Yarn Bottle Jar Container Holder

I've seen plastic containers at fabric and craft stores that hold yarn.  They keep the yarn in place, clean and from getting tangled while working on something.  They are around $10.00.  I was looking at some one day when I remembered a plastic pickle jar that I'd kept after it was empty for a project that never happened.  Mostly, because I forgot about it!  So, I decided to make my own.  Hubby also found a plastic jar that originally held beef jerky so it got turned into one as well.

Plastic really works better for this than glass.  For one thing, it weighs much less than glass.  Also, glass breaks!  Most lids on glass bottles are metal, plastic bottles usually have plastic lids and that works better because they need a hole drilled in them.

Obviously, any jar you use will need to be clean!  I washed this one twice with warm, soapy water.  The label came off during the washing process and the adhesive was easy to remove while washing.  Some labels might need a little work to get them off; same thing for the adhesive.  Or you can leave the label on if you don't want to deal with removing it.

Hubby drilled the hold in the lid, 1/2" diameter and centered.  I measured the size of the hole in the lid of the bottles at the craft store and they were 1/2".  I don't think that it would work if it were any smaller and most yarn seems to be less than 1/2".

The edges of the hole need to be smoothed, He used a piece of fine grit sandpaper and a wooden dowel to get the edges smooth.

This is the beef jerky jar.  The label is still on it so it's turned to the side for the picture.  The yarn can be left in the skein if it came in one, or it can be rolled into balls.  Skein size varies as well as the yarn gauge itself.  This yarn happens to be mink yarn which is a pretty small gauge.  I put all three yarn balls in the jar to keep them from getting lost.

The yarn strand is inserted through the hole from the jar side.  

I also put the magazine with the pattern I'm using in the jar.  If it was a pattern on a single piece of paper or two, it can be folded and put in the bottle as well.  Also, you might want to put the hook you are using in the bottle as well so that it doesn't get lost either!