How to Use a Yarn Ball Winder

If you buy a lot of your yarn in hanks or in bulk, you're going to need a yarn ball winder to wind the yarn into a manageable ball before you begin to knit. Yarn ball winders are easy to use once you get the hang of them, and they turn out a nicely wrapped ball of yarn that's much easier to manage when you knit. Here are the basics of how to use a yarn ball winder, with or without a yarn swift.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Yarn ball winder
• Hank of yarn
• Sturdy table
• Yarn swift (optional)

1. First, put the yarn ball winder together, then clamp it to a sturdy table. If the clamp won't fit over the lip of your table, you will have to hold the yarn ball winder in your hand.
2. Carefully unwind the hank of yarn, being extremely careful not to twist it. At this point, you can mount the yarn on a yarn swift, which will hold it steady as you wind the yarn. If not, place your arms through the opened hank of yarn, and spread them apart to keep it taut while you wind.
3. Thread the yarn into the top of the yarn ball winder, and then through the wire arm, making sure the yarn is flowing through the wire arm without getting caught or snagged. Begin turning the crank on the yarn ball winder to start to wind the yarn.
4. Help the yarn ball winder create a full, tight ball of yarn by holding a slight tension on the yarn as you wind. You may have to help the yarn unwind from the hank as you wind, but be careful not to unwind too much at a time, because it can get tangled and turn into one big mess!
5. Continue to carefully unwind the yarn as you hold it taut on your arms, and feed it through the yarn ball winder. After a while, you'll develop a rhythm that helps feed the yarn at a continuous rate. Soon, you'll have a new ball of yarn, and you're ready to knit!

Tips & Warnings

• Always keep the yarn taut on your arms and apply some tension as you wind, or your ball will be too loose.
• If your yarn does get tangled, about the only thing to do to save it is to cut the end from the yarn ball winder and try to untangle it by pulling the free end through the tangles. When you have sorted out the tangles, tie the ends of the yarn together and continue winding.