Hands up who has a yarn stash.  It's a law, isn't it?  If you knit or crochet you have to have a stash?  Here's a nifty wee tool to help you work out the gauge of your odd balls of yarn.  Wrap the yarn round the centre section, do it with purpose but don't pull it tight.  The number of wraps you fit into the gap tells you the gauge.  The grooves are a cheat - lie the yarn along the groove to see which one it fits best.   
 
In the photos I fitted 10 wraps per inch, which is an Aran weight, and you can see the yarn fits in the Aran groove.  
 
Of course every yarn lover will always want to do a 10x10cm swatch to check their tension (....unless you're like me and you're usually too impatient to get on with the fun part!) but this tool gives you a great starting point on the needles or hook size you'll need.
 
By the way, I like to point out that my yarn stash is excellent insulation so it must reduce my heating bills.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
If you're buying from outside the UK - please buy through Etsy to have the correct tax applied. This should save you paying any local handling charge in addition to any tax.
 
Designed by Jen Hogg and made in small batches in Scotland.