Ever get your yarn cake-d?

N0obKnitter · 04-24-2010, 10:50 PM

I got my new wool yarn cake'd when I went to LYS with my best friend a couple days back, the woman used this cool wooden contraption to turn the skein into a cake for me. Knitting from a cake is awesome!!!!

Jan in CA · 04-25-2010, 03:53 AM

The cool wooden contraption is called a swift. It holds the yarn while the ball winder winds. The "cake" is actually called a center pull ball. Some people still use the outside yarn though. I always get my hanks wound if I buy them at the yarn store, but when I by them elsewhere I often wind my own because I don't own all that yet. It's easy and there is a video under tips I think. (videos at the top of the page)

vaudiss · 04-25-2010, 04:03 AM

I got the KnitPicks Yarn Ball Winder a while back and to this with all my yarn. LOVE IT!!!!!!

suzeeq · 04-25-2010, 04:57 AM

That was a ball winder. I wind by hand because most of the yarn I get is already in a center pull skein.

N0obKnitter · 04-25-2010, 05:08 AM

I like that it's flat on the bottom and top, so I can lay it on a table or wherever and knit away. MUCH better. :D

hookedonknitting · 04-25-2010, 05:48 AM

I am so jealous right now as my yarn has been twisting threw the centre pull with another piece and it looks like it has been run over. I will have to check if my lys does this!

Jan in CA · 04-25-2010, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by hookedonknitting

I am so jealous right now as my yarn has been twisting threw the centre pull with another piece and it looks like it has been run over. I will have to check if my lys does this!

I'm not sure if they'll do it if you haven't bought the yarn there, but it's worth a try!

hookedonknitting · 04-25-2010, 07:31 PM

I am willing to convert over to my lys for my yarn if they do this...

Debbie · 04-26-2010, 03:28 PM

The first thing my granddaughter wants to do when she comes over is wind yarn ... out comes the swift and ball winder ... we have even wound some center pull skeins ... just because we can. Another thing we like to do is tie left over yarn together then wind it as one ball. We made a doll blanket out of one ball ... the other two are waiting for to decide what they want to be. Even the knots and tails make for interesting "fabric".

trvvn5 · 04-26-2010, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by hookedonknitting

I am willing to convert over to my lys for my yarn if they do this...

You could just buy the ball winder. There is a relatively cheap one that works pretty well from knitpicks. I think it was only about $25 with shipping and everything.

The swift tends to cost a little bit more. I don't own one of those yet. I just make my b/f stand there with his arms held out while I unwind it off of his hands. Though the swifts are much nicer.

I also love to wind balls. Even if I get a center pull skein I will still wind it into a ball. They tend to be more compact in the wound ball than in the skein. So I can fit more in my yarn drawers that way. I've been told that I'm not allowed to have more than 3 drawers full of yarn at one time. So I like to make them as small as possible so I can fit more.