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A Fresh Start in Stash Organization 

It’s that time of year when we’re ready to shake off the feeling of being stuck inside, refresh our spaces, and bring new life into every corner of our homes. With the start of spring or autumn, depending on where you are, this is the perfect time for a seasonal reset with some deep cleaning, whether you’re emerging from hibernation or preparing to settle into one. As we clear out and tidy up, it’s also a great opportunity to take a fresh look at our yarn and fibre for some stash organization!

That’s why we’re dedicating the month of April to the SweetGeorgia Spring Stash-Down! Welcome to the first of four posts in our Spring Stash-Down series. Throughout April, we’ll explore ways to organize our stashes, find the best uses for lingering yarns, tackle stash-busting projects, and more!

Yarn overflowing from a bin
It’s time to open up, air out, and reorganize our stash!

Stash Organization

To start things off, let’s talk about how we organize our yarn and fibre. There’s no one right way to do it; everyone has their own system that works for them. But organizing your stash can make it easier to plan projects, keep track of what you have, and, most importantly, get you to make the things you want faster!

Greta’s Stash-Tacular Organization

Greta has been a large part of SweetGeorgia for many years now. Not only is she our Education Program Manager at the School of SweetGeorgia, but she has also been a model in many of our patterns, even before joining SweetGeorgia. She writes articles for both the SweetGeorgia site and Ply Magazine. Most passionately about fibre preparation and spinning, she also knits, crochets, weaves, and loves a great cup of coffee. Her thoughtful approach to organization is why we reached out to her for this post. This week, we’re spotlighting Greta and how she organizes her stash.

Airing & Organizing Her Yarn Stash

Once a year, Greta likes to air out her stash. This allows her to rediscover yarns she may have forgotten about and ensure all her yarn is free from infestation. She stores her yarn in plastic Ziploc bags, so if she ever finds an infestation in one of the bags, she only needs to discard that particular bag rather than the entire stash.

Greta organizes the bags of yarn into bins. Some bins hold sweater yarns, others contain hand-dyed superwash yarns, and some store handspun yarns. When she airs out her stash, she also takes the opportunity to reorganize the bins as needed and add any new yarns to Ravelry.

For yarns already allocated to specific projects, she keeps a card in the bag with the planned pattern, needle size, and swatches. Yarns that she plans to use soon are stored in a cupboard in her living room for easy access.

Greta's stash
After finishing a project, Greta weighs the remaining yarn, records the yardage, and stores it in a clear plastic bag so she can easily see what she has for future use.

Using Ravelry to Record Stash

When adding yarns to Ravelry, Greta prefers using her tablet, but you can also use a computer or smartphone. Ravelry has a great tutorial here with a video to help you get started. Ravelry is a free-to-use website, but you’ll need to create an account to use it.

Why Keep Your Stash on Ravelry?

  • Easier Project Planning: when you want to use yarn from your stash, you can go to My Notebook > Stash and use the Search Stash feature. For example, if you want to find all your “SweetGeorgia” yarn, you can simply search for it, and Ravelry displays everything you have in that brand.
  • Sorting & Filtering: you can sort your stash by name, date added, weight, yardage, and more, or filter by weight, colour, etc. This makes it easy to “shop from your own stash” when planning projects.
  • Tracking Projects & Yarn Usage: when you start a project, you can use the Projects feature under My Notebook > Projects to record the pattern and yarn you will be using (or plan to use). Once the project is finished, you can update how much yarn has been used. If there are leftovers, they remain listed in My Stash, and you will know exactly how much is available for future projects.
Ravelry screenshot
Recording her yarn stash on Ravelry lets Greta know exactly what she has, making it quick and easy to find what she needs.

If you don’t use or can’t access Ravelry, you can achieve the same with a spreadsheet, like Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, or Google Sheets. Alternatively, if you can use Ravelry, you can export your stash as an Excel file and keep a copy to open in Excel.

SweetGeorgia Team Tips on How We Organize Our Stashes

Everyone’s method is a little different, so we’ve gathered a list of stash organization tips from the SweetGeorgia team. Whether you sort by weight, colour, or project type, there’s sure to be an idea here to inspire you:

  • Pull out your entire stash and see what excites you. From there, you can Plan Your Make Nine, a workshop offered in the School of SweetGeorgia, using what you already have.
  • Sort your stash into bags or bins by fibre type (merino, superwash, handspun, etc.), yarn weight (lace, fingering, DK, etc.), weaving and tapestry yarns, scraps and leftovers, or even by yarn brand.
  • Keep works in progress (WIPs) nearby and easily accessible to make it easier to pick them up. This helps prevent them from becoming just another part of your stash (with needles in it.)
  • Categorize your yarn into “caked/used” and “full skeins.” Store skeins in cubbies as décor, while caked yarn goes into drawers for easy access.
  • Using a notes app on your phone to record which bins or bags hold specific yarns or fibre helps you keep track of what you have and makes it easier to find things, especially if you have a large stash.
Yarn clearly organized
With the yarn organized, it goes back into the bins, easy to access and clear to see.

More Resources

Here at SweetGeorgia, Felicia has shared a lot about stash and craft room organization over the years. Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper:

Felicia's Multicraftual craft room/Attic
Organizing a “Multicraftual” Craft Room // Episode 195 // Taking Back Friday 

Join the Conversation & Community

Are you sorting through your stash? Have you come up with your own stash organization you’d love to share? We are excited to hear about it! Join the conversation in the SweetGeorgia community, and let’s work through the SweetGeorgia Spring Stash-Down together!

We Invite You to Connect with Us:

  • In the School of SweetGeorgia Forums. Our vibrant community is there to support you, with instructors and fellow members ready to answer questions and share guidance.J
  • oin our SweetGeorgia Discord to chat about fibre arts, share projects, and explore further topics like sewing, 3D printing, and machine knitting.
  • Visit our SweetGeorgia Ravelry group, where we’ve been sharing yarn, fibre, patterns, and make-alongs since 2008.
  • Follow us on Instagram and our SweetGeorgia YouTube for inspiration, how-to videos, podcasts, and more!
  • Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest pattern releases, colourway announcements, and make-alongs; you never miss what’s going on!

However you choose to participate, we’re happy to have you in the SweetGeorgia community. Let’s get started on Spring Stash-Down together!

The post A Fresh Start in Stash Organization  appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.



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