Overview

I wanted to print a simple yarn bowl as a Christmas present for a family member who loves knitting and crocheting, but found existing designs were based on carved wooden bowls not optimized for the 3D printing process.

As a result I created this design which uses overlapping bowl walls to hold the yarn in place instead of the spirals which are common in other designs. It has turned out to be very easy to use and popular with the knitting/crocheting community.

This design is easier to make because:

• No support material is required (no overhang exceeds ~50 degrees to the vertical).

• It is a single part with the base integrated rather than a separate part as with some other designs.

• Reduced post-processing is required, primarily due to absence of support material.

• Recesses for weights to be added are included in the bottom. These are 20mm in diameter and will fit washers, nuts and low value coins which can be easily glued in place.

This part was originally published on Thingiverse in Dec 2024 by me here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6883047 .

Enjoy!

Print Settings

Some slicers will automatically generate support material whenever there is an overhang greater than 45 degrees. This is a conservative threshold and in reality most printers (and most materials) are capable of at least 50 degrees with some getting to 57 degrees depending on geometry. You will need to disable support material generation for best results with this part.

Adding Weight and Coverings to the Base

The recesses in the base can be filled with whatever mass you have lying around. I used spare hardware and low value coins that I had no use for, and glued them in place with gorilla glue. To conceal this I glued black card paper and then black felt to the base which produced a nice end result.

Change Log

Dec 2025: v2 bowl introduced replacing the original. v2 incorporates a wider base and associated reduction in overhang angle to reduce the risk of poor surface finish near the base (I was seeing this on some of my own prints in certain materials).