Winding Yarn

[pageta]

So (I'll let you in on a little secret here) I don't have a swift or a ball winder. I got this yarn online and it came in hanks. Well, I can't knit with it like that, so I wound it into balls using dpns so I could have a center pull. The last one I did, I timed myself and it took an hour (yes, AN HOUR) for me to wind one hank into a ball. Now I'm knitting with it (and pulling from the center) and I keep getting these big globs of yarn. I'm knitting something where I have to count rows, and I have to stop knitting to untangle the glob, then I forget how many rows I've done, I count them (not easy with this yarn), knit a couple rows, then stop and untangle some more. At this point, I've spent as much time untangling as I did winding. Needless to say, I am quite irritated.

A) Can companies who send yarn out in hanks be required to put a warning on their site that they do that and if you hate winding your own yarn, you shouldn't buy from them? Disclaimer: I did not buy this yarn from a WAHM that surfs this board.

B) Is there some place that tells you how to wind a usable ball of yarn so this doesn't happen but the ball is managable and the yarn can be pulled from the center (vs. a ball of yarn rolling all over the room while you knit)? I really don't want to spend the money to buy a swift and a ball winder, much less have to find a place to store them where they are out of my way (much less have to listen to dh complain about all the stuff we have...do we every use it...can't we get rid of some of it).

[Meredith]

I purchased from Furryarns and TWICE I asked them to wind the yarn because I didn't have a winder at that time. They didn't even acknowledge the request, and sent it to me in a hank.

Nice..... I agree....they should let you know that they are selling it that and have no intention of winding it up.

[clothusingmama]

Sorry, I am no help but I can understand your frustration. I roll mine into a ball and then confine the ball to a smallish container while knitting. The ball doesnt roll away and there are no knots. Good luck, I hope you find a solution that works for you.

Tami

[pb_and_j]

Try rolling it up around a toilet paper tube. That way the inside won't be too tight and it will pull out of the center easily. Sometimes I get "globs" w/ this method, but I've never gotten a really bad one.

Also, why arent' you using a row counter woman! Or at least make some marks after each row on a piece of paper!! ;)

[cozystitches]

There are sites online (and they escape me at the moment) that show how to wind w/o a winder. She did it with a stand mixer, was really cool.
I have a winder (which I LOVE) but no swiff..you can wind yarn w/o a swiff...just place the hank open onto your legs and wind away...I'm sure a swiff is faster, but i need to save up funds for that..hmm...maybe I can convince my mom to buy me one for Christmas. :)

Hugs,
tammy

[littleturtlemama]

well, I hate to say it, but y'all are spoiled by us wahms winding it for you. I've never, ever gotten yarn wound from anywhere I've ordered. It's jsut not done. I do it as a courtesy cause I know most mamas don't have winders, but really, the yarn shouldn't be wound until right before it's knit, ebcusae it will stretch if left balled too long. That's whay most placed don't wind it, becuase they don't assume you'll use it right away, and they don't want it to stretch.

Now, there are two things you can do. First is get a nostepinne, which is a little ooden stich (thicer than a DPN) and use that to wind (very nifty tool that I keep in my travel bag so I can wind yarn when on vacation, and want to knit with my treasured RIGHT NOW) or use a toilet paper tube with a notch cut at the top. Slip the first strand of yarn in teh notch, then wind around the tube, at the end, pull teh tube out a voila! A center pull ball :)

And now, for your counting problem, you need to be on the lookout when you get your next pacakge from me (going out monday) and I'l going to send along a handy dandy special little something for you ;)

[whimsy]

I have 2 11 year old girls who are EXCELLENT ball winders. I'm gonna have to try that TP tube idea with them!

[jmo]

Theresa - it makes sense what you say, but some of the hanks I receive seem twisted much tighter than my yarn cakes from the winder. I don't pull tightly on the yarn when using the winder so that the yarn doesn't get stretched out of shape. Is there still a risk of it stretching if I don't use it right away?

[CraftyMommaOf2]

If you do your yarn into a ball you can put in into a paper bag that you've cut down or into a milk jug that you've cut in half height-wise so that it doesn't go all over the place. Redneck sounding, I know, but it works :LOL Just make sure the milk jug edges are smooth.

[FabriConnection]

Before I got a ball winder my yarns were sent in hanks. I did hand wind balls for some customers who asked though ;)

[Nada]

..you can wind yarn w/o a swiff...just place the hank open onto your legs and wind away...

Hugs,
tammy

And here I was using my dd. :lol:

Nada :bag :lurk

[cozystitches]

LOL...I'd use my daughter, but she wouldn't co-operate..


Hugs,
tammy

[marnie]

am i crazy? i just wind it into a ball and put it on my lap and it doesn't erally roll around anywhere. My LYS does yarn cakes and i start with the yarn on the outside because i hate with a center-pull cake when you're nearing the end and it gets all squishy.

am i the only one?

[abigailvr]

Mmmm, yarn cake. :lol:

[Angela_hk_n_knit]

This one might sound even more red neck... or not... :D

When I wind my yarn into balls...I'm not "talented" enough to do a center pull with out it getting completely tangeld. So I wind mine and put the ball in a large ziplock baggie. That way I can stor my project in the ziplock when im taking a bread from it and lessen the risk of it getting dirty.

I live with a hubby, a 4 year old, a 3 month old, a cat, and a dog. NOTHING will COMPLETELY take away the risk of it getting dirty.

[amyrobynne]

After knitting for 8 years, I just realized early this summer that all my LYS's will wind yarn for me. Whaddya know. That would have been useful information before I made a blanket last fall using 10 hanks of cotton. I think it took me weeks to hand-ball them all. I remember staying up until late at night undoing knots when I got too lazy to keep the hank smooth. Bad, bad idea. I always just wound the yarn around my hand until it was big enough on its own--a few yarn globs, but not too many.

[pamelamama]

:nut

[mom2rays]

I wind around my Thumb and pinkie finger in a figure eight. It does take a while but it makes a skein rather than a ball and if you keep the tail that hangs down your wrist available it's a nice center pull with minimal tangles. I've even would Plymouth Outback Wool Packs that are almost 400 yds. this way without problems.
Place tail of yarn going down your LH wrist if right handed, maybe 2-3 inches, then starting going up and over your pinkie between it and your ring finger. Take yarn around pinkie and past palm, then up and over your thumb, between it and the pointer finger. Pass yarn completely around your thumb and back up to loop around pinkie, this is the winding sequence. Continue until all yarn is wound. I usually wrap the last little bit by pulling the skein off my hand, and winding around the skein less than 10 times, then tuck in my loose end. I use the tail that was hanging down to start my center pull skein :D I hope this works for you!

[Nada]

Just one thing I've noticed about winding yarn... When I used to do it by hand before I got my beloved ball winder, the yarn was wound more tightly than with the ball winder so I found it stretched out and wasn't as nice to work with - if that makes sense. With the ball winder, I get a nice even tension and the yarn seems to stay "fluffy". Definately a worthy investment for me!

Now, I'm considering a swift and of course Jess has one in stock at Fabriconnection... can you say temptation? :roll:

Nada :)

[Sheena]

Well, my problem is that I ALWAYS create ginormous knots no matter how much I swear I will not. I lay the hank out, I go very slowly, I don't just start pulling... and the next thing I know I have a giant knot of yarn. Is there some secret to just getting it off the hank??? Dh does it for me but he's a procrastinator.

[cassdarrow]

Put the hank over a chair back. Then it is kept in the circle, see?

[Sheena]

You know... I was just thinking earlier about how so many things related to knitting seem to baffle my mind and they ALL turn out to be ridiculously simple. Chalk up one more!

Thanks Cass, I think you just saved me many hours!

[cassdarrow]

Well, you're certainly welcome!

[FabriConnection]

The best chair I found to use was a children's rocking chair, b/c it wasn't as tall ;)

[Sheena]

Well, you would think this would have occurred to me as I hank my own yarn for dyeing on one of Max's upside down chairs, lol.