Which Yarn Ball Winder is Best for You?
If you are a serious knitter who buys hand-spun yarn or other artisan yarn in hanks or skeins, you will probably want to invest in some sort of ball winder, with or without a swift. The ball winder has a spindle or shaft around which the yarn is wrapped, while the swift supports the yarn in such a way that it can easily be fed on to the winder. Winders can be manual or electric, made from plastic or wood.
A popular, inexpensive model is the Lacis Yarn Ball Winder, a hand operated yarn winder which makes perfect pull thread balls up to 4 ounces without requiring tubes or cones. Its yarn feeder provides an even flow and prevents tangling. Positive reviews point out that it is inexpensive (under $30), portable and handles all weights of yarn with equal ease. Less positive reviews complain that it is a small capacity winder, only up to 4oz per ball, that the clamp is too small for some tables, and that you need to maintain an even tension of the yarn feed in order to get a firm ball.
Very similar to the Lacis, is the Royal Wool Ball Winder. It is a little more expensive, but seems to be correspondingly more robust. The Royal is designed in such a way that the yarn basically cannot get caught in the mechanism. It also clamps to a table and works best with a swift.
Nancy’s Knit Knacks makes a somewhat pricey heavy duty wooden Ball Winder, mainly designed for the yarn industry, but great at home, too. It is very sturdy with a large (high torque) wooden handle. The handle is comfortable to use and very powerful, allowing it to wind fast, while making no noise. It can wind balls up to 1 Lb. or more.
If your arm tires easily using a hand winder, the Boye Electric Yarn Ball Winder may be the answer. It quickly and easily winds hanks of yarn into centre-pull skeins. It can wind thin yarns together to create different colours and thicknesses. Some users complain that the yarn is wound to tightly, while others say the opposite, that the ball is too loosely wound. Probably the answer to the problem lies in adjusting the turn-rate. Other users have complained that the smooth plastic causes the yarn to slide off the end of the tube but the majority of users find that the speed and ease of an electric winder outweigh other inconveniences.
There is not a large variety of Ball Winders to choose from. Factors that influence which one is right for you include price, volume of wool you need to wind, and space you have available. The big decision is whether or not to abandon Grandmother’s back-of-the-chair method and invest in some technology to keep your knitting projects spinning along.
A Review of Yarn Ball Winders
There are lots of yarn ball winders available in the modern market. Thanks to the internet, one is able to shop at their own convenience for a good and affordable yarn ball winder. I shall be reviewing a few of the brands that I have encountered, and I hope that by the end of the article, you will have adequate information just in case you need to go shopping for the perfect ball winder.
As we spoke about in a former post, we have the Lacis ball winder. It is quite popular and is widely available on the worldwide web. It has an easy and flawless winding action and is sturdy when clamped on to one’s workplace. It is made of heavy and durable plastic. The winder also has no exposed parts and as such, the yarn does not get caught in the equipment. At only $25, it is a great price for a great product.
Next, we have the Boye Yarn Ball Winder, BY Simplicity. It is great for travelers and has an adjustable speed function that is good for those that want to match their speeds with the amount of time and work that they have to do. It is sensitive to tension which makes it seem that the machine is intuitive and adjust itself accordingly. Its major drawback, however, is the fact that it can be noisy at high speeds. It is great for people with hand, wrist or joint problems as the machine is easy to use and not much manual effort is needed.
The third winder is the Royal ball winder. It is great for both beginners and experts. It also leaves an empty core after one is done winding at the center, which allows the ball to contract as needed. It is however large in size and thus makes balls that are bigger than seven inches in diameter. This can be a problem for those who prefer to wind smaller sized balls.
Lastly, we have the compact 4 oz wool yarn ball winder. Setting it up is easy and it is affordable. Completing a hank takes minutes and has adjustable speeds. It is perfect for natural fibers and makes it easy to avoid tangles as the ball winder does most of the work.
In conclusion, the smart shopper will compare things such as price, portability and other needs before purchasing a ball winder. One thing is for sure, however, yarn ball winders make it easy for those that knit a lot.
Lacis Yarn Ball Winder
The Lacis Company specializes in threads, ribbons and equipment that are used in the textile market in general, including the beloved yarn ball winder. It also offers a wide range of cotton threads, vintage garments and lace making tools. Having been in business since 1965, it has extensive experience and know-how in the textile making industry and garment making business. Apart from this, the Lacis brand also publishes over 130 books that touch on needlework and costume work.
In the tools and materials section, the company specializes in cords and threads such as cotton, lace weight yarn, linen, metallic and bullion, needlework, novelty, nylon beading, ribbon, robe and silk. In the embroidery section, the company offers embroidery kits which are ready-to-stitch collections. For instance, the animal collection, which is sure to put a smile on any kid, is made of luxurious material and is safe for children according to the safety requirement that are in place. The other collection is the ready to stitch baby bibs which are made of the purest cotton, and can be found in three themes: firetruck, princess and patchwork.
In the specialty fabrics sections we have small samples of swatches that comprise of specialty fabrics such as linen and tulle. These can be used for embroidery and lace making and are available in three different sets: craft and sewing, tulle and netting, embroidery, linen and silk. They all come at a super low price of 6 dollars. In the craft section, we have fabrics such as buckram, muslin, crinoline and canvas.
In the sewing aids section, we have the feather weft, timex interfacing, quilting set and so-sheer fusible kit. For the silk section, various types of silk are available. For example, the silk crepeline is a fine, stiffened silk gauze that can be used as supporting structure for weakened fabrics and lace. It is invisible once used in the final product and. It comes in two colors – a pleasant light beige and dark brown.
The Lacis website offers free shipping for all products that are ordered through it. This applies to goods that are sent via UPS Ground or USPS Mail, and shipped within the United States. However, it is important to note that one will have to pay a handling charge of $4.50.
One can also track their orders on the website by inserting the order number or invoice number. This is the number that one gets when he/she places his/her order. It is also found in the email confirmation message.
All in all, the Lacis ball winder is a smart choice for smart shoppers, who are looking for quality and durability in terms of thread and fabric.
How to Use a Yarn Swift and Yarn Ball Winder
If you bought many bulky or hank yarns, for sure you need a ball winder to wind the yarn into a controllable yarn ball and a swift to help you handle the bulky yarns. These devices are simple to use once you often get use to them and they can even turn out a tidy enfolded ball of yarns that are much easier to manage when you knit. Now, you will not need to worry so much about tangles and messes once you used them.
Here are the easy steps of how to use your yarn ball winder with a yarn swift.
Step 1: Set-up your equipment. Of course you need a yarn ball winder, yarn swift, yarn in hanks, and I advice you also to use a sturdy dining room table. It is also advisable to just leave the tablecloth on your tabletop so that it will protect your table from a tighten bolt as you place your yarn ball winder. You then clamp at the table edge and tighten the bolt. You can set up both devices by placing them from twelve to eighteen inches apart.
Step 2: Now take your yarn and loosen it on the hank but don’t untie the strands at first. Just make sure that both ends of your yarn have no twists in the skein before you can place it over your swift. Lift the knot like part of your yarn swift which is at the bottom of the pole and it will spread out like an umbrella. Then slip it over onto the yarn swift and hang on to it to hold it steady as you wind the yarn. Just make sure to find the knot and be careful when you cut that so that you are not cutting the actual yarn. There are some hanks that the knot is in different place so you need to check for that.
Step 3: Fasten one end of the yarn to your yarn ball winder and slip it on to a little eye like a needle at the top of the ball winder and now you’re ready to wind.
Step 4: Start winding. It is critical to keep a consistent speed while winding otherwise the yarn could turn into a mess. So you need to help the ball winder create a tight and full yarn ball by slight tension on the yarn as you wind. Slowly turn the crank at the back of the winder in the clockwise direction or as indicated on the instructions on using your yarn winder. Just take note that you should keep it slow and gentle at first so as not to get tangled or turn into one big mess and make sure that the yarn isn’t getting wedge on anything as you wind.
Step 5: Just continue to turn the crank on your ball winder and by guiding the yarn swift using your left hand while it feed through to your yarn ball winder. By this you can finished a ball of yarn in no time. Once you are done in completing the skein of yarn, just slip it off from the ball winder and you are done!
Now that you know how to use your yarn swift and yarn ball winder, you can work now with on the outside or use a center-pull ball, which many knitters commonly use.
Yarn Ball Winder
Many knitters and crocheters still wind their yarn balls by hand. They not only devote precious time knitting and crocheting projects, but they also devote much time and energy on winding their yarn balls by hand. I like to call this being a human yarn ball winder. For almost every project the human yarn ball winder painstakingly rolls the ball of yarn by hand, loop after tedious loop. During the winding process the human yarn ball winder needs to deal with kinks and tangles and worst of all- knots. This winding project can often leave the human yarn ball winder tired and annoyed and without as much interest in the knitting or crochet project that she had been so excited about originally.
But winding balls of yarn is a different art. The skills that it takes to be a master yarn ball winder are not the same as the skills that it takes to be a good knitter or crocheter. There is no benefit in going through the wax-on-wax-off motions of yarn ball winding to knitting or crocheting. So any extra time spent on yarn ball winding is time lost that could have been spent creating something beautiful with the yarn.
That is just why I want to teach you the secrets to becoming a true yarn ball winder samurai (or at least to understand how to roll a ball of yarn efficiently). There are two:
- the yarn ball winder
- the yarn swift
My job as the Yarn Ball Winder Guru will be to teach you about these two valuable tools and how they can improve your yarn ball winding skills. Breath deep and let the Yarn Ball Winder Guru introduce you to a new way of winding yarn- without a fight…