Unwinding/preparing yarn hanks
Yarn sometimes comes in strange tangled “braids” called “hanks”. Apparently, this is just how yarn is produced, so for smaller merchants this is easier and cheaper to sell as-is. From use perspective, reportedly this needs to be converted to a ball, or a “cake”, before knitting, otherwise it will result in knots etc.
The following is written up as notes to myself; I’m happy if they’ll be also useful to others, but cannot guarantee they’ll be super instructive.
Step 1: First thing to do is to remove the “name label/tag”, a piece of paper with the name of the yarn. Usually, the label should be tied with a completely separate loop of yarn. It may look the same as the main yarn, but after following the strand of the loop for a while, a knot should be possible to find, so that it can be cut off and removed with the label.
Step 2: Now, it should be possible to gradually “untie/unbraid” the hank into a big loop/circle. Alternatively, this should be possible to do even before “Step 1”.
Step 3: In the big loop/circle, more small loops of knotted yarn should be possible to find. They all need to be removed. Attention: One of the “loops” will be the “main loop” of the main yarn. Do not remove it yet. (But nothing too bad happens if you do.)
Step 4: “Hang” the big circle of the hank over something, like the back of a chair. “Traditionally” this can be done around the knees when sitting, but I did it once and it started being tiresome after a short while, especially due to the somewhat curled position.
Step 5: Ideally, now undo/cut the small “main loop” where the ends of the actual yarn are tied.
Step 6: Try to find the one of the two ends of the yarn that will untie smoothly around the “big circle”. I find this step repeatedly frustrating and oftentimes lose hope it’s possible to do without making a tangled mess, repeatedly. But seemed to eventually be able to find the way. (The result will quite probably not feel obvious for a while.)
Step 7: Take a piece of pipe or something like this; possibly the cardboard pipe from a roll of toilet paper or of paper towels (or something of roughly similar diameter and length). Cut a small dent in one end if possible, for affixing an end of the yarn. Or find another way to temporarily affix the end of the yarn.
Step 8: Away from the affixed end of the yarn, make a few circles of the yarn around the pipe, each parallel to the previous one. More or less 10 of them.
Step 9: Start wrapping the rest of the yarn “diagonally” across the parallel initial circles on the pipe. Also slowly rotate the pipe while making the diagonal wraps. Continue until the whole yarn is wrapped into a “cake”. Un-affix the initial end of yarn from the pipe. Slide the finished “cake” off the pipe. The initially affixed end of the yarn should now allow pulling the yarn from inside of the “cake”.
Note: During step 9, try to “walk the big circle” with the yarn. This will often make it much easier to not get it tangled.
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