Everyone always wants to know *why* I say not to knit with yarn when it’s all crumpled up like this. The answer is gauge. The wavy yarn will knit up at a different gauge than the straight stuff. The wavy yarn is more irregular, so it will just about always knit up more loosely (about a half stitch per inch difference on most yarns in my experience).

And if you use the wavy bit for a while, then switch to the straight bit for the rest of the project, that change in gauge will be locked into your fabric and will not block out when you’re done.  You can’t fix it after the fact.  The difference will be there FOREVER.

Plus, it’s annoying and tangly and I just find it to be a much less pleasant knitting experience.  But that bit’s subjective. Maybe knitting with wavy yarn doesn’t bug you. But having your gauge change in the middle of your project…even if you’re using two halves of the same skein of yarn, probably will.

So you toss it in the water, let it get super super super soaked (like leave it for a few hours or even overnight), then pick it up and let it drip dry. Once it’s dry, it’ll be good as new!