Homemade Yarn Swift

A swift helps you wind yarn into balls more quickly.

A yarn swift helps a yarn crafter to wind balls of yarn out of more unwieldy storage methods, such as skeins or hanks. Pre-made ones are quite expensive—needlessly so, since you can easily make one out of toys. If you have the type of toys you need at home, you need not spend any money at all. If you do not, check yard or garage sales, thrift stores or auction websites to find a secondhand set inexpensively. Toy sets also offer a distinct advantage over other homemade swift methods: they can easily be adjusted to fit your needs.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden dowel and connector toy set
• Dressmaker's measuring tape

Instructions

1. Choose four wooden dowels that are the same length. Connect them via a connector piece with a hole in the middle for another piece to stick up, perpendicular to the first four pieces. Choose a connector piece that can rotate around a dowel that is stuck in the center hole.

2. Poke a wooden dowel that is shorter than the first four through the hole in the center of the connecting piece. Place a stationary connecting piece underneath it, so that the rod goes through the rotating connecting piece on top and the stationary one on the bottom.

3. Poke four shorter dowels into the holes around the sides of the bottom connecting piece. Connect four connecting pieces to the ends of each of these four rods. This will help to balance the swift as it is spinning.

4. Connect four stationary connecting pieces to the ends of the first set of four dowels, so that two holes face upwards. Select eight shorter dowels of the same length. Place two in the upward facing holes of each connecting piece.

5. Place one more connecting piece on the top of the dowel sticking up from the center of the swift. This will help stabilize the swift as it spins.

6. Spin the top level of the swift to make sure it moves smoothly. Switch out any pieces that are not moving as they are supposed to; toy building kits come with many similar pieces, making it a simple matter to find one that works.

7. Use a dressmaker's measuring tape to measure the diameter of any hanks of yarn you wish to put on the swift. Drape the measuring tape through the two-spoke yarn mounting system at the end of each of the four arms of your swift to make sure it will fit. Switch the arm rods out for rods of different lengths if necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• When shopping for a wooden dowel and connector toy set, look for one with several different lengths of rods. Choose one with some connectors that stay stationary when connected to rods, and some that allow rotation.

• Make sure before beginning that all pieces you intend to use are smooth and free of rough edges or splinters. Any rough patches can catch on yarn fibers and potentially ruin your yarn. At the very least, rough patches will make the process of winding yarn from your swift less easy.