Unwinding yarn

Hey, how do you actually work your yarn when knitting or crocheting? From the inside or the outside?
Up until now, I’ve mostly worked from the outside, but recently I had a few balls of yarn with a little piece of paper attached to the inner end to make it easier to find, and they were actually pretty easy to unwind from the inside—that way, it doesn’t roll around as much. Well, I thought to myself with this yarn cake I’d started, “That’s practical,” so I took the inner strand. And half the time I’m not crocheting—I’m just untangling the clump of yarn that keeps slipping out. How silly. But now I’m already so far along that I don’t want to rip it out just to start over from the outside. This is going to be a long-term project....

I also work almost exclusively from the outside in. Especially with large balls or skeins, it’s happened to me too often that they collapse, and then I’m constantly untangling them… And a yarn bowl or bowl helps prevent the yarn from rolling around when working from the outside in.

I always work from the inside out.
Before those handy little tags inside the skeins became standard, it was an art to grab the skein in such a way that you’d actually find the inner strand. If it didn’t work out, you’d sometimes end up with a nice big yarn mess (everything you didn’t want coming at you), and then you’d be winding and untangling it all over again. 

I’m currently crocheting a bobble from the outside, but I don’t like it either—it doesn’t glide as smoothly. I can’t get the thing onto a spinning stand either. 

I always work from the inside out, too, because it annoys me when the ball of yarn keeps trying to run away.
I usually only have those “yarn tangles” at the beginning, and unraveling them usually goes relatively quickly for me. Fortunately, I rarely have extreme cases where I start cursing.

I usually work from the outside in.

I always knit or crochet from the inside out, even with bobbles. It’s just a bummer when I’ve already knitted a whole section and I don’t like how it looks because I’ve decided again that the color and pattern don’t go together 😁. If a skein is actually being finicky, I put it on the yarn winder and rewind it—with the right tension—so nothing gets tangled afterward. I always wind large skeins with the yarn winder first—that way I can see right away if there are any knots in them. Plus, the cakes are much easier to store side by side in my yarn bag and don’t get mixed up, which is important when I’m working on a project with lots of colors on my needles. 

I happened to learn yesterday that when working from the inside out on a bobble, you’re supposed to stick a toilet paper roll in the middle so it doesn’t collapse. Toward the end, though, I’d say you’d need several toilet paper rolls. I think rewinding it would be better after all. 

Good that you brought this up.
Until now, I’ve always crocheted from the outside, and that rolling ball of yarn always annoyed me, too.
As mentioned, most balls already have a little paper tag attached from the inside, and that’s great for crocheting. Just pull it, and the ball stays right where it is.

But with most of them, you first have to fumble around inside to find the beginning. I just wrap the rest around the outside and keep crocheting as usual.

With the big bobbles, I always crochet from the inside—so far, nothing has come undone for me. I leave the band around it until the end, so it has a little bit of support.

Sometimes I do it one way, sometimes another.

When working from the inside out, if the bobble starts tilting inward, I use a porcelain cup. I place it inside with the opening facing down. It’s best to slide it in from the bottom up—it’s just a little trick. That way, it’s wider at the bottom than at the top. And the yarn keeps unraveling nicely. Just make sure the cup isn’t too tall.

From the outside in, I always use an old CD spindle. It’s so narrow in the middle, and you can easily place the skein on top of it. And with those spindles, there used to always be a clear one at the bottom. I leave that one on. Then the skein even spins.

I hope you can follow my explanation.🤔

The spindle idea is a great one!!!

...I actually still have two of those
CD-ROM stands lying around somewhere.... The idea is really great...
Not just for knitting or crocheting—it should also be very helpful when I warp the loom.... I’ll go look for where I stashed them.

With yarn cakes, I usually start from the outside.
If I work from the inside, I put a toilet paper roll in so it doesn't collapse.

For yarns like Big Mama (200 g and 400 g), I rewind them from the inside so there are no nasty surprises while crocheting.

I put 50 g balls on the yarn holder and use the outside end.

Best regards, Birgit

With Bobbel yarn cakes, I usually start from the outside.
From the inside, I stick a toilet paper roll in so it doesn’t collapse.

For yarns like Big Mama (200 g and 400 g), I rewind them from the inside. That way, there are no nasty surprises while crocheting. 

I put 50 g balls on the yarn unwinder and use the outer strand.

Best regards, Birgit 

Balls of yarn without a “tag” often have a slightly larger opening on one side. You should take a closer look at the ball before casting on. Where the larger opening is, you can usually pull out the inner starting thread more easily.
And as for “yarn tangles”: They actually motivate me to knit faster. They’re usually not that tangled at all if you untangle them starting from the side of the ball. 

Same here. That “yarn mess” has to go as soon as possible… :-)

I also work through large bobbles from the inside out. With regular skeins, I wrap them around myself and then work from the inside out as well. If a clump of yarn comes out, it’s usually just a loop that’s wrapped around the “clump.” You should look carefully and untangle it—and under no circumstances pull on it hard or yank it, or everything will get knotted up.

SO I tried the DVD spindle thing—it doesn’t work for me, neither from the inside nor from the outside. 

I’m now on my second skein, and so far, it hasn’t gotten tangled at all. Very nice. I’m crocheting very slowly and carefully to make sure it stays that way. 😂