Winding yarn

newbieknitter · 10-25-2009, 09:58 PM

I have a ball winder but no swift...can it be done???

sgtpam · 10-25-2009, 10:55 PM

Absolutely! I don't have one either and I love my winder. Just go for it.

I think the swift may be more important for long hanks...but, I'm just guessing.

bronwyndp · 10-26-2009, 09:52 PM

I bought a ball winder for $20 from Knit Picks, but I had a hard time shelling out another $65 (on sale) for the swift, BUT I came across an awesome solution. Try Tinker Toys! I bought a canister off of ebay for about $18, I think. My can didn't have exactly the same pieces as the tutorial, but it works great with my mods. I think mine works better with the mods, even. http://www.folkcatart.com/blogs/jen/?p=742

I think if you don't use something in place of a real swift you might have problems. I wouldn't recommend doing it by yourself. Have one person crank the winder and one control the yarn coming off the hank. Otherwise, your tension on the ball winder may be uneven.