Ball Winder Questions~

[shuttlebuggy]

Okay - this question(s) may have been asked before but here goes -

*What about ball winders??? I am considering one and am wanting one that would possibly handle the 11oz to 1 lb skeins. I have some large skeins that are not center pull and they flop around when I am crocheting with them and I am constantly yanking up more yarn whilst it does an awkward flip flop in my bag and sometimes pops out and winds up on the floor! Not a good thing when you have 3 cats! :cat

 

*Do you need any other special equipment to use with the winder??? Or does someone else need to be guiding the skein while it winds? Is this real cumbersome or awkward to do?

 

*What about electric ones??? I recently wound by hand one of those 11oz ones and my wrist was ready to fall off...so I am wondering if the crank winder may not even be something I should look at. I know they make one that can handle large skeins - but all the cranking may aggrivate my wrists (which have been great 7 years after the surgeries).

 

*I saw this on eBay and thought - Hmmmmm...interesting idea but then wanted your thoughts, pro's and con's on it....it is not the base that is for sale here just the "spindle"

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=120135445135&Category=1362&_trksid=p3907.m29

 

 

*Lastly - What is a swift and how do I know if I would need one?

 

Thanks for your patience with my "layered" questions on this item - I just want to make sure I am making things easier on myself and not getting something that isn't that helpful for the $, and what I need it to do...

[Tampa Doll]

Well, I can answer a couple of them.

 

Swifter, is a really strange looking thing, that you put hanks that are shaped like the Organic cotton

 

Swifter (for some reason this link will not work.) It is at Joann's under yarn swifter

 

Swift Yarn Winder-Large

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2874&PRODID=prd45839

 

Lion Brand Organic Cotton yarn

 

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat3124&PRODID=prd54562

 

This is the way all yarn use to look. I use to have to hold my hands up, while my Mom made balls out of the yarn. Now we have a contraption that will do that. If we were available, my Mom use to use the back of a chair.

 

Now I have a ball winder with the crank. I don't think it will handle the 11oz or 1 lb skeins of yarn in one shot.

 

This is the one I have( this link does not work either) Joann's under yarn winder. I have the blue and white one, and I love it.

 

Yarn Ball Winder

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2874&PRODID=prd20753

 

Sorry I couldn't help more. That thing on ebay, I have never seen one.

[kazily]

I have a ball winder from JoAnn's & love it. I don't have a swift because most of the yarn I buy is wrapped in skeins except peaches & cream or other small skeins that don't come center pull but I couldn't see buying & using a swift for small skeins. Also it seems to me like you're doing twice the work with a winder & a swift. Wrapping on the swift & then winding it.

 

For those balls that aren't center pull skeins I just set one of my metal mixing bowls on the floor, thread the end of the yarn in the winder & wind away. The ball in the bowl just rolls around while I wind yarn. With a hank, I don't think that would be feasible, probably make a mess of tangles. But it works great for the yarn I buy. Sometimes I wind center pull skeins just because they are easier to pull from when I'm crocheting. With some yarn, I leave the skein alone, because they work fine the way the company wound them.

 

Oh, a winder winds really fast so it isn't hard on your wrists unless you try & wind your whole stash in a couple of days. If I have a large skein, like a pound of yarn, I wind them into 3 or 4 cakes. It may not be as nice as having one large pounder cake of yarn but it's ok...it's convenient to use smaller cakes especially for taking with me when I carry along crochet projects.

[Wyndfire]

For the huge skeins, you need the bigger ball winders. Here is a link to one: http://www.villagespinweave.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/hierarchy/0901/product-id/25896022.html As you can see, they are quite a bit more expensive. The alternative is to wind the big skein into multiple smaller balls.

 

I havent seen an electric ball winder....

 

If you're just winding the skeins of Red Heart/Lion Brand yarn, then you should be fine with just a winder. As Tampa Doll explained in a post above, the swift is for holding the yarn that comes in long skeins, like the LB Organic Cotton or Cascade 220, etc.

[bettycrackpot]

i have both a swift and a winder from joanns. only if you get alot of hanks do you need the swift, if you are just doing normal skeins you will be fine with just a winder.

as for the larger skeins (1 lb and up) it CAN be done all in one cake, but the yarn tends to get tangled in the metal arm. its easier to do it in 2 or 3 cakes.

i have never seen the thing on ebay......

i do not use anything with my winder, i just throw it on the floor or table and let er rip.....my 2yr old does occasionally chase the skein being wound around saying "im gonna get you!!! so a bowl may be easier....

 

it really is a good investment if you have alot of skeins that are about half used. i caked all of mine up (about 60) in a few hours. i allegedly have carpal tunnel but i didnt have any wrist pain. HTH!!!

[boo1]

I have yarn in typical (like RH) skeins, cones, skeins that aren't quite like RH but close, and some I buy in hanks. Will a typical ball winder work for all of them?

[bettycrackpot]

yes, but for the hanks if you dont want to purchase a winder (they are very handy to have!) you need to have either A) someone to hold the hank up for you or B) a chair back or something, otherwise you will end up with a big knotty mess. i dont buy alot of hanks, but when i do i am glad i have my swift!

the winder alone will work fine for most skeins and balls. i especially love it for winding fun fur and a worsted together, or any double strands. makes it SOOOOO easy! HTH!!!

[Sockmad]

I absolutely love my Royal wool winder. I bought it at The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in May. Well actually my mom 'bought' it. She wasn't able to come with me but she told me to buy what I wanted for my very belated b-day present so I got the winder and a very nice skein of wool. A hint for keeping the wool wound at the end. If you are familiar with the hair clips that used to be called wil-hold they work great for holding the yarn on the outside. These are the clips that are triangular in shape and snap open and closed. They don't seem to work on hair anymore but they are great for yarn! I buy mine at the dollar store you get eight for only one dollar perfect!

[ErinLindsey]

yes, but for the hanks if you dont want to purchase a winder (they are very handy to have!) you need to have either A) someone to hold the hank up for you or B) a chair back or something, otherwise you will end up with a big knotty mess. i dont buy alot of hanks, but when i do i am glad i have my swift!

the winder alone will work fine for most skeins and balls. i especially love it for winding fun fur and a worsted together, or any double strands. makes it SOOOOO easy! HTH!!!

 

The yarn store I go to will wind hanks for free if you need them to.

[CDBear]

A hint for keeping the wool wound at the end. If you are familiar with the hair clips that used to be called wil-hold they work great for holding the yarn on the outside. These are the clips that are triangular in shape and snap open and closed. They don't seem to work on hair anymore but they are great for yarn! I buy mine at the dollar store you get eight for only one dollar perfect!

 

I use a crochet hook, and pull the end under a few inches of the outside of the cake. Works for me!!

[ErinLindsey]

When I crochet (or knit) from a yarn cake, I dont use the center pull. I crochet from the outside of the yarn cake.

 

I dont like how the yarn cake loses structural integrity once you get to a certain point when you use the center pull. Especially when I'm crocheting in public.

 

The yarn cake falls apart and I end up having to rewind the ball by hand so I dont end up with a giant tangle of yarn. If I use the outer strand of yarn, the cake acts more like a ball of yarn, except it doesnt go rolling away if I pull more yarn off of it. So, I dont have to chase the yarn around the doctor's office if it leaps out of the bag I'm carrying it in.

 

I love my winder. The one I have is a Royal. It's the second one I bought. (my first one had the crank smashed off when my computer chair was bumped into, which bumped the chair into the little table that the winder was on. The table tipped, the winder hit my jewelry armoire and the crank got smashed off the winder.

 

I love how so much easier it was to deal with my yarn stash (which is mostly scrap yarn) I think a yarn winder is one of the best accessories a crocheter or knitter can have. If my niece ever learns to knit or crochet (she's said she wants to, and I did show her how to chain, and gave her yarn and a crochet hook a couple of years ago) I think I'll be sending her a winder if she gets serious about the crochet.