When is a skein not a skein? A chance conversation with an online pal lead to a very confusing "crossed wires" situation.
I'd shared some advice for new knitters (in my last post) about not trying to knit direct from a skein but to wind it first.

She responded that she always knits direct from the skein. And I wondered how on earth she ever left the house.

I turns out that we were talking about 2 completely different things. To me, a skein (let's not get into pronunciation 😂) is a tightly twisted length of yarn as in the picture.

But to my friend, this is a hank. She refers to the kind of fat ball (swipe left) that sits neatly on a shelf as a skein - hence the confusion.

Partly it might be a geographical thing I guess. I've only ever heard hank refer to rope - or embroidery thread.

But it was a timely lesson to remember, especially for newer knitters, to always be clear exactly what you are referring to. And not to assume anything.

So what would you call this?
Skein or hank? Let me know in the comments