Center Pull Ball Method

[Desirae]

Right now I'm too stubborn to buy a yarn ball winder and since I usually don't use anything lighter than baby or sport weight it isn't a big issue. Necessity being the mother of invention, I have found an AWESOME trick for creating center pull balls of yarn!

 

Instead of using your thumb or two knitting needles or pencils, go to your utensil drawer and pull out a big spoon or spatula or whatever. If it has a hole at the end to hang on a hook, it will work. I put a couple of these together to create a bigger space in the middle of my ball. Thread the yarn through the hole (or holes) and hold it down the handle of the utensil with the hole end pointing up. Begin winding using your preference. I start by wrapping around and then move to the figure 8 method. When you pull out the utensils, the thread will follow through the hole in the top. There will be a space in the middle left by the utensils for the yarn to relax.

 

I find this so much easier because I can sit the utensils down and I don't have to worry about the yarn slipping from my knitting needles. I tried it with punching a hole in a paper towel tube, but didn't like how it wound. You might like that method too!

[teakaycee]

Funny you posted this............

I placed a tutorial on my blog recently about center pull ball of yarn...

have a peek if you like ... you might like this idea too.

http://coffeencrafts.blogspot.com/2009/02/freebie-friday_27.html

 

 

 

[Desirae]

Wow, I guess if I'd thought of FOLDING the tube I might have liked the resulting winding and ball a little better!

[happy stitcher]

Both of these are great ideas!

Thanks!

[teakaycee]

Isnt it neat how many different ways folks come up with to do things.... I mean all the different ideas of how to do a center pull ball of yarn are just cool to me. And I think it all really starts with the folks that thought of using their thumb.

I think I read where someone uses a mixer... hmmmmmmm?

 

 

[JunieMarie]

I've done the thumb thing, I really like the two ideas above. I think they will work much better than my thumb! (I'm a little clumsy)

 

A mixer????? I can just see the wad of yarn exploding all over my kitchen!!

[mamabear10]

I have a hard time keeping the outside end of the balls from working loose and making a mess. One of my favorite tools for winding a center pull ball is a curling iron. I wrap the tail around the thumb knob so it's not stuck under the clip..although I've done it that way too..I like how the ball slides off easily when I'm done. I'll have to try folding the paper towel roll trick; that would work better than slicing a notch in the the end.

[flyinghigh]

Those are really interesting. I never really thought about winding up yarn that way. I've always just began by wrapping the yarn around my fingers until it's big enough to hold, and then continued from there. I suppose it would be easier to use with that center pull method... usually I just kick my ball of yarn across my room and let it dance around as I pull on the yarn as needed.

[CrazeeMoi]

(I now have a yarn winder.... great deal at my fave thrift store, 2 dollars and works great!) Before I got it, I used 1/2 inch pvc pipe about 7 inches long. I threaded the yarn thru the pipe and then wound it like teakaycee. Worked great!!!

[anoramaxsis]

Both ideas are great. Thanks for sharing ladies.

[kittyloverdeb]

It AMAZES me what I can learn here! You ladies are very clever to come with this...can't wait to go home and try this!

[Ladykats]

I use a nostepinne I got from Jimbo a few years back. I carry it with me everywhere.

[RoseRed]

I'm a new convert to the ball winders and I'll never go back! It spins up a perfect cake of yarn so fast it's amazing!

 

I've tried the hand rolling center pulls and jimbos noste but give me my mechanical doohickey anyday!

[regee]

Thanks sooo much! I didn't like the thumb method & that's the only way I knew...til NOW:clap

[darski]

I have a few TP rolls that I have made stronger with some clear (packing) tape. I have made a couple of them smaller so I can wind smaller amounts nicely as well. I do work with the notches and they have served me so well I would hate to change now.

 

...although, if I could get a cheap(er) ball winder I might just be tempted to go that way.

 

I can't deal yarn that does not pull from the centre. I take the time to rewind whole balls if necessary.

[LondonLaura]

I really like these ideas, thanks for sharing! I will definitely give them a try. Thank you Desirae and Tam for giving such clear explanations of your methods, it's ever so helpful.

 

And Tam, if I ever, by any method, manage to create a ball of yarn that looks as neat & professional as yours, well I think I'll put it on display in my living room and never use it!

[Desirae]

I am glad this thread has helped some! I was frustrated by the thumb method and started looking for something new. I figured that if I was frustrated and still figuring things out, others might be too!

 

CrazeeMoi, my dad works for a pluming supply shop and I have been BEGGING him to bring me home a piece of scrap for this purpose! I am about to go down there and hack off a piece myself!

 

LondonLaura, I agree with you completely! I just finished winding a skein of green yarn and my boyfriend christened it the "Tyrannosaurus Rex Egg."

[teakaycee]

Oh.. me too... I had come across a site explainig how to wind a center pull ball of yarn on your thumb... and I thought... MY GOODNESS ... how wonderful... I loved being able to wind my yarn from center out. But my hands would get cramped... and it would never fail.. the darn phone would ring... one of my kids would need something.. and let me tell ya... with 6 kids at one point in this house... getting interupted was a constant! I couldnt put down what I was doing.. it was attached to me. I just knew there had to be a different way. So like you Desirae.... I experimented with ideas until I came up with my paper roll method. Since then I have found you and I were not the only frustrated ones with the thumb method!

Laura..... you're sweet.. thanks for the compliment! I've been rolling balls of yarn so long ... I'm sure I do them in my sleep. Wait...... I dont think I sleep.

 

 

[jimbo]

I've done it with my vacuum cleaner, albeit not intentionally and the result isn't a center pull ball... heh.

 

I like the fold idea and new use for the old paper roll!!

 

And the winding method looks zactly like the way you wind an Nostepenne.

 

Clever!! Way to go!!

[The Happy Housewife]

Good idea. I'll have to try it out with my next skein!

[Desirae]

heehee! I haven't rolled a skein with a vacuum cleaner, but I sew as well as knit and crochet and it never fails that I have to break out a box cutter and clean the brush every time I vacuum!

[Kimblee]

Isnt it neat how many different ways folks come up with to do things.... I mean all the different ideas of how to do a center pull ball of yarn are just cool to me. And I think it all really starts with the folks that thought of using their thumb.

I think I read where someone uses a mixer... hmmmmmmm?

 

 

 

I would have thought it started with people using nosties... didn't that come beofre the thumb folks?

 

[Zelma-Warrior Grandmother]

Funny you posted this............

I placed a tutorial on my blog recently about center pull ball of yarn...

have a peek if you like ... you might like this idea too.

http://coffeencrafts.blogspot.com/2009/02/freebie-friday_27.html

 

 

 

 

 

Your idea is fantastic. I have been balling up all my yarn and having a ball (pun intended). I've been saving those cardboard rolls to make seed starter pots so i had tons of them. Great idea!

[Desirae]

I would have thought it started with people using nosties... didn't that come beofre the thumb folks?

 

 

I started the thread by saying that I was too stubborn to buy a ball winder, so I think what we were going for was using things around you to avoid buying a product for that task.

[Kimblee]

I started the thread by saying that I was too stubborn to buy a ball winder, so I think what we were going for was using things around you to avoid buying a product for that task.

 

Ah. I think i must have been drugged up when i posted yesterday. The doctor gave me pills for the tooth he took out, and I apparently react to them by losing grasp iof reading comprehension. lol

 

I didn't buy my nostie tho. I was given it after my aunt noticed me using the handle of a broom, and she decided that it was "Just cruel" that i had to do that.

 

I wish Auntie would visit me more often....