Favorite Yarn Winder? I just received the Blue Royal from my DHSanta!

[Cotton Candee]

Royal Jumbo Ball Winder

 

 

 

 

 

Royal Blue Wool Winder

This is the one I received and it works like a charm! When I take the balls/cakes off of it the hole closes and it works wonders with my #10 & #20 crochet threads! I have also been able to wind 2 threads together for special projects!

 

 

Pioneer Yarn Ball Winder

 

 

Pioneer Yarn Ball Winder red

 

 

Due to large cones of thread and yarn, I need to purchase a yarn winder from out of the 4 pictured here, from what I have found. They are all about the same price and look about the same as well. Could you please let me know which ones you have used, if any, and the good points vs. the bad?

 

Thank you so much!

[Sockmad]

I have the Royal Blue Wool Winder and wish I also had the jumbo version for my larger skeins! I can barely get an entire Vanna's skein on my Royal Blue and forget about the pounders have to do several balls for those and sometimes I have to rewind cause the ball comes out all wobbly and weird. Oh and Caper hates it when I wind she runs out of the room and down the stairs. I keep it right next to my computer corner cause of course when one is on the computer you are also usually crocheting as well.

[Cotton Candee]

Sockmad, thank you for responding. Since you didn't say you didn't like it but that it doesn't hold enough yarn... and you are the only one to reply, I am going with you and getting the same one. I will be mostly doing theads and chenilles that are very thin so putting skiens on won't matter to me.

 

Thank you once again for responding!

[LaurieE]

I am so glad you asked this question. I didn't vote in the poll because I'm looking to get one myself.

 

I have heard that Royal is the best. My LYS is a Louet dealer and I'm wondering how they are.

[honeebee]

i have the red one. it works fine for me. i got it cheap and thats why i have one at all. mine sets on the corner of my computer desk. i think it's going to depend on what you want yours for. i use mine mostly to frog and wind small bits of yarn. good luck on finding the right one for you.

 

i think the only bad thing i noticed is that the clamp doesn't open but big. a inch and half i think. kinda limits where you can clamp it.

the good point for me was that is is small and doesn't take up a lot of room and that it's idiot proof. even i can use it.

[happy stitcher]

the good point for me was that is is small and doesn't take up a lot of room and that it's idiot proof. even i can use it.

 

That's good to know! I always appreciate idiot-proof things!

[Cotton Candee]

i think it's going to depend on what you want yours for. i use mine mostly to frog and wind small bits of yarn. good luck on finding the right one for you.

 

 

I have all these large cones and it is hard to be mobile with my crocheting unless I hand wind the balls myself. The larger cone in the back is white #10 thread that is bright and works well but that cone is 20 pounds alone! That is what I want the winder. I am just not happy that the middle holes are all so big. With the threads, I am scared it will tangle or just fall apart. If you look close, you can see a 3 1/2" dragon I crocheted at the bottom of the large cone for reference.

[wiz3283]

I have the red pioneer. It does the job just fine for me but I wish I had something that could wind large skeins. I hate having to roll a few balls instead of one on the pounders but I still love it. The clap limits where you can attach it but it works great on my folding craft table so I am happy.

[Cotton Candee]

My DH Santa bought me the Royal Blue Wool Winder!!! This is what that one is all about... It is sooooooo much smaller than I thought it would be. The base is about the size of a sandwich. I can wind a skien in about 2 min! I can get a whole skein on one ball/cake but it just fits. I have been taking my fun fur and putting them all on 1 ball/cake to keep them together too.

 

Actually I have had extra boxes left over from my ebay selling that you get free from the USPS and instead of just throwing them out decided to use them. I mark the outside and just fold the tops and bottoms in so that I can reuse. I then sorted all my yarns into colors and have them all organized into these boxes.

 

I am now taking each box and winding the yarns into the balls/cakes. I didn't realize how much I had but told DH that all the boxes aren't full but just separated into their colors. Now not all the boxes are full but pretty much most are and have had to put in like, Dark Pink vs Light Pink since I have so much pink yarns. :devil

 

Anyway, the size for me is GREAT and I just love it to pieces. It is well worth the money and cuts down on so much time. The only thing I don't like is that you have to hold the yarn as it is going onto the winder to keep it a steady tension. I have figured out to put the yarn in a bookcover to do this and it works just fine.

 

 

[Cotton Candee]

 

I placed a clover hook on it so you can get the relative size of it.

[Sockmad]

Yup looks just like mine. Don't wind unless you are using the yarn soon though. Apparently winding this way stretches the yarn over time. I don't mind that with acrylic because of the bounce back feature but cotton and wool tend to stay stretched.

[Cotton Candee]

Thank you for the tip!

[Tampa Doll]

I have the blue Royal and I love it. I got it at Joann's when I had a 50% off coupon. It is great. The only problem I found, was when I first got it, I spent 2 days winding up my yarn scraps. What a mistake that was.

It took a week for my hands and wrist to clear up, so I could crochet.

So if you get one, take your time winding up your yarn.

[Cotton Candee]

I have only been rewinding the yarns I am currently using. Thankfully I haven't gone overboard. Thankx for the warning... I will remember it!

[passionsgirl22]

i dont have one i would love to get one

[Cotton Candee]

i dont have one i would love to get one

 

 

It is truely worth the money... I mean literally it takes next to no time to rewind your yarn! It is BETTER than I thought it would be!

[walker1021]

What is the advantage of winding the yarn into cakes and using the yarn that way vs. just using the yarn as it comes (in the skeins)?

[Crafty Witch]

I don't know that there is really any advantage to winding into cakes vs. using straight off the skein. Well, sometimes it's hard to find the center end of the yarn to pull out, and winding into a cake guarantees that you will be able to find it. However, if you're pulling yarn from the center of the skein, sooner or later it will collapse into a tangled mess. At that point, or slightly before that point if you can catch it in time, it's a really good idea to wind the remaining yarn into a ball or a cake to keep it under control. Also a lot of specialty yarns don't come wound in skeins; they come in hanks, or in the case of the OP, on cones. Sugar 'n Cream also has several colors available on cones. Hanks will tangle if you don't wind them into cakes first, and cones are heavy and awkward to take with you which is why the OP wants to wind yarn on them into cakes.

 

Now, I have a question. I think I saw somewhere, not necessarily here, that there is a widget that can measure yardage as you wind your yarn. Does anyone here know anything about this? I'd like to know where to find such an object, especially if I'm going to try selling reflective ribbon to crafters.

[walker1021]

Thanks for responding Heather. I may just have to print off the 40% off coupon for AC Moore and go see what they have. Someone mailed me some scraps that were in cakes and I just loved them.

Checked out the AC Moore site to see if I could find the widget you mentioned. No luck. But if I run across such a thing, I will let ya know.

[Cotton Candee]

What is the advantage of winding the yarn into cakes and using the yarn that way vs. just using the yarn as it comes (in the skeins)?

 

I also like to take the small skeins and put them on 1 cake and take with me. I just love it so much! If you look back on my cone pics, you will see that the cones are rather large and heavy and I haven't been able to take anything with me if I used that thread.

[Cotton Candee]

Now, I have a question. I think I saw somewhere, not necessarily here, that there is a widget that can measure yardage as you wind your yarn. Does anyone here know anything about this? I'd like to know where to find such an object, especially if I'm going to try selling reflective ribbon to crafters.

 

I was thinking of selling some of my threads too and thought of just weighing them and then figuring it out from the weight. If I run across the widget though I will post it for you!

[Sockmad]

I've seen the 'widget' of which you are speaking in PatternWorks. I think Knit Picks sells it as well. Yup just checked my Knit Picks catalog they have it,it is called a yarn meter and they sell it for $49.99 US dollars. They also have the WPI tool and Knit-Kard to help figure out yarn substitutes that sells for $9.99 US dollars. Hope those are what you were looking for.

[Cotton Candee]

I just found out that best thing about this yarn winder... It allows me to put 2 or 3 strands on yarn together on one ball/cake which makes it so much easier to handle! I swear this is the best invention since sliced bread!

[cherrypicker]

I have the red one...I started my own thread about winder love before I saw this one!

[DancingStitches]

I purchased my "widget" from Patternworks. They have the regular Yarn Meter for $51.99 and the Yarn Meter Plus for $74.99. The yarn meter plus works great with a ball winder because it maintains a consistant tension while winding. I have the Royal Blue winder, by the way, that I have just recently tried. I have had it for a while but must admit that I was a little intimidated by the swift and the winder. After reading about the winders in two threads here I decided it was time to set up the swift, the meter and the winder and give it a "whirl"......the whole set up works GREAT!

 

Does anyone have any opinions on the Yarn Ball Cores that Patterworks sells also? I was wondering if these would be beneficial when winding.