When is yarn too old?

If the stash is that huge, maybe you could select some skeins of different fibers, and seal each one up separately in an air-tight container (e.g., a ziplock bag) and see if anything is crawling around inside after a week. After that, you might check the yarn to see if moth larvae have been there and left (damage most likely on the outer layers of the skein I would think)--very frustrating to start to knit with something, and then discover that the yarn breaks every 10 feet or so, because it has moth holes in it!

Georgia

Age alone should not be a problem. Yarn that has been knitted into sweaters has lasted 40 years and more, yarn that was knitted in the twelfth century and buried for centuries was still (mostly) yarn in the 21st century... if it's wool and seems dry and fragile, steam it - the moisture will strengthen it again.

Fortunately the Ziploc people are making absolutely huge Ziploc backs now, so you can bag up the entire stash and then work on one bagful at a time, or even one skein, transferring one at a time into a smaller Ziploc bag. Or you could get a large supply of the gallon-sized bags and bag the entire stash separately to begin with. But if you have limited time to get the stash out of the locker, the big Ziploc bags are the way to go - you can just load the yarn directly into them and use the bags to carry them home.

The freezer/microwave method seems pretty secure. Freeze the yarn for several days, thaw it (in a sealed bag) for three days to trick any eggs into hatching, then microwave each skein separately for

10 seconds. You can then repeat the cycle if you want to. (The Yarn Harlot repeats the cycle three times; she also unballs the yarn into skeins and vacuums them.)

I've used freeze/microwave to treat yarn I bought at the thrift shop just to be sure, and then kept it in the Ziploc bag anyway, for added security. I have clear plastic boxes (Sterilite, mostly) that hold those slippery Ziploc bags and stack neatly. I have the stash pretty well sorted by type - a box for sock yarns, a box or two for worsted weight, and so on.

=Tamar

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Yes ...

Oh, never thought about that, thanks.

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Never thought about microwaving either. Mind you, I've only had a microwave for a few weeks :-)

Thanks for that idea too.I've frozen yarn and fleece and it works but the microwave could be a double security.

Mary

Brilliant! I had never considered "nuking" the critters, if any there be. However, as one who tried to dry socks in a microwave once, TEST a scrap first or you will wind up with a "poly-puddle!" This was decades ago, before the microwaves became so programmable, and they were cheap socks but still it was amazing to watch them melt. Ah, simpler times, when the world was not so jaded and watching a battle of technologies - microwave vs machine knit socks - still had the power to enthrall.

Oh, speaking of microwaves and unconventional uses for them, my grandmother would always pre-treat (for color-fastness and shrinkage) her seam binding tapes by leaving them on the card, bending the card and soaking it briefly in hot water and vinegar and let them dry. I could never figure out why she wanted a microwave when she really didn't need one until I saw her putting the wet cards into the microwave and dry them that way. She said it managed both color and shrinking much better than her way. Old dogs not only learn new tricks but can teach them, too, to paraphrase her.

Now I can bug-proof my yarn and remember my grandmother and her "radar range," as they were known then. I spent over $1,000 (they were costly) but I gained $millions in memories for myself and my grandchildren when we do "spiny projects" that require a microwave. While we watch the yarn going around and around, I will have you to thank for turning a chore into a pleasure!

Many thanks for this idea! Keep 'em comin' because this "old dog" loves "new tricks"

Oleta

Oops! :-) With the digital settings on modern microwaves, it's easy to set it for 10 seconds. I've done lots of acrylic (there are other bugs besides wool-eaters) and it's always been fine at 10 seconds. If I'm nervous I do 5 seconds twice.

I always wondered what those were! I didn't have a microwave until some time in the late 1980s when I got a brand new one at a yard sale. I wouldn't voluntarily live without one now, if only because of the major safety feature - if I get distracted or forget something is cooking, it turns itself off instead of burning or boiling dry.

=Tamar

I'd be careful with the microwave.

I'm sure it's fairly safe for organic materials, but synthetics could cause a fire.

Reminds me of a story I heard about a lady who heard she could combat a yeast infection in her panties by zapping them in the microwave (in addition to medical treatments, blah blah...

She did it with a nylon pair and set the house on fire. Worst part was explaining it to the fire department!

Lately i knitted up some wool that was in my bags for 27 [ twenty seven ] years , i didn`t do any freezing of warming ,,, i just sat by the evening new and re-rolled every ball ,,, They were all ok and i made a nice shawl +bag from it ,,, mirjam

The freezing and warming etc is to kill bugs in yarn that has been poorly kept. You keep your yarn well. Well kept yarn doesn't need that treatment, though it may be dry and need steaming.

=Tamar

OTOH, although polyesters and nylons are indestructible except by burning or other great heat, natural fibres may rot if they are left for a long time in a moist or humid environment. I would be inclined to give a good tug on each one before I went to the trouble of treating it for possible bugs.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

** Posted from **

Most my wool [ real ] are factory treated against the Baddies,,,, [ shhhh names aren`t allowed] I keep them on open shelves in the room, in plastic bags that are not closed. Twice a year i go through my TREASURES ,,,, shake the dust of the bags , remoove the balls out and in ,,,, etc,,, Rearrange bags that have `lost` content for projects. our temprature yesterday was

38 celius. We have dry and humid days one after the other , thus it is probably a good weather , to keep wools . Ps i fill my bag s with nice bars of soaps , if it doesn`t help it wouldn`t harm ,,, mirjam

I get it. My mother once had some cotton flannel that had weakened with age so that the first time it was used it tore. Very disappointing.

I guess with the yarn it would depend on the circumstances, and the yarn.

If I were the one doing it - If I had to haul a large amount of dubious yarn into the house all at once because of closing out a storage locker, I'd want it securely bagged. Then I'd take one skein out at a time and at least microwave it for 5 seconds before trying to test it any other way, so as to prevent anything able to move from escaping into the house.

On the other hand, if the locker wasn't being closed out and it was just a matter of rescuing the yarn, and I had the time to stand in the storage locker yanking on yarn a skein at a time, sure, it would save on bags and freezer space and electricity to test it there first. Still, some yarn is naturally delicate, for instance, laceweight, and unspun Lopi wheels. They would still have to be "cleaned" before the test of rewinding.

=Tamar

Ahhh, but it does help. Moths which invade wool are blind. Anything that masks the smell of your wool prevents them from munching on it. Before chemical moth deterrents, lavender and spices were used to prevent destruction of clothing. DA

On Apr 15, 3:29=A0pm, "DA"