What is a yarn bowl?

Yarn bowls (which may also be called a knitting bowl or wool bowl) are a fantastic product for knitters and crocheters, and they come in a huge range of sizes, styles and materials. The main purpose of a yarn bowl is that it keeps your ball of yarn in place. When you're busy knitting or crocheting, as you pull on your yarn it's easy for your balls to roll off or get tangled, gathering dust on the floor, finding it's way under the sofa, somehow wrapping itself around table legs... or worse - becoming a play toy for your cats!


How does a yarn bowl work?

Yarn bowls normally have a curved cut into them which makes them different to regular bowls, and this is where your yarn is threaded through. As you pull on the yarn as you work, the yarn will come through this cut but the ball will stay neatly in the yarn bowl (often spinning around inside the bowl). Some bowls also come with handy holes for your needles or hooks too.


Why should I use a yarn bowl?

As well as keeping your yarn in one place, another advantage of using a yarn bowl is when you are using two yarns together, as these can easily become entangled with each other - but storing one (or both) in a yarn bowl means you'll cut down on those nasty tangles!
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They make fantastic gifts for the crocheter or knitter in your life, or just as a well-deserved treat for yourself. One of the main things we love about yarn bowls is that there are a huge range of independent makers that produce them, from ceramicists to woodturners, so buying a yarn bowl is a great way of supporting small artisan makers. We've tried to include a range of yarn bowls at different prices in this list, but remember that a lot of these products are handmade unique items created by skilled crafts people, so it's worth the investment for something so special.

How big is a yarn bowl?

It's important to look closely at the dimensions when choosing the best yarn bowl for you as they come in all sorts of different sizes. As a general rule your average yarn bowl will measure around 5 - 7 inches in diameter, which is normally big enough for most knitter and crocheters (as an example, it should fit an average sized yarn cake, a couple of 50g balls of cotton yarn, or a skein wound into a ball). If you're fan of using particularly big balls of yarn (for example, a 100g ball of dk yarn or bigger) or multiple balls at the same time, then you may want to look into getting a larger bowl as they may not fit in smaller bowls.


If you're looking for more help with your knitting and crochet accessory purchases, we've got loads of handy articles to help you make the best decision. Find out which are the best crochet hooks or best knitting needles to buy, or take a look at our gifts for knitters and gifts for crocheters articles. You can also find our list of the best stitch markers for knitting and crochet, or check out some of the best yarn packs and yarn bundles!
20 of the Best Yarn Bowls for Knitting & Crochet