Store Singles on Chopsticks

I love chopsticks. Have for years and I’ve got quite the collection now. I have chopsticks made of wood, plastic, metal, and ceramic. I have lacquered chopsticks, orange chopsticks, and red chopsticks. The collection has chopsticks that say Happy Birthday, that are inlayed with Mother of Pearl, and others that are decorated with ukiyo-e samurai. I took a selection of these off to college with me. Based on the look on my roommate’s face, you’d think eating fruit cups with chopsticks was weird or something. Also part of the collection are several sets of plain, black chopsticks. They sat in the silverware drawer for years and I always picked more decorative pairs instead. Well, I found a much better use for those plain jane chopsticks: storing singles.

A chopstick and the shaft of a spindle aren’t that different. The two share similar and compatible lengths and diameters. Both have been sanded, perhaps finished with paint or stain, and are smooth to the touch. A finished cop - the mass of single wrapped around the shaft - slides easily without snags or tangles along both. A chopstick is more durable than a straw and can even be used as part of an improvised lazy kate. As a bonus, chopsticks are fairly cheap and come in a range of styles so you can afford to pair up all your spindles with a few sets.

To transfer, all you have to do is slide the cop off the spindle and on to the chopstick. If the spindle has a tapered shaft, slide the cop onto a straw first and then the chopstick so that the diameters match. With the chopstick full of proto-yarn, the spindle is free and clear for more spinning.