Do you have problems keeping your yarn neat? Does it get tangled and roll all over the place?
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I used to have the worse problems with my yarn, so frustrating. Well like the old saying goes “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. For about the last year I have been taking the time to wind my hanks or skeins into cakes or balls.
If I have a large skein or a lot of yarn then I generally use my Stanwood yarn winder. I love this one because it can handle 4oz, which is enough so that I can make a cake out of even my Red Heart With Love skeins which are huge. I still works great for small amounts of yarn too. This yarn winder is manual, which I much prefer; I hear nothing other than problems with electric winders.
Having a swift makes this so much easier for hanks. I love my swift from Lacis, available at Joann.com.
There are many reasons why I do this
- No more unsightly yarn joins– I can see if there are any knots, bad sections, etc before I get started with a project. There is nothing worse than running into a knot in an intricate piece of lace, or where a join would be super obvious. I can take this opportunity to cut out any bad pieces and re join my yarn before I run into any problems.
- No more yarn babies– Did you ever pull from a center pull skein only to have it deliver an entire little skein right in your lap? Some people call this yarn vomit, but that’s kinda gross, lol. If you pre wrap your yarn than you will never run into this issue
- No more run away yarn– How many times does your yarn roll around, and flip out of reach when you are trying to work? Does your pet or kids get into it and make even more of a mess? Winding your yarn into a ball or cake, prior to starting, can make that a thing of the past.
- No more dust bunnies, pet fur, etc– If you hold your yarn on your lap, next to you on the couch or even on the floor than you are bound to get dust, dirt or pet fur, even your own hair, wrapped into your yarn… we do NOT want that.
- No more uneven tension– The more even your yarn is when you start (ball or cake) the more even it will be when you work with it…. win/win.
After I wrap my yarn into a cake or ball I put it right into one of my gorgeous yarn bowls. I have two, a lovely handthrown pot from Mudcruch Pottery and an amazing handcarved wooden yarn bowl from Furls Crochet.
Supplies I can’t live without (affiliate links)
Do you use a swift or yarn winder? Do you find it easier? If you don’t, but would like to learn how you can watch this video to learn how.
