Yarn Ball Winding

Do you ever get yarn in hanks like this, and find that it's impossibly difficult to work with?  All you need to do is wind it up into balls!

You'll need two things. First, this is called a swift.

And second, this is called a yarn ball winder. You can buy them at craft stores.

You use these tools to make nice, neat little cakes of yarn so that you won't end up with cranky, tangled yarn as you use it.  

Nobody's got time for that!!!

Attach the yarn ball winder to a steady surface. Put a book under it to add stability if needed.

Put the hank on the swift and find the loose end.

Put the loose end into the winder and start winding. 

Sometimes you may find that you grabbed the wrong loose end and the yarn will get cranky as you wind, and fall off the swift. But just put it back on and try to untangle the problem, or you can pull the yarn off the winder and start again with the correct end if you weren't too far along yet.

 As you wind, the yarn will look like this.

 Ahh! Isn't that much better? Insert something like a carboard toilet paper holder through the center when you remove the cake from the winder, to keep it separated properly inside.

And now you can use your yarn without spending time to untangle and tame it.

Now, visit some other neat blogs!