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While you can invest in plastic containers for crafts which are perfect for storing beads, scrapbooking supplies and other small odds and ends, there are some special-purpose containers which you are unlikely to find at a store. For example, maybe you enjoy projects which involve working with yarn. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you had a form of plastic storage for crafts which could dispense yarn without you having to open the container to grab it?

That is actually something you can create! And it isn’t difficult at all. You can get started just by purchasing a clear plastic bin with a lid and making some simple modifications to it.

How fast and easy is this project? Well, here are the steps:

1. Select a bin that has the right dimensions to store your yarn. Assuming your yarn is in oblong bundles as it is generally sold at the store, the bin needs to be at least as tall as the bundles of yarn are long. This is because you will stand up the yarn bundles inside the bin and pack them all together. As to how wide the other dimensions should be, that depends on how many bundles of yarn you want to store inside.

2. Heat up the point of a knife or a drill bit, and use it to punch a bunch of holes in the lid of the bin. Do this at intervals so that you will have one hole for every bundle of yarn you are storing inside.

3. Now, pull out the end of each bundle of yarn. Set each bundle inside vertically, and pull the ends of the strands up through the holes so that they emerge on the top side of the lid. Ideally, the bundles should have a little wiggle room, but not be packed so loosely they fall over.

4. Close the lid of the bin securely.

You now have all of your yarn bundles stored neatly. You do not even need to open the bin to pull them out. You just tug gently on the yarn through the top, and then cut it when you have enough. Each bundle should remain tidy and organized, and nothing will get knotted together. This is the height of convenience.

I do recommend that if you do this project, you go with a clear plastic tote with a lid as opposed to one in an opaque color. Why? Well, even though you can see the colors of the yarn strands on top of the lid, some of your yarn may be multicolored. That means you may have a hard time identifying the strands unless you can glance through the side of the bin and see the bundles in their entirety.

You now know a clever way you can make use of a standard plastic bin in your craft room. With a small alteration that only takes a few minutes to perform, you can turn it into a functional yarn dispenser. This will keep your craft room tidy and facilitate your knitting projects!