Hate Getting Yarn Burn?

By Rachel Choi – 20 Comments

Heart burn, rug burn…let’s talk about yarn burn! You know when you hold your yarn and it drapes over your finger when you crochet, sometimes you may get yarn burn. I’ve never got yarn burn before, but Ana (a Crochet Spot reader) told me if I or anyone else ever got yarn burn, you should make a finger cozy.

Here is what you do to make a yarn burn preventing finger cozy:

  1. Make a foundation chain that is long enough to wrap around your finger.
  2. Slip stitch into the first chain made, forming a loop.
  3. Single crochet around, until the cozy is the length you desire. You can either crochet in a spiral fashion or chain 1 before each round of single crochet.

According to Anna you should use about 1 skein of cross stitching floss. This way its not so big and bulky and your finger doesn’t feel like its on a diet.

Do you suffer from yarn burn??

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20 Comments

  1. Mich says:

    Hm, well I don’t really crochet like that. For me the yarn just hangs and I just quick loop it around with a finger. So, yeah, I don’t get yarn burns. Is that like how you are supposed to crochet?

    • Rachel says:

      There’s no right way to crochet Mich. As long as everything turns out the way you wanted it to, then I see no problem with it! Plus, if you’re not getting yarn burn that’s even better 🙂

  2. Erin Lea says:

    I only get yarn burn when I use my yarn ball winder, so I use the sleeve of my sweatshirt to hold the yarn. 🙂

  3. Wen says:

    i don;t get yarn burn but the hand that holds the hook will ache halfway through the project. And sometimes, I have to stop for a few days to rest my wrist 🙁

  4. Bananas says:

    Wen,
    I have the same problem, but I have RA, what I do-if its sore fingers- put grippers on the hooks.
    Then walmart has wrist braces 2 for $9.99. or if that doesn’t work Icyhot patches or asprincream.
    Hope this helps

  5. Karen says:

    Sometimes when I’m working with a rougher yarn – like Red Heart Super Saver, it makes my finger sore after awhile. A quicker suggestion I have is – use a band-aid where the yarn is wrapped around your finger.

  6. Darlene says:

    Well, I’ve only been crocheting for 56 years and have yet to get yarn burn. And it seems that using anything on your finger would inhibit the yarn from sliding and that would be a nuisance. As for the ache in the wrist, I have found if you switch grip on the hook styles (for me that is from a pencil grip to knife grip) it helps and you don’t have to stop. I know it is awkward at first but I just kept at it and now I can switch back and forth with no problem.

  7. Elizabeth says:

    I get yarn burn, but it’s from the speed I crochet and the quality of yarn. I figure it comes with the territory and look at it as a badge of honor. 🙂

  8. Joanna says:

    I’ve been crocheting for over 35 years and I have always had to put a band-aid on my finger because no matter what I work with I get yarn burn. I’ve also covered the handles of my hooks with polymer clay to ease the strain on my hand.

  9. Beth Ham says:

    Funny this should appear on a blog this morning! I just made an open ended finger-stall out of crochet cotton last night to ward off yarn burn. I thought I was being clever with a grand new idea. I guess there is nothing new under the sun! LOL! (Finger stalls are finger covers that look like little bitty condoms.) My dad used finger stalls working in a machine shop to protect his fingers. My mother borrowed them when pinning sewing patterns.

  10. Lila says:

    I used to get yarn burn, when i was a kid, but that because i held the yarn so darn tight! I have since learned that the yarn will not escape my nimble fingers and I don’t get yarn burn anymore XD !

  11. Barbara Penn says:

    Suggestion for those who get crochet fatigue: before you start (or even after you get the fatigue), do some hand exercises. I learned this in sign language class; the first thing we did was this exercise:

    put your hands in front of your chest

    clench both hands into a fist

    without moving the arms away from your chest, open your hand suddenly & vigorously (as if trying to flip something yucky off all five fingers at once)

    do this over and over until the hands feel nice & warmed up

    P.S.–I agree that changing hook position occasionally will help too.
    All these suggestions will work for knitters as well.

  12. Heather says:

    I havent experienced yarn burn but I do get blisters/caluses on my finger from my hook… I use fabric tape…kind used in hospitals or by athletes to wrap my finger. I also have aching in my hands from holding a psotion for too long but the crafting gloves and had exercises help with that.

  13. Jessica L says:

    I totally get yarn burn all the time! I think it’s because i always pull the yarn too tight to get my tension right. Oh well, now I have an excuse to use some embroidery floss to crochet. 🙂 They’ll go marvelously with fingerless gloves…

  14. Hezaaa says:

    Ive never gotten yarn burn but my hands do get achey after working on a project for a while. I think that I may invest in a pair of gloves or… something within the next few weeks. I agree that switching hand positions really helps but when working for long periods of time sometimes that just not enough.

    -Happy stitching!

  15. Melissa says:

    I found that holding the hook knife-style as opposed to pencil-style does not cause as much fatigue in your hand. My wrists will occasionally get sore, but for the most part, I can crochet for hours without any issues. 🙂 Although, I did have to teach myself to loosen up a bit on the tension. I was a very tight crocheter….that would cause more strain than anything else.

  16. Bookworm says:

    I know what you mean Melissa. I’m a really tight crocheter myself and I’d find that, especially doing amigurumi, that I could only do it for a short time and then I’d be in so much pain that I couldn’t get myself to go back to the project again for a few days. I also had a callous that was growing on my thumb from forcing the hook through the stitches. I’ve had to force myself to loosen up, though I could probably still use a bit of work on that.

  17. Giggles says:

    I get ayrn burn all the time I call it crochet finger cause I get an indent too, just the other day i used packing tape around my finger and that worked perfectly for me scotch tape too but the shiny kind

  18. Elizabeth Shontz says:

    I often get yarn burn! Usually when I crochet with thread, and I crochet tightly for the tension. Years ago I started using a “yarn guide” (made by Clover). I cut off the top that flips closed. I’ve used most of the other solutions, but I prefer the yarn guide.

    To help with the hand fatigue (I have arthritis), I get the cushions that are available, but to save money, I covered my crochet hooks (especially the smaller ones) with a “handle” I made with Paper Clay. It’s lighter than other clay, and I could shape it to my hand.

    Oh, if you use the cushions, sometimes it’s a bit difficult to get the hook into it, not sure where I got this, but if you put a very small drop of liquid soap on the opening then insert the hook, it goes in a lot easier.

  19. Z.z says:

    I started knitting around two weeks ago and got yarn burn! It’s a dark purple across my pointer finger and a bit on my ring finger (the yarn goes under my pinky, over the ring, under the middle, and over my pointer.) It doesn’t really hurt but the discoloration freaked me out mildly. I’m glad these comments are here with this great advice! I’ll definitely get some sort of finger glove!

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