cool, dark yet accessible). They stack, they have handles and travel well. And since they are sorted by color, at a glance I can see which I need to open. Inside I stack the yarns up so that there is a ball of each on top, so I don’t have to dig to see everything in the bin. The reason I use shelves instead of stacking is it is easier to access what is in them–but when I moved, the stacking was a great feature. I also throw in the lavender sachets/cedar planks to keep out pests and so far (knock on wood) I’ve been lucky. That said, they do close (not airtight–to enable breathing) and I try very hard to never put in more than they can hold to reduce chances of pests.
Actually, believe it or not, the Picture shown above is how I store my stash! I always put new skeins of yarn in ziploc bags. Here in North Carolina, things can get pretty wet. The Humidity is High and it doesn’t take much to see beautiful yarn ruined. Because of all that humidity and the warms temps, we also get BUGS as BIG as Horses! I do a quick check of the skein before they go in the Ziploc’s, just in case they came with a friend. If they did I either pop them in the freezer or I put them in a silk garment bag and tumble them just a bit. One thing I love doing is placing ceder Hearts in the baskets as an extra precaution. My Hubby goes to get a pit of ceder and then cuts out hearts of even little blocks. A few in the final yarn home and you’ve safe guarded your yearn treasures and there’s a wonderful smell floating about. I think everyone has those yarn cakes we did, but never got to the project. I really don’t worry about un-caking them. I just store them the same way as skeins but in a basket for just cakes and bits of cakes. Also, if you store a skein in an individual bag(especially if your doing colour work), you just snip the corner off one of the bottom sides and draw your yarn through that. While you are working on the project you’ll want to keep all the skeins contained in bags like that in a larger bag, just to make sure there isn’t unwelcome company! I also store in the baskets by colour group if I can. It makes it much easier when putting together certain colours. I love the Basket you showed above. I can’t imagine a storage container that would look better!
After finding moths in my wool a few times I’ve gone the way of plastic ziploc bags. I have a few of these shoe racks: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/images/products/skubb-organizer-with-compartments-white__0111718_PE262657_S4.JPG hanging in my closet and organize the bags of yarn in there for easy access. Every few moths I go through it and look for evidence of bugs, as well as play with colors, make swatches, and reevaluate what I’ve got against my queue.
Good luck moving and organizing. I don’t think there’s a *perfect* way of doing it — since your stash is growing and changing it will be always be a work in progress!
So I have two ways. Leftovers from projects that are wound into cakes go onto a pegboard wall (I use a lot of the same yarn for baby blankets so it’s easy to just grab a color and go) and the rest I store in tiered plastic bins with wheels so I can move them around my workspace. I’m also trying really hard to go through what is stashed and make stuff so that the yarn doesn’t overwhelm me! Here’s a pic of what the leftovers look like on the wall: https://www.flickr.com/photos/theartofaccessories/18600023755/in/dateposted-public/
I love your yarn wall- what an awesome idea! Also, the pullover you’re wearing in the picture is gorgeous! I love the colors you chose.
Thanks! I love color :) I try to pick unusual combinations.
I agree with Meridith, that top is tops! Is it from a pattern?
Hi Francis, yup it’s a pattern on Ravelry, North Fork. I blogged about it too yardsofhappiness.com, it’s one of my favorites.
Sorry, I tried replying but have 2 accounts. It’s a pattern on Ravelry, North Fork and I blogged about it in more detail: yardsofhappiness.com. Thanks for the compliment!
I only have yarn for specific projects, but I still have quite a bit of it. I don’t have a lot of storage space, so it’s currently stored under my bed in a long, shallow storage box lined with tissue paper. It has a lock-in lid, so it seems to keep out the creepy-crawlies. I have the skeins stored loose in the box, both so I can easily take the yarn out and pet it, and I because I don’t really like the idea of having all that lovely natural fiber swathed in plastic. That being said, after reading everyone’s moth comments, I may have to change that!
My goal is to find a better, more attractive way to store yarn, but I’m not quite sure what that will be yet. I like the idea of having yarn out so I can see it, but fear of moths (and cats) would probably prevent it. Honestly, the storage you have pictured seems nicer (and safer) than most stashing options! I may end up doing something similar with an undyed rice basket in the near future.
I like to keep my fiber visible (otherwise, I forget what I have!) so some is stored on open shelves. I have several Ikea Kallax units in my studio and store/display my hand dyed yarns on those. For stash storage I use clear Rubbermaid bins with tops that I keep stacked in the studio storage/laundry room. Fleeces and yarn back from the mill (that hasn’t been dyed yet), stay in the dye room in the barn. Above all, the fiber must be stored clean and I usually tuck a lavender sachet into each bin. I’m super vigilant and have even thought I might like to invest in a used chest freezer to store some things in because it would be devastating to have a moth invasion!
At last, my yarn stash is both pretty and convenient. I had a cabinetmaker make me built-ins. The top are bookshelves up to the ceiling. The bottom are drawers and cabinets which hold my stash. The drawers are shallow so it’s easy to see what’s inside. In the cabinets, I’ve segregated yarn into projects in labeled shoeboxes which state what’s inside, the weight, the fiber content, how many skeins and how much yardage. That way, when I find a sweater or project I want to pursue, I can pull the right box out without effort.
GOOD luck moving…….I’ve done it 28 times and oh boy………too much fun! All my yarn/fleece (washed) is in plastic see thru bins or just in plastic bags…I will NOT tell you how many:) I do have 2 fleeces to be washed and they are OUT in the garage. cheers!
Oh my. Moving is such a major endeavor. Gulp.
I don’t have a ton of yarn but I keep my relatively small stash in a little bin that isn’t air tight. The projects I’m currently working on I keep in one of your rice baskets. I use the same method for fabric but the bins (and stash) are much larger ;) I used to keep things in plastic zip locks until my ex-cop dad told me it was bad for fabric. Apparently you never keep fabric evidence (or anything that can hold moisture) in air-tight plastic so now I’m freaked out to keep things in air tight packages. Ha!!
I like all the ideas myself–especially the lavender sachets/cedar planks! I currently have all in 3 Rubbermaid bins; some in plastic bags and some not. I have been thinking about displaying but I’m not so sure now… Maybe entering them in Ravelry would be a better idea…
I have a reasonably small stash (very subjective, I know). Most of the unwound skeins live in a large, woven basket. I love being able to see the yarns! I pull everything out periodically and rearrange the skeins so that different yarns get their time at the top – so I can spend a little time daydreaming about them equally! Whenever I buy bedding or linens that come in the plastic zippered bags, I reuse those bags to house multiple skeins of the same yarn to keep them grouped together. They come in different sizes and are great for different amounts of yarn. Partially used skeins fill a small, clear plastic bin, and small balls of leftover yarn are thrown into a large-mouthed glass jar with a lid. I put cedar blocks in all of the containers – basket, bin, bags, and of course in the wardrobe with finished knits. Being able to see my yarn helps keep my stash manageable and is also inspiring.
Roommate Sarah and I used to keep our yarn stashes out in pretty baskets, on display and easily accessible, until the moths set in. After the tragic loss of many beautiful skeins and an entire apartment sterilization, I’ve gone the ugly and environmentally unhelpful ziplock bag route, but still keep those bags in pretty baskets.
I’ve landed on storing my stash in clear plastic tubs with a bag of lavender. After trial and error, I store the yarn by weight. Special projects are in cool baskets and cool Karen-bags. The tubs are big but not deep so that I can easily see what’s there. I haven’t had trouble with moths (though they’re certainly flying around outside!) but the stories have scared the wits out of both me and my yarn spinning husband. He stores his yarns and roving in clear plastic tubs and clear plastic drawers.
As for moving and deciding what to clear, I can’t say enough about “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” by Marie Kondo. I consider myself a pro (after so many moves) at moving along things we don’t use but this book took me to another plateau of simplifying when I read it this spring. I love learning new ways of thinking and this sweet book was awesome! Now, months later, I’m still feeling the relief of sending so much more stuff off to new homes and out of my space. Enjoy!
Yarn is stored in large storage bins, some in flat storage bins are under our bed, and other yarns in zipper bags in canvas bags. My stash is growing and I try to use it whenever I can. But pretty yarn is a passion of mine… Thank you for the hint of lavender. We have lavender growing in our garden.
After a terrible moth-fest, a friend of mine bought a chest freezer dedicated for storage of all wool and finished sweaters, etc.
After my last move I decided that the slippery pile of ziplocs had to go and decided to invest in some moth protection I was happier with – after a bunch of research I ended up with cotton sweater bags with cedar inserts (mine are from Household Essentials). There are other sizes available, but this size fits skeins nicely, and the clear lid makes it easy to choose the right bag if you have more than one (not that I’d know anything about that… cough)
link: http://www.amazon.com/Household-Essentials-Cedarline-Collection-Zippered/dp/B00BZGWDW6/ref=pd_bxgy_201_text_y
Clara Parkes mentioned a new yarn storage option in her recent Knitter’s Review newsletter about TNNA, the KnowKnits GoKnit Pillow. I haven’t been able to find them anywhere yet but Jennifer Lippman-Bruno of KnowKnits emailed me a list of stores that have ordered them. They appear to be organza bags that you stuff full of yarn and use as pillows until you get around to that project. Interesting idea.
I’ve got my stash in ziploc bags in an old suitcase. I used to have it all in an open basket, but have had the occasional roach and spider visit. Australia breeds some freaky insects and I don’t want them crawling up my arm as I rummage through my yarn *shudders*
I’m lucky enough that our house, which we purchased in 2009, came with a cedar closet at the top of the stairs. I purchased 2 of those hanging fabric cubes that are for storing folder sweaters. I have all my skeins in there, organized by weight. And then a cube of leftover cakes. My stash is the right size that this fits and I can see most of it from just opening the closet door. (sjn821 on Rav)
Forgot to mention that some of my yarn is stored in our cedar closet. I also keep some of my sweaters in there.
I use plastic bins in an IKEA Expedit shelf system. I haven’t had any moth issues (whistling in the dark here?) so I’m content to have these somewhat open (there are holes in the fronts of the plastic bins). No direct sunlight, so no fading. Yarn is organized by weight, but I’m going to have to go through and offload some stuff because the stash is growing and I don’t want to outgrow this shelving unit! Pictured in this post: http://pdxknitterati.com/2014/03/30/studios-are-springing-up/
i store mine as i bought them in a plastic zipped bag in a basket made from old tires til i am ready to use it. these days its not much yarn. i have been on a budget.
My storage system is unsexy but it works: large plastic bins that keep the critters at bay. I have lots of yarn (too much? Maybe, maybe not since I knit a lot) that I organize generally by weight though I have one large bin dedicated to locally produced stash. I don’t have a big house or a special studio to display my yarn or fuss over it so I have it all well organized in closets. I’ve learned to stop obsessing over the idea that I have too much and appreciate using what I have while selling off the yarn I know I won’t use on ravelry. This works well for me.
I also have lots of yarn that has been caked for a while and it’s never been a problem knitting. I try to wind it loosely enough into cakes not to mess up the gauge when I finally get to knitting it!
Like so many others here, I go with the plastic bin/ziploc method. My plastic bin is a 4-drawers-on-castors thing from Target, and I can vaguely see what’s in it; I also have a big basket that lives by the couch for ziplocs (and some cloth project bags) with my current WIPs (however, it’s full to overflowing right now so some of my “current” projects should probably go back upstairs to the Target drawers). I have run into moths in the past, and it’s incredibly dry where I am – which means no real risk of mildew, but it is the dustiest, cobwebbiest place I’ve ever lived, plus there are the cats, as well as the spiders who spin the webs, so anything that’s stored in the open is going to end up in a sad state.
What I would love is a whole swack of these http://www.containerstore.com/shop/closet/closetStorageCollections/clear?productId=10000106&N=90106 or maybe these http://www.containerstore.com/shop/closet/closetStorageCollections/linen?productId=10029670&N=81577 that I could stack on shelves, so I could see my yarn but it would still be protected by something prettier than ziplocs. Unfortunately ziplocs are much cheaper so I will stick with them for the moment and spend my money on more yarn to put in them instead!
I used to have all of mine in one large Bolga basket, in ziploc bags– but with loose cotton skeins (for prettiness without plastic) on top since moths would be less likely to eat those. Then I appropriated another Bolga basket for some additional yarn. And I’m sorry to say that I now have the two Bolgas and two good-sized tote bags. All the yarn therein is in ziplocs. The Bolga baskets contain sweater quantities; one tote contains skeins that haven’t found their purpose yet, and the other tote bag contains upcoming projects– something to look forward to. But my goal is to get back to just using one Bolga basket again, which is why I’m working through my stash. :)
I lost a few pairs of hand-knit socks to huge moth holes a year or so ago, so I am more paranoid about storing my finished hand-knits than I am the skeins. I insert cedar blocks among the folded sweaters, and have a cedar/rosemary essential oil mist that was originally made and given to me for my dog, but I use it lightly on my wool. I have all of my unknit wool in a cabinet, and put fabric over the glass on the doors to protect it from light. I plan to line the shelves with cedar veneer. I have it all arranged by weights, and it’s nice to be able to open the doors and see it all when I’m planning a project :-) My worst moth infestation happened in an open basket of hibernating projects, so now I’m better about emptying my baskets and checking the contents more often.
I keep my stash small. What is on my needles (usually 2-3 projects at a time) plus 2-3 projects worth which I keep on an open shelf in our living area so I can see it every day. It’s wonderful motivation. I also have a draw with all my leftovers which will eventually be made into a patch blanket or used for colour work. I love having a small stash, it means I get to shop regularly which is just as fun as the knitting and I don’t feel stressed out by all the projects that need to be done. I don’t worry about my yarn being damaged or eaten before I knit it because it’s never sitting there for more than 2 months and I regularly re-arrange it to make it look fresh and inviting. It’s a joy rather than a burden.
I have my mother’s cedar hope chest from the ’40’s and most of my yarn is stored in it. It’s already full to the brim and I need to move the cotton yarn out of there to make room for more wool. Cedar keeps the moths away! The mini balls/skeins of sock/fingering weight for the Beekeepers quilt I keep in a 9x5x6 cosmetic bag. I knit at least 1-2 hexipuffs a day so need to keep the stash of minis within reach.
I used to keep my yarn just sitting in fabric lined baskets… until the carpet beetle infestation came. Even after ridding the house of them + their larvae completely, they still enter the house every year through the windows and doors. Lost SO many sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, etc… not too much yarn loss though, just a few as I caught it before my stash was eaten through. Now I store my yarn (and my outerwear accessories) in plastic bags inside the same fabric-lined baskets. Since then I haven’t found a single bug even near the baskets! Every few months I take out any older yarn stash to let it breathe and re-organize everything, then pack it back up.
I have a shelf built by a friend. It is made of unstained/unfinished wood (not pine). This unit is made of open ended square boxes tilted to create not quite diamond cubbies. I haven’t had a problem with pests. I think this is due to the openness of the shelves and the raw wood. I also clear it out every year and reorganize. I love my shelf! Good luck with the move.
I reuse the zippered plastic bags that sheets, blankets and curtains are sold in. They stack well because of the gusset and they aren’t slippery like ziplock bags. I’m a visual and tactile person so I keep a stash notebook to help remind me of what I have. The notebook is just one of those small photo albums that holds 4×6 photos in sleeves. I write the brand, color way, weight, fiber content and quantity of yarn on a large index card and attach a small sample (2-3 inches) of yarn. The notebook (my stash is pretty small now so I just need one notebook) stays in my knitting bag and the yarn is stored in a large trunk and a clothes hamper in a closet. Like the earlier poster, I can’t say enough about Marie Kondo’s book. It was a life-changer for me!
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Well, I’m late to the party on this one but here goes anyway. I’m new to knitting (January 2014) but already have a large stash (funny that). I was keeping my yarn loose on shelves so I could see it and a few were tucked away in a lovely handmade cloth bag. To my horror, I discovered spiders had made their home in most of my yarn — and I’m a fussy housekeeper, vacuuming walls and ceilings because of spiders. So the beggars went and got cozy in my yarn! I had to vacuum the bejeebers out of every skein and a couple of the skeins went into the dryer with a cloth soaked in mint essential oil to get rid of some of the ‘baby’ spiders that had gone “inside”. Yikes. So, ever since then, all my yarn is (most unfortunately) stored in ziplock bags. I wish there were a better way. :-(
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I know I’ll get angry retorts for saying this but moths are not interested in eating wool by itself. The moth larvae eat the food and oils that have dropped on wool clothing which is why moth holes are usually found on sweater and coat shoulders and fronts. Unprocessed wool containing lanolin may be susceptible to infestation but purchased wool skeins are safe.