My ball winder came today....

[yarnlover66]

I got my ball winder in the mail today! I am loving it!!!! How many oz can you wind into a ball on these things? I'm finding that maybe not much more than 3 oz? Am I correct? It's not meant to wind an entire 6-8 oz skein into a ball.

 

Thanks!

Teresa

 

[goldi316]

Since I've never tried to wind a 6 or 8 oz skein on my winder, I have to say I'm not speaking from experience here (I never rewind the skeins that are already center-pulls, what's the point?). But you probably can wind at least up to 6 ounces, and maybe even more if it's not a bulky yarn. Your only limit, size-wise is when the outer wall of the "cake" hits the guide arm and interferes with the turning. You can put more tension on the yarn as you are winding it, which will make for a smaller, firmer cake. If you put no tension on it the cake will be big and loose and fluffy, and may be prone to falling apart on you, especially as you begin to exhaust the supply from the center while working with it. You may need to find some kind of protective cover for the hand that guides the yarn and puts the tension on it (by pulling on the strand lightly, creating resistance, as you wind), as you might get a bit of a burn from yarn sliding through your fingers. I haven't needed to do that yet, though, and you may not either. Best thing is to experiment a bit first with smaller amounts to find your "burn tolerance" level.

 

One last thing: resist the urge to really hang onto that strand and put too much tension on it. You don't want to stretch the fiber out of shape. More fragile yarns might also have a tendency to break if you pull too hard on it, as well. Again, experimentation is your best bet.

 

HTH.

[cupcake]

where did you get it from goldi?

[goldi316]

Mine was a gift card purchase along with a 40% off coupon at JoAnns online, cheapest way I could find to get my greedy little mitts on it! Got it for my birthday last year. I am now also the proud owner of a yarn swift to go along with it, via the same method - except for 50% off this time!, as my Christmas present. I'm on

[yarnlover66]

I got mine at joanns.com on-line also. With an on line 50% off coupon. It cost me $16.99!

 

What is a yarn swift??

 

I have never rewound 6 or 8 oz skeins before either. I always "hear" that some people do before they start their projects. I was just curious.

 

Thanks for the advice on winding the yarn. I noticed that my cakes were a little loose. Perhaps I should hold it just a tad bit snugger when I wind the next one. My 11 year old and I wound 5 partial skeins last night. He thought it was so cool. Maybe I can get him to do the rest of my stash! LOL They look nice! I'm so excited to organize the mess I have of partial skeins.

[CLLinda]

I'm still waiting for mine. Herrschners said they mailed it on the 17th of January. So I hope it comes today, while I am home sick with a cold. It will give my hands something to do. I also ordered a lot of yarn, so I can put it to use right away. I want to condense my stash so that DH will stop crabbing about how much I have. He gets annoying after awhile.

 

Let me know more about how wonderful the ball winder is.

 

I can't wait until the mail Lady comes.

 

Linda:cheer

[viggie]

I got mine a couple of days ago. I can wind 8 ounces on it if I put a little tension on the yarn. I find I like it better this way since it makes a nice "cake". It's firm and doesn't flop apart on me, but I don't do it so tight it stretches the yarn I find the yarn hits the little knob on mine and that tells me when to "wrap" it up

[goldi316]

What is a yarn swift??

 

Here's the JoAnn page for the item. In that picture they have it fully extended which you aren't likely to need it that way, but it opens up like an umbrella and is meant to hold those hanks of yarn that come unwound, like several of the Knit Picks yarns do. It holds the yarn and spins as you wind it into a ball (or cake, if you also have the winder). Much easier to use than the back of a chair, an unwilling assistant or your own knees!

 

Here's a pic of it in use. Pretty nifty, eh? I thought, however, that it was funny that the person who put up this page had a swift but was too cheap to buy a winder and had to come up with a wild and wooly "homemade" winder!

 

I have never rewound 6 or 8 oz skeins before either. I always "hear" that some people do before they start their projects. I was just curious.

 

Yeah, I've heard that too. I know they've said it was to find out in advance of any problem areas in the skein. To me, it was not worth the extra effort. As long as it works for them and it's not a requirement! I'm too lazy to put out effort that I don't think I need to make.

 

Thanks for the advice on winding the yarn. I noticed that my cakes were a little loose. Perhaps I should hold it just a tad bit snugger when I wind the next one.

 

That should help. I know it took me a bit of time and adjustment to figure it out. Plus, I'm still trying to perfect a method of keeping a tp roll snug on the thing for winding my thin yarns/threads, since they must remain on the holder. I'm using 2 broccoli bands slightly overlapping each other, but they have to be aligned just right! If anyone has any better ideas, let me know!

[CLLinda]

I received my order from Herrschners yesterday and guess what. The yarn winder is out of stock until 2/8. So I have to wait another couple of weeks.

 

It's very hard.

 

Linda

[cupcake]

gggrrr i just got out bid on ebay for one. These are hard to come by, and some bird in Adelaide keeps buying up all the wool winders listed on e bay in the country! Now how many wool winders does one person need?

 

You people are making me more determined to get one with you neat little photos of tidy wool...

[nightowl]

I got mine a couple of days ago. I can wind 8 ounces on it if I put a little tension on the yarn. I find I like it better this way since it makes a nice "cake". It's firm and doesn't flop apart on me, but I don't do it so tight it stretches the yarn I find the yarn hits the little knob on mine and that tells me when to "wrap" it up

 

Hi, I just got one last week too. Wow, I didn't know I could wind *that* much on it! vigilant20, I thought you had to stop when you reached the outer perimeter of the "hat" under the central cone. Do you mean you keep on going past that, until you can't wind any more (LOL)? Doesn't the cake start to flop without the support of the "hat" under it?

 

Another question for all you seasoned winder-users :-) how do you keep track of what a yarn is once you've wound it into cakes? I've been tucking the label down into the central hole, but that doesn't really work well because I have to pull it out to read it, LOL. I'm sure there's a simple answer. . .

 

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Nowl

[nightowl]

gggrrr i just got out bid on ebay for one. These are hard to come by, and some bird in Adelaide keeps buying up all the wool winders listed on e bay in the country! Now how many wool winders does one person need?

 

Hi cupcake

 

I just looked and the Ebay seller I bought mine from still has some, at Buy It Now price of $33.15. Of course you might not want to pay that much, but I think it's cheaper than Joann's :-) I'm in the UK, and even with international shipping it was a good deal for me. If you want the seller's name, email me.

 

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Nowl

[auntbubbels]

Joann's is $39.99 on sale from $49.99 - if you use their 40% coupon you take that amount off of the $49.99 price. Would have been nice if it came off of the $39.99 price

[cupcake]

Thanks. Because of the cost of postage, and the miserable value of the Australian dollar my first preference is to find one within the country. Postage for us at this end from the US and UK is quite expensive. Also the exchange rate on the item makes it quite prohibitive as well. So $40 US is about $50 Aus.

 

 

ho hum, one of the problems of living in a colony!

[cupcake]

Hey I am excited! I was seeking wool winders again and noticed this one had just closed:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/EMPISAL-WOOL-WINDER-with-instructions-Good-Condition_W0QQitemZ8255164925QQcategoryZ28146QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

the exciting thing is that the bidder....platypus... is my husband! Yippee and I have a birthday coming up.

 

Now it looks an oldy, but a goodie so I am happy little cupcake

[radicalcustom]

I want one too but over here there are none to be found, maybe I just might head down to the USA or Ontario and get me one.

 

Lynda:c9

[nightowl]

But you probably can wind at least up to 6 ounces, and maybe even more if it's not a bulky yarn. Your only limit, size-wise is when the outer wall of the "cake" hits the guide arm and interferes with the turning.

 

Hi everyone, I asked this before but got no replies, so I hope nobody minds my asking it again. . .

 

goldi, that's really interesting. I thought you had to stop winding when you reached the outside of the "hat" under the central cone. Can you keep going after that? Doesn't the ball start to flop or get yarn trapped under itself without the support of the hat?

 

Also I have another question for seasoned ball-winder users: how do you keep track of what a yarn is (brand, weight, colour etc.) once you've wound it into a cake? I've been poking the ball band down into the centre, but that's not a good solution because I have to pull it out to read it, LOL. I was really thinking of some way you could look at the stacked neatly-wound balls and see immediately what you had. . .

 

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Nowl