Center-Pull Yarn Ball Holder Knitting Pattern

This yarn ball holder knitting pattern is perfect for holding center-pull balls while you knit. It’s made with a Sentro 22-pin circular knitting machine, but you could make the same thing by hand if you’d rather.

Why Use a Yarn Ball Holder?

Using a center-pull ball is the preference for a lot of knitters and crocheters, as it can allow the yarn to flow more smoothly, meaning you are pulling on it less so your project goes faster.

But center-pull balls also lose structural integrity as you work, causing them to fall in on themselves and potentially making a mess.

Using a yarn ball holder helps the yarn ball keep its shape, and it keeps it clean and protected from pets and little fingers, if those are problems in your house.

Best of all, making a yarn ball holder knitting pattern on the knitting machine literally just takes a few minutes and you can use an odd ball to make it.

Supplies for Knit Yarn Ball Holder

For this yarn ball holder knitting pattern, I made two samples, both with worsted weighty/medium/size 4 yarn. The brighter green one is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes worsted, and I think the darker one is Lion Brand Wool Ease worsted. The bright one is slightly smaller so it used 10 grams of yarn, and the other one used 11 grams. That’s about 22 to 25 yards.

You’ll also need a 22-pin or so circular knitting machine. Mine is the Sentro that looks like a bunny.

You’ll also need a pair of scissors and a yarn needle.

New to the knitting machine? Check out these great knitting machine projects for beginners.

Yarn Ball Holder Knitting Pattern

Cast on with the yarn you want to use, leaving a tail that goes down to the table inside your machine. To cast on you go in front of the first hook and behind the second repeating around.

Crank out 25 or 30 rounds. The bright one I was using a leftover ball and it actually came out to 27 rounds, and the darker one is 30.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread onto your yarn needle and crank around one more time, picking up the stitches and sliding them onto the yarn tail.

Pull tight and run the needle through the stitches again to close up the hole a bit more.

Take the needle through the hole to the inside of the yarn ball holder and weave in the end.

At the top, you’ll just want to weave in the yarn end on the inside of the holder. Make sure you’re not pulling the stitches tight because you need this to open as widely as it can.

Using Your Yarn Ball Holder

To use the knit yarn ball holder, just stretch it out so it’s hugging your yarn ball. Pull from the center of the yarn ball at the top of the holder and knit as usual.

You can even use this when you’ve been working from a yarn ball for a while and it’s falling apart. Just gather the yarn ball up and slide it into the holder. You’ll be able to knit as normal without the yarn getting messy.

This yarn ball holder knitting pattern is so easy to make and good to use, you’ll probably find yourself making a bunch of them if you like to work with center-pull balls.

Hand-Knit Yarn Ball Holder

I’m sure at some point I’ll do a different pattern for a hand knit yarn ball holder knitting pattern, because ribbing would give you more stretch than stockinette stitch, but if you want to try it by hand, use needles a size or two bigger than you normally would for the yarn you want to use.

Cast on 22 and work in the round for about 5 inches/12.7 cm. Cut yarn, leaving a long tail and finish as the knitting machine version above.