Winding yarn into a ball?

feminine_earth · 12-19-2006, 11:30 AM

Ok, I'm pretty embarassed to ask this question...but the other day, my mom was practicing her knitting (I just taught her three weeks ago), and her husband was watching her. Well, Mom complained a bit about having to stop every now and then to unwind some more yarn from the skein. Her husband then replied to her that she's having to do that because she didn't wind the yarn into a ball before she started knitting.

Whaaa??

We're supposed to wind skeins of yarn into balls of yarn? Does everyone do that? How could I have been knitting since September and not know this??

brendajos · 12-19-2006, 04:42 PM

i only wind hanks of yarn into balls......and sometimes if i get too much yarn vomit out of the middle of a skein when trying to find the end i will too. there is no need to do so if it is in a skein though.

janelanespaintbrush · 12-19-2006, 04:52 PM

If she's unwinding yarn from the skein, it sounds like she might be starting from the outside end. It might be less of a hassle if she worked from the inside end so the yarn just comes out from the middle instead of having to be unwound from around the skein. KWIM? If she likes working from the outside end better, she could try sealing it in a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off for the working yarn to glide through -- this way she should be able to just pull the yarn out and the skein should unroll itself within the bag as she goes.

Eloewien · 12-19-2006, 04:53 PM

I think it's personal preference. I ball all my yarn. I hate the headache of the yarn getting stuck inside a skein. I also have a ball winder, so it's fairly quick and painless

jessi_9783 · 12-19-2006, 06:00 PM

I also wind all of my yarn. I don't care if it's a center pull skein or not. I hate when it gets tangled on itself and I hate finding knots. I like finding the knots before I begin to knit.

feminine_earth · 12-19-2006, 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by Eloewien

I think it's personal preference. I ball all my yarn. I hate the headache of the yarn getting stuck inside a skein. I also have a ball winder, so it's fairly quick and painless

A ball winder! Now that sounds like a good idea! Are they expensive? I'm assuming I could pick one up at Joann's?

brendajos · 12-19-2006, 06:45 PM

I have never seen them at my Joann's store but I understand there are Joann's "superstores" out there that are much better than the average store. You can find them online though. Their website has one as well as a swift if you don't want to have to find a way to hold the hanks. They can both be seen here. I don't have this particular winder but I have seen others say that it is nice enought. Joann's also has coupons online a lot that will give anywhere between 40-50% off the REGULAR price. (sorry not off the sale price.) You can only use each coupon once, but you can divide up the orders and find a couple of different coupons to buy both if you want.

I believe Kemp offers the Royal Ball winder in her store too.

feminine_earth · 12-19-2006, 07:15 PM

Oh wow...thank you for those links, but those aren't cheap! LOL, I think I'll do it by hand...is that what Amy's "Center pull ball" video explains?

Thanks everyone for all the help!

Jan in CA · 12-19-2006, 07:24 PM

I use Amy's "winding a center pull ball" all the time! It works great! The more you do it the better you get. Mine come out flattish on the bottom like the ball winders make them.

feminine_earth · 12-19-2006, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by Jan in CA

I use Amy's "winding a center pull ball" all the time! It works great! The more you do it the better you get. Mine come out flattish on the bottom like the ball winders make them.

Thanks Jan!! I'm gonna give it a go!