Yarn Bras/Sleeves

Razzle Dazzle socks
yarn sleeves or yarn bra made from bath puff
October 2017

One of the items Betsy included in the Anything but Yarn swap were net "sleeves" for yarn cakes. I loved them so much that I wanted to purchase more - easier said than done.

Marilyn and I stopped in several yarn shops in the Denver area as well as Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's, and Michaels and looked for the netting. We fell short, time after time. Finally, the clerk in Colorful Yarn suggested I purchase a bath puff at the dollar store. Hmmm, why didn't I think of that!

The puffs are quite crinkly after the cord holding them together like a pom pom is cut. I remedied that by soaking the netting in boiling water, and the netting relaxed. The netting can be cut to any length. I cut some about seven inches long (allowing enough for the knot), tied a knot in one end and slipped my yarn inside. I discovered the smaller bath puffs work the best, but they are still a bit loose for a wound cake of sock yarn.

I purchased two small puffs for a dollar, so the price of these yarn bras/sleeves is minimal.

The process of turning a bath puff into a yarn bra is explained here

Jimmy Beans Wool has a product that they are marketing as Yarn Bras, but I personally wouldn't recommend ordering the product for yarn sleeves, as the Spool Stockings are only three inches long. The product was originally designed for spools of thread and embroidery floss.

I discovered that Superior Thread sells a similar product (six inches long) for a good price: they are called Handy Nets. While this product was also designed for spools of thread, they work for cakes of sock yarn. I prefer these nets to the bath puffs because they are not as wide, and thus, hold the yarn tighter.