One of my favorite things about buying yarn at a local yarn store is those beautiful twisted yarn hanks.
The problem is those pretty pretzels of yarn can’t be knit like that.
You have to have them wound.
And if you’ve tried winding it by hand you know how cumbersome and time consuming it can be.
While I find winding by hand therapeutic, most of us want to cast on our next project as soon as possible.
So should you invest in your own yarn winding set up?
Probably.
Margaret, one of our Yarnist Society community moderators, said it well:
All three of these items work together to make your life easier in one MAJOR way.
Saving TIME.
Don’t have time to wait for the yarn store to wind a full sweater’s worth of yarn?
Wind it yourself!
Accidentally pull out too much yarn from the center yarn ball?
Rewind it yourself!
Does the yarn store charge for winding multiple skeins of yarn?
Wind it yourself!
But there are a few more advantages of this set-up so here’s a break down of the Stanwood tools Margaret mentioned.
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Ball Winder
This winder is designed to handle up to 4 ounces of yarn, which means you can wind a standard skein easily. Using a high quality winder can help ensure you get the perfect amount of tension in your yarn *cake* and wind it fast. Want more capacity? Try this bigger option!
Get it at Amazon -
Yarn Swift
A ball winder is hard to use without with one of these babies. But let me warn you, you get what you pay for. The wood ones might cost more, but they're much easier to adjust and will last a long time. If you need a budget option though, this set from Inmaker is a good starting point.
Get it here -
Yarn Yardage/ Meter Counter
You may not have known these even exist, but they're super useful. If you've ever wanted to know exactly how much yarn you have left over from a project this is a more accurate tool than weighing. If you have yarn you picked up at the thrift store or left without a label, you can see how much yardage is there. It's a little pricey, but worth its weight in gold!
Get it at Amazon
Some of these are affiliate links. Buying through them supports The Yarnist at no extra cost to you.
Conclusion
These tools are a bit of an investment, but if you’re a serious Fearless Knitter, they’ll pay for themselves in the time (and sanity) they save you.
But do you think?
Have you invested in any of theses tools?
Any that we should have included?
Hit reply and share your experience!
It may end up in one of our future newsletters.