Balls of yarn

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Overview

Gallery

The balls of yarn are characters that appear primarily in the Garfield comic strip.

As a cat, Garfield occasionally plays with yarn, though the way he plays with them varies. At times he does the normal batting and others he whacks them with a mallet. Sometimes, Jon gives him a ball of yarn, which leaves Garfield confused as to what to do with it.

Sometimes, Garfield will play with the yarn, which results in kooky antics ranging from getting tangled up in it to batting it so much he makes clothes like a hat, and socks.

Throughout the '80s and '90s, balls of yarn were rarely sentient. However, after the turn of the millennium, they began to communicate with Garfield through thought, and even bounce after him, sometimes resulting in week-long series (especially in the early 2000's) They often talk like casual friends and the yarn sometimes complain about Garfield not playing with them regularly or about their boring lifestyle.

Other characters have played with yarn as well. During the early years, Nermal played with balls of yarn, which he saw as a cute thing to do. Odie has also interacted with yarn, but this is very rare.

Trivia[]

Garfield and Yarn[]

Of all the characters to interact with yarn, Garfield does it the most. He tends to play with yarn in a variety of ways, but also sit and chat with each other.

Casual Conversation[]

Garfield and the yarn talk like friends on occasion.

6/23/2003; A ball of yarn wants to play. Garfield declines. The yarn returns wearing a party hat.
6/24/2003; The ball complains that Garfield never bats it. Garfield threats to throw it in the dryer.
6/25/2003; The yarn tries having fun by itself. Garfield calls it pathetic.
6/27/2003; A ball bounces after Garfield, but when trying to show Jon, the ball of yarn acts normal.
6/28/2003; Garfield tells Jon that the ball of yarn is driving him crazy. Jon does not understand and tells him to play with the ball of yarn, much to Garfield's chagrin.
1/26/2004; Garfield asks a ball of yarn to entertain him. The ball of yarn says that sitting somewhere doing nothing is what it does. Garfield replies with, "Not even a little time step?"
1/27/2004; A ball of yarn leads a trail on the table. Garfield asks where it is going, and it replies, "Who, me?"
1/28/2004; Yarn complains that Garfield never takes it anywhere. Garfield bats it off the table, and the yarn is impressed by the floor, annoying Garfield.
1/31/2004; Garfield asks a ball of yarn what it's one wish would be. The yarn wants to be the biggest sweater in the world. When Garfield asks who it would be for, the yarn replies, "You, lard-bottom." Garfield asked for that.
8/24/2004; A spider greets Garfield, and is told go go away. When a ball of yarn dangles next to him, Garfield realizes he can not win.
8/26/2004; A tiny ball of yarn bounces past Garfield. The yarn was in the hot tub.
8/27/2004; Garfield walks past a ball of fluff. He tells it to use conditioner after it shampoos, and the yarn does not want to hear it.
2/1/2007; Garfield asks a string where his ball of yarn is. The string replies, "You mean dad?", catching Garfield by surprise.
7/30/2007; A yarn sneezes next to Garfield. The cat replies, "Gesundheit."
8/2/2007; A cube of yarn asks Garfield if he notices something different about it. When Garfield asks for a hint, the cube cries as it has an identity crisis.
6/27/2008; Garfield does not feel like batting a ball of yarn, so it recommends a little macrame.
4/1/2009; A ball of yarn says it is cool. Garfield does not believe it, but is disproven when the yarn wears shades.
2/3/2010; A ball of yarn has a headache. Garfield asks the obvious question: "You have a head?" The ball of yarn does not want to think.
3/17/2011; The yarn says it is chilly and asks to be knit into a sweater. It laughs at its joke, but Garfield is not amused.
9/12/2011; Garfield and the yarn watch a history of yarn on TV. Garfield thinks it is boring, but the yarn is intrigued.
9/13/2011; Garfield plays Go Fish with the yarn, causing Jon to stop in his tracks.
9/15/2011; Garfield refuses to bat a ball of yarn that is bigger than he is. The yarn assumes that Garfield thinks it is fat.
12/1/2013; A ball of yarn, frustrated because Garfield will not play with it, returns to its mother, a sheep.

What Do I Do with This?[]

Sometimes, Garfield does not know what to do with yarn.

5/5/1993; Jon gives Garfield a ball of yarn. When Garfield does nothing with it, Jon tells him that he chases it. Garfield wonders what his motivation is.
1/17/1998; Jon finds it amazing that cats think balls of yarn are fun. Garfield--who stares at it--agrees with him.
5/5/1998; Garfield asks his college intern Biff what he does with a ball of yarn. Biff replies that he should knit a sweater and sell it to buy food, which is the correct answer.
10/3/2000; Jon gives Garfield a second ball of yarn. Garfield sarcastically replies, "Twice the fun."
5/9/2001; Jon asks Garfield if he wants to have fun. Garfield declines, but Jon holds up a ball of yarn for him. Garfield just leaves.
8/17/2002; Garfield looks at an unwound ball of yarn that Jon gave him for his birthday--despite it being two months ago. "Some assembly required."
7/6/2023 Jon shows Garfield the new ball of yarn he got him, but Garfield needs to check his schedule. He notes that he will be aloof for much of the day, but around 4:00, he will be playful.

Garfield, a Real Bat-man Cat[]

Garfield plays with yarn the typical way: by batting it.

1/19/2001; Garfield bats a ball of yarn with his arms and legs. The yarn ball wishes he was a sweater, like its parents wanted it too.
11/19/2002; When a yarn mourns that its life has no meaning, Garfield bats it, prompting to to take it back.
1/29/2004; Garfield bats some yarn, much to its excitement. The cat thinks that everything is relative.
8/23/2004; The yarn says that Garfield is late. He bats it, and it falls on the floor and criticizes his follow-through.
8/24/2004; Garfield bats the yarn onto the floor. The yarn sends him a postcard.
10/22/2005; Garfield tries to bat a ball of yarn, but hurts his paw instead because the yarn had a big lunch.
1/14/2007; Garfield bats a ball of yarn, and it winds itself back up. Garfield explains that he invented "yo-yo yarn".
7/31/2007; When a ball of yarn complains that its life has no meaning, Garfield bats it, which is his answer to everything, much to the yarn's frustration.
8/1/2007; Garfield bats his yarn into Jon's bowl of cereal. "Fore!"
8/3/2007; The yarn wants to do something, so Garfield bats it. It then recommends doing something that it wants to do.
6/3/2008; Larry, an intern, gets whacked by Garfield. The cat then wishes the bigger ball of yarn to leave.
9/14/2011; While Jon yawns, Garfield bats a ball of yawn. It winds up in Jon's open mouth.

All Wrapped Up[]

Garfield has found himself stuck in yarn, much to his dismay.

7/27/1989; Seeing Nermal play with yarn, Garfield tries to do the same thing with a ball that fits his size. He ends up getting tied up in the yarn so much that only his hands and feet stick out of it. He has not gotten the hang of it yet.
8/1/1994; Garfield pokes a ball of yarn, and gets tangled up in it almost instantly. He would remain there for the remainder of the week.
8/2/1994 - 8/4/1994; Garfield remains stuck in the ball for a few days. He sees his life flash before his eyes, and it looks like a fast food commercial.
8/5/1994; Furious after staying in the ball for four days, he kicks, fights, and struggles to get free. This only gets him even more wound up, so much so that only his ears, tail, and feet poke out from the ball.

Unorthodox Methods of Playing[]

Garfield at times does not play with yarn in the normal sense.

7/31/1990; After giving Garfield a ball of yarn to play with, the cat plays checkers with it.
3/16/1996; Garfield pounds a ball of yarn with a giant wooden mallet.
9/13/2011; Garfield plays Go Fish with the yarn. Jon, who is walking by, stops in surprise.

The Unraveling[]

Garfield has unwound clothes to make balls of yarn, unbeknownst to Jon. Sometimes balls of yarn are just unwound, which Garfield notices.

4/3/1991; Garfield hands Jon a ball of yarn. Jon remarks that he has a sweater that exact same shade, and Garfield replies, "Not anymore."
8/17/2002; Garfield looks at an unwound ball of yarn that Jon gave him for his birthday--despite it being two months ago. "Some assembly required."
11/16/2002; An unraveled line of yarn extends behind Garfield, who took the ball of yarn for a walk.
1/30/2004; Garfield stares at a loose ball of yarn. Garfield quips that it let itself go, and the yarn laughs sarcastically.

Family and Friends[]

Sometimes the ball tells of its family and friends that it used to know.

11/21/2001; A ball of yarn recognizes Jon's sweater, saying it went to High School with it.
6/26/2003; The yarn says that dad was a sock, mom was a scarf, and its sister got eaten by a wolf.
8/25/2004; The yarn hangs with its cousin: a spool of thread. Garfield sees the resemblance.
2/22/2007; Garfield bats a tiny ball of yarn into a bigger one. "That's my boy!" the big one says to its son.
11/11/2007; Garfield bats a father-son duo for "Take-Your-Son-to-Work Day".

Nermal and Yarn[]

Nermal used to play with yarn a lot during the 1980s. He saw it as cute, but Garfield does not.

6/22/1982; Garfield swipes a ball of yarn from Nermal, throws it over his shoulder, and then does the same thing to Nermal, failing to see what is so cute about yarn or kittens.
2/8/1983; Nermal rests his paws on a ball of yarn while he and Garfield talk about how Nermal's a midget who never grows up.
2/9/1983; Nermal gives Garfield advice on how to be cute. He tells him to play with a ball of yarn, and points out a very large ball of yarn for Garfield to play with.
10/25/1985; Garfield decides to give Nermal his own ball of yarn to play with. He then throws a yarn ball about twice Nermal's size at him from behind.
8/18/1987; Garfield tells Nermal that the former's uncle used to play with yarn and now is a pattern in a sweater. Nermal thinks Garfield is ruining the fun, but Garfield asks him if he should risk it.
7/27/1989; Seeing Nermal play with yarn, Garfield tries to do the same thing with a much bigger ball. He ends up getting tied up in the yarn so much that only his hands and feet stick out of it. He acknowledges that has not gotten the hang of it yet.

Odie and Yarn[]

Odie rarely plays with yarn, but he has done so a handful of times.

8/6/1994; During the week-long storyline of Garfield getting stuck in yarn, Odie stands next to him and looks at the trapped cat, with only the feline's eyes, nose, and feet sticking out of the yarn. Odie pokes him, tips him upside-down, and grins a big, satisfying grin. Garfield vows revenge.
8/28/2004; Odie comes across a ball of yarn. He sniff it, but is quite confused. Garfield explains, "Dogs don't understand balls of yarn."
8/4/2007; Odie bats the ball of yarn, and it is immediately interrogated by Garfield.