Last week was so long that I decided to use my 50% off coupon at JoAnn (coupon code MARA550, through 4/28) to buy myself a little present. My new yarn swift arrived today, to Chris' befuddlement (weirdest umbrella he ever saw) and it took approx. 3 minutes for me to get started on trying it out.
A while back, I'd read this detailed tutorial on how to use an electric mixer to wind yarn. My own yarn-winding adventure is documented here, for your reading pleasure. Of course, you may be an intelligent person with $30, and decide to buy a yarn winder instead.
You'll need...
Yarn in a skein
Yarn swift
Electric mixer (a stand mixer if ya got it, and hand mixer for people like moi)
Toilet paper roll
Plate
One glove
I started with one skein of Knitpicks Shimmer, a laceweight yarn I was not looking forward to winding by hand:
(1) Load the skein onto the swift, like so. You may want to ask your cat to inspect, to ensure you've done high-quality work on this step:
(2) Now, insert one beater into the t.p. roll. It will be a tight squeeze, but it should fit:
Note that you'll probably want to get yours higher up toward the mixer - that will make it easier later by preventing the possibility that the yarn will stray from the t.p. roll and wind around the beater.
(3) Cut a 1/2" slit in the edge of the t.p. roll and slip the end of the yarn in there, so that it catches.
(4) Now you can set up to wind. Now may be a good time to explain what you'll do. You'll set up your mixer at about the same level as your swift. While holding the mixer with one hand and with the end of the beater resting on the plate below, you will use your free hand to guide the yarn onto the t.p. roll. This is a bit tricky, and your first skein will probably not be perfect.
So... put a glove on the hand you'll use to guide the yarn. I discovered the hard way that, especially with a speedy mixer like ours, you'll get yarn-burn on your hand if you don't take prophylactic measures. Then set up as described above: beater above plate, level with swift, and free hand guiding the yarn onto the tube. Then turn your mixer on to the lowest setting. It will seem too fast, but you'll get used to it:
I wound this 440 yard skein in about three or four minutes. Here is the result:
You can see there are a couple of extra ends poking out of the top, and this is because at some point my yarn wound around the beater. Being lazy and not knowing another way to fix it, I just cut the yarn and figured I'd deal with the break later. Moral: in this world of modern technology, things move so quickly, one must be especially alert to snags and mishaps. You must pay attention to where the yarn is directed at all times!
Anyhoo, if you try this, let me know how it goes for you, and please share any tips you've got.
Posted by jess at March 16, 2005 8:07 AM | TrackBackWow, what a great idea! Now, this may be an obvious question - but you then pull the TP roll out and have a center-pull skein, right?
Thanks for the tip!
Posted by: melanie at March 16, 2005 8:34 AMhm...good question. i thought about that, but i actually think the roll is too wide to pull out without collapsing the ball. maybe with a thicker yarn? i bet if we could think of a way to wind the yarn onto something narrower you could make a center-pull ball.
Posted by: jess at March 16, 2005 9:02 AMI had visions of trying this -- and being found days later on the kitchen floor, like a fly wrapped and bound in a spiderweb of yarn, with the electric mixer buzzing away somewhere nearby.....I'm still laughing at the image!
Posted by: Sara at March 16, 2005 10:33 AMha! excellent!
thanks for the joann coupon tip. i've been lurking on ebay for a swift. i could just buy one from joann.
i'll pass on the mixer though
Posted by: maryse at March 16, 2005 11:26 AMBrilliant!!!!!!
Posted by: christine at March 16, 2005 11:30 AMVery entertaining. I bought the winder from Joann's when it was $30 with free shipping and got an email several days later that it was out of stock. So I too have only a swift. Unlike you, however, I also don't have a mixer.
Posted by: Lauren at March 16, 2005 12:43 PMhave the ball winder lol..made my own swift! .. your idea looks nifty though
Posted by: Elizabeth at March 16, 2005 2:56 PMThat is fabulous!
Posted by: Suzanne at March 16, 2005 4:38 PMHow funny and ingenius! I love that colorway btw! What are you going to make with it?
Posted by: atouria at March 16, 2005 5:10 PMah, the knitpicks yarn. i agree - i adore the colors!
as with many people, knitpicks has developed a perplexing power over me. as a result i bought one skein of shimmer without a clue in the world as to what i'd do with it. i've considered making a scarf, perhaps the airy scarf from last-minute knitted gifts or one of my own design, but i still don't know. any ideas? have you seen anything particularly cool done with this yarn or a similar laceweight yarn?
Posted by: jess at March 16, 2005 5:59 PMWhat a great idea! I just bought a ball winder, but I don't have a swift. So I think I might get on, now with the your special code.
I am excited!
Posted by: Joelene at March 16, 2005 7:24 PMOh my goodness! You are quite clever! The cat pic tickles me to no end.
Posted by: la chica alta at March 16, 2005 7:43 PMHey Jessica,
I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am by your professionalism and hard work; I just watched the Darnell Williams documentary that aired on A&E. Great work. It was pretty neat to see you on tv too! I was telling my boyfriend who you were and what you do, how exciting...
:)Tere
What an economical and ingenious way to wind yarn! The one caveat I've heard about electric-mixer-winding is that the wound skein can sometimes be too tight, such that the yarn can stretch and throw off your gauge when it relaxes after being liberated from the TP roll. You'll have to let us know if this is true or merely urban legend.
Posted by: gibsongirl at March 17, 2005 12:27 AMThat is such a super idea! When I am back in the States this May I'll check out JoAnn's website/store for the swift. Love the yarn too.
Posted by: Prim at March 17, 2005 5:36 AMDon't try this around small boys lest they start getting ideas for other things they can do with the hand mixer. Very clever!
Posted by: Mary Beth at March 17, 2005 9:06 AMi can't claim to be too clever, since i saw this idea done with a stand mixer before ;)
anyway, re: the tightness of the ball. i'm concerned about that, but the thing is the yarn i wound was a lace-weight fiber without much give in the first place, so i don't know how accurate my assessment will be. i did try to control the tension with my free hand, but it was more successful at certain points during the process than at others. i'll let you know how it turns out once i use the yarn.
Posted by: jess at March 17, 2005 11:13 AMyou did good. last month, i bought the swift and the yarn winder on joann.com. both items were on sale and i got an additional 40% off discount on each item. i had to order each item separately and i had to use my husbands information for the second order. the coupon was only good for one item. sneaky but, a little something to get around the system without breaking too many laws......i think.
Posted by: karon at March 19, 2005 3:15 AMOMG! I just wet myself reading this. Good for you! I see this in my future...
Posted by: Gale at August 27, 2005 8:58 PMI love Knitpicks too. Bought some Alpaca Cloud laceweight and ordered the Hanging Garden shawl pattern from them. Took me and my husband about 5 hrs. to wind the hank. Never again - that's why I'm looking for a swift - any recommendations on brand, type? Btw, the Hanging Garden is a beautiful pattern but I find I have to pay close attention or I make mistakes which take a long time to undo.
Posted by: Carol at April 5, 2006 8:16 PMabeupdyh qxpjrg hekuita vilrhxet tlqzvse hzjsvg dksvo
Posted by: wynvoxej dtpysb at October 14, 2006 2:19 AMyou could rip the TP tube, they have a diagonal seam in them anyway, just make a small snip in the seam and pull along, it should come right out.
Posted by: courtney at March 4, 2007 2:24 PMOMG! That was amazing! I just happened upon this blog through a search for "swift" - and this was great! Clever! And nice nice website! :)
Posted by: Bashirs_Momma at October 28, 2007 9:27 AMI made my own winder by using a rechargable drill and a wooden dowel. I put a little cut in the top of the dowel to hold the yarn. I then took two plastic cups, upsidedown, and placed them on the dowel to keep the yarn were I wanted it. On on top and one on the bottom to the height I want it and just push the button and away we go. Another think that I liked is if there was a bit of a knot starting, I can just put it in reverse to undo to the point I need. Please let me know what you think of my idea at kaysue4@yahoo.com
Posted by: kaysue4 at November 20, 2007 5:55 PMI could so use this!! But I was just wondering...does this wind the ball too tight? Or do you take the tp roll out, and it's a little loose so it doesn't stretch the yarn or what?
Its an ingenious idea! Love it!
Posted by: Ashli at December 19, 2007 8:23 PMwhat a great idea - i've just found ebay and lace weight yarn and have WAY overspent my yarn budget for the next 5 years so i can't wait to try the mixer; i already use tp rolls - the thought of rewinding 1000+ yards of yarn by hand is daunting - caution, however, since i do already own a manual ball-winder, the more delicate yarns can't take the strain even of the manual pull, so GO SLOW!!!! and i've used lace wound on commercial cones and they tend to lose their "spring", so make sure you aren't winding too tight; need is definitely the mother of invention!
Posted by: gloria at January 31, 2008 3:28 PMLove the idea.....love the cat photo.....my cats "help" me do everything. I'm going to include your brilliant idea an sense of humor in a gift of a yarn swift, for my neice who has two degrees from MIT and a Masters in education......my claim to fame is that I was the Aunt who taught her to knit........she's a lefty and I knit continental style......easy......now she's a knitaholic, too!
Posted by: Donna Sullivan at September 15, 2008 9:09 AMThat looks great I love that idea. I have a question if anyone can help. I love the idea of using wool and other natural fibers. But for gifts for young children it's just not practical. If you have been around children... lol you know it needs gifts need to be machine wash and dryable and often get lost :) Please email me @ poetic_justice305@yahoo.com. If anyone knows if this will work with the cheap-o walmart yarn. That is not in hanks but wound in a way that would drive anyone crazy it ... takes so long to wind it into a ball let me tell ya. LOVE THE CAT PICTURE>>>> my cat inspects everything ... esp. my knitting :0)
Posted by: Lynne Miller at September 1, 2009 2:45 PMThat looks great I love that idea. I have a question if anyone can help. I love the idea of using wool and other natural fibers. But for gifts for young children it's just not practical. If you have been around children... lol you know it needs gifts need to be machine wash and dryable and often get lost :) Please email me @ poetic_justice305@yahoo.com. If anyone knows if this will work with the cheap-o walmart yarn. That is not in hanks but wound in a way that would drive anyone crazy it ... takes so long to wind it into a ball let me tell ya. LOVE THE CAT PICTURE>>>> my cat inspects everything ... esp. my knitting :0)
Posted by: Lynne Miller at September 1, 2009 2:46 PMHow about you just spend a little extra $$ on a $19. ball winder. You spent triple that on the swift.
Posted by: Patrick at October 18, 2009 7:50 PMOne skein of shimmer will make a long scarf in feather and fan (24 stitches0 on big needles - (8 mm).
About 100 yards for 6 foot scarf for me in 24 stitches
24 stitches
Row 1: k2 tog, k2 tog, (yo k1) x 4,(k2 tog) x 4, (k1 yo) x 4
Row 2: knit
row 3: knit
row 4: purl
16 stitches
Row 1: k2 Tog, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, (k2 tog) x 4, k1, yo,k1,yo,k1,yo, k2 tog
Rows 2,3,4 as above.
Awesome! I've found 2 easy ways to get the yarn off the roll. one is place a plastic sandwich bag over it b4 you start, then it slides right off..or two wrap the label of the yarn around the roll, first, that also slid right off, and for the terminally lazy (like me) just leave it on! theres bound to be more rolls around the house somewhere....
Posted by: Jessika at April 22, 2010 11:18 PMSome time ago, I did need to buy a good car for my firm but I didn't earn enough money and could not buy anything. Thank heaven my colleague suggested to get the credit loans from trustworthy bank. Therefore, I did that and was satisfied with my short term loan.
Posted by: Jeannine26Lynch at August 15, 2010 9:08 PM