Yarn Winder

[crochetgal]

I've always wondered when you wind all your skeins what do you do with the labels so you can get more of this color if necessary? How do you keep them together?

When I'm winding my yarns, I'll take the label of each individual hank and put it into the middle of the cake. That way I know exactly what the yarn is.

[DonnaJN]

crochetgal - I do the same thing. Didn't start out that way, but as the stash grew, I couldn't remember what each yarn was.

[Theresa L]

I'm going to ask a newbie question but what is the advantage of using a yarn winder? I never used one and don't know that I want to spend the money on one if there isn't a definite advantage. Thanks for your input.

[DonnaJN]

I don't like to use yarn off the skein. If I start from the middle, it collapses and I get a mess. If I start from the outside, the skein keeps 'hopping'. The yarn winder makes a flat-bottom 'cake' that can be pulled from the inside (not recommended because it twists) or the outside. Before I got the winder, I made balls by hand. It takes a lot of time and they are round. Round isn't that much of a problem since I put them in an empty coffee can or coffee mate container to keep them coralled. If you use yarn that comes in hanks, you have to wind it anyway.

[crochetgal]

I'm going to ask a newbie question but what is the advantage of using a yarn winder? I never used one and don't know that I want to spend the money on one if there isn't a definite advantage. Thanks for your input.

Quite often I'll purchase yarn by the skein rather than in a pre-wound ball. So to make it easier to use, it really helps to put it on a swift (or over the back of a few chairs) and wind it into a cake or onto a spool.

In other cases, I'm blending multiple strands of yarn for a project and its sometimes easier to pre-wind them.

[KathyFuller]

I have been crocheting for 38 years and I'd never heard of a ball winder until I read it about them a couple weeks ago (at least I don't think I'd ever heard of them...I AM getting ol' lady brains! LOL). I always use the skeins just as they are when I buy them. As someone else posted, as the skeins collapse, I end up with a tangled mess and it tends to make me nuts. I'm extremely careful so as NOT to get tangled, but it still happens on almost every skein. When I'm using thread, IF I'm making a project that uses the whole ball or quite a bit of it, I started using a paper towel holder...the kind that sits on the counter top. I remove the top cap, slide the ball onto the spindle and then replace the cap. It works beautifully. I even looked for a toilet paper holder that sits on the floor, but I couldn't find one and actually forgot about it until recently.

[Theresa L]

I do see what you're saying about the skeins collapsing but I never have much trouble with them. I don't know that I do anything special with them but they just don't give me that kind of headaches. I could definitely see the advantage if using a winder if you are blending two or more strands of yarn. Thanks for the education ladies!

[KathyFuller]

I'm pretty careful as the skein collapses. If I am paying attention, I try to pull slowly and when the yarn catches, I ease it out a little at a time until the knotted part is visible. Then I carefully tug and pull, finding the knotted section and then loosening it up. I rarely end up having to cut the yarn, but it does happen occasionally. It is very rare for me to ever have a skein that does not require at least a little bit of finesse in getting it out toward the end without any tangles at all.

[csr]

I'm a newbie to crocheting (or rather picking it up again after YEARS away) and I've been using the skeins as they are and so far haven't experienced any type of "collapse" toward the end but I have been very careful when I've noticed the yarn getting close to the end. I do like the idea of using a paper towel holder, however if you're using multiple colors, that to me would either be a pain in the you know what to transfer skein after skein back and forth or having 4 or 5 paper towel holders at your feet LOL.

[Carynjoyb]

On occasion I do buy a skein that needs to be rolled. I don't have a problem with that, except that it does take time. As far as the other skeins are concerned, I also pull from the inside and am very careful when getting to the end. For the most part I don't have a problem at all. I think I would rather spend more money on yarn then to purchase a ball winder. That's just me though.