Ball Winder

[Lov2Crochet]

What is your favorite yarn winder for making center pull balls?

[Cathoms]

I have a Royal and it works great. Purchased it from the Joann website with a coupon. Next I have to purchase a swift so my husband doesn't have to run away every time he sees me with new yarn.

[heart]

I have a Royal too. Love it!

[nevam]

I also have a Royal, bought with a Joann coupon. I like it very much.

[RoseRed]

That's the one that I have. 40% off coupon and free shipping.

[losingmymind2]

That's the one I have, and I love it! It makes a nice size cake for easy storage.

[LeslieG]

How big a cake will this one make??? I have one now that works well, but, it will only wind about 3 or 4 oz. before I have trouble. I'm thinking of getting one that will wind more so I don't have to have so many ends.

 

Does anyone here have any suggestions.

[Sockmad]

I too have a Royal and can get an entire Simply Soft skein on there with no problem. However if you REALLY want to save money I recommend the one over on KnitPicks. Several of my friends have that one and it also offers you the option of holding it or clamping it. I purchased the swift they offer and LOVE it!

[RoseRed]

If I wind with a good tension I can get just about a 7 oz skein of Red Heart. I usually get 2 1/2 balls from a pound of Caron.

[seedstitch13]

What is your purpose for re-winding a red heart skein?

[losingmymind2]

The purposes of re-winding are several:

 

Check the skein for knots, weak spots, etc before you start working.

Easier to store, you can have more yarn in less space.

Less messy than a half used, limp skein.

[RoseRed]

If you purchase it from Joanns - they will not accept it as a return (over the phone) if it's been used in a project. They will if it's been wound.

 

It takes up less space on my shelves and in my go bag when I'm working on big projects.

 

It's a lot easier to use in the car instead of the skein falling in on itself.

 

Ball winders do make center pull cakes but I use my from the outside. Once you use a good chunk of it it'll fall in on itself just like the skeins do. Just in a smaller pile.

[clairymary]

A yarn winder is on my list of craft things I really NEED to have but Im not sure where I could get one in the uk! Im going to ask my local yarn store and if they cant help then it will be good old reliable ebay ha ha!!!

[TeriMcc]

I've noticed that if I wind the ball myself it gets all twisty when I try to use it. Does the same thing happen if you use a winder?

I make a lot of graph ghans and make lots of balls out of one skein.

Teri

[shuttlebuggy]

I really love the fact you can "stack" the cakes - especially when pairing yarn colorways for future wips and when double or triple stranding!

[Cathoms]

The purposes of re-winding are several:

 

, you can have more yarn in less space.

 

 

The very best reason to use a yarn winder (in my humble opinion)

[HomekeepingGran]

I have a Knit Picks winder and occasionally buy yarn in hanks. (Also got their swift.) Together they make all the difference in the world for getting nicely caked-up yarns. And yesterday I frogged an unfinished doily with the winder and it worked so slick. Whizz... and it was done!

[dobermama]

I have a Royal and it works great. Purchased it from the Joann website with a coupon. Next I have to purchase a swift so my husband doesn't have to run away every time he sees me with new yarn.

 

I got mine, just like yours, with a coupon. My swift I got at eBay and is hand made. Wasn't that expensive and I love it!

[eyrthmother1]

my favorite (and only thing i actually have, lol) is a nostepenne. a friend of mine was getting into using a lathe, so he made me a dozen or more of them in various sizes. they are portable, small, no parts to break, and no small parts for yarn to jump off of the spindle and wrap around causing knots.