Yarn Winder on thicker yarns?

[insurechick]

I have been considering getting a winder, but does it work on the thicker yarns?

[Lady_of_Roses]

I think a yarn winder would work on thicker yarns within reason. The only spot I can see yarn thickness being a problem is at the beginning, because you need to push the yarn into the top to start spinning. I wound a rather fluffy remnant of yarn that I _think_ is classified as a step up from worsted yesterday with no problems other than the cat.

 

I got my personal yarn winder last week. It's got about a centimeter sized hole on the tension rod that the yarn goes thru. Be careful about which winder you get. For instance there's two different ones offered at Joanns.com. One has lots of complaints in the reviews about the tension rod falling down, and the other doesn't. My mom has the one they complained about, and the rod fell down a lot. Which was annoying when you're happily winding away. I got the other and in my humble opinion it was designed better.

[viggie]

I wonder if mine is the complained about one? My rod fell down a lot at first until I realized you were supposed to pull it out really far from the base of the unit. It tightens into place when you do and I haven't had a single problem with it since.

 

I pretty much stick to worsed weight, so I can't help with your question though...sorry!

[wren]

I use my winder for bulky yarns all the time and it works great.

[insurechick]

Thanks for the info everyone!

[Catana]

The only limitation is that you won't be able to get as much yardage into each ball, but a regular winder works fine. I've wound bulky yarn right up to the wire holder.

[nightowl]

Catana, that's interesting. .. I've had a winder for a couple of months but haven't used it that much yet. I thought you had to stop winding when you reached the outer limit of the "hat" under the central cone (the bit the yarn cake-in-the-making sits on). Can you go on further than that? Doesn't the yarn get caught underneath without the "hat" to support it?

[Catana]

Night Owl, you can go further than the "hat" if the yarn clings to itself. Most bulky yarns do, so they let you go almost up to, but not quite touching the metal loop. I've done it with regular knitting worsted without any problem. You just need to keep an eye on the bottom of the cake to make sure the yarn isn't starting to slip off. If it does, it's time to quit.

[nightowl]

Thanks so much for the tip! I shall have to have a play -- sounds like you can make a much bigger ball than I thought.