Manual yarn winders? - Page 2

GrumpyGramma · 01-18-2013, 01:32 PM

Quote:

The kids thinks it's some sort of toy that I'm selfishly keeping away from them

That's maybe the best part of one of these, kids will do your winding for you and enjoy it! That looks almost identical to the KP one, I didn't run down discounts and was ordering from KP anyhow so got theirs. Probably one would work just the same at the other. Mine had instructions for putting the yarn on the back of a chair for winding but so far I've only used yarn that was already in a ball so haven't tried it. My adventures in winding are for frogged or the end of a center pull skein or when I want a small amount for something.

mojo11 · 01-18-2013, 09:33 PM

I asked my girlfriend if she could remember the manufacturer of the winder she just junked and she couldn't, but she DID suggest that wooden models usually have better gears (less prone to breakage) and that that was what was wrong with hers. She also mentioned checking the spokes on the swift to be sure they were solid, but you hadn't said anything about getting one of those.

If this is a one-off and you don't figure to need the winder again then you can probably go with whatever the cheapest model is you can find. If you're planning on using it a lot over the long term, it's probably worth spending extra to get one with brass gears. (Easy for me to say -- it's not my money and I don't have the foggiest idea how much such a thing would cost. But my guess is "more".)

Jan in CA · 01-18-2013, 10:43 PM

If my hubby winds a ball it's going to look like the multicolor one..a round ball that pulls from the outside and rolls around. He is only allowed to help with big knotty messes.

If I hand wind a ball it's going to look like a flat cake that is center pull and sits nicely by my side like this pink one.

mojo11 · 01-18-2013, 10:48 PM

Originally Posted by Jan in CA

If my hubby winds a ball it's going to look like the multicolor one..a round ball that pulls from the outside and rolls around. He is only allowed to help with big knotty messes.

If I hand wind a ball it's going to look like a flat cake that is center pull and sits nicely by my side like this pink one.

If I wind it, it's going to be the round ball with the center pull that you keep in a bag to keep it from rolling around, but feeds like butter from the first yard to the last; i.e. no big wad of Ramen noodles at the beginning!

DavidSydney63 · 01-19-2013, 09:01 AM

Easy - have your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend stand in the middle of the room with his/her/its arms outstretched and use them ... works for me.