Comments on: How to Wind a Ball of Yarn

By: Ilovtocrochet

Ilovtocrochet — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:41:00 +0000

saw a lady on youtube who starts off with the yarn on her thumb with a tail out. That way once you are done winding your ball, you have a center pull which prevents all that flopping around from working the outside of the ball.

By: Martyk4vm

Martyk4vm — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:27:00 +0000

Maybe we had the same mother. You want to be sure an animal fiber, like wool or alpaca, is not wound too tightly or it will lose its stretch. Winding the ball over a finger or two, than rotating the ball and placing the finger in a new position as you go, insures there is softness and stretchyness in the ball. The ball won’t be as tight and tidy as a ball of string, but the yarn will be useable.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:38:00 +0000

What great tips and step by step instructions; I’ll have to try out some of these great winding techniques myself!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:37:00 +0000

That’s a great image! I love how pretty Homespun’s colors are when it’s wound up in a ball almost as much as I love it in a project.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:08:17 +0000

Nice tip on using a Sharpie to wind the ball. That’s the sort of tool many people already have in the house!

By: Margaret

Margaret — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:04:59 +0000

What a fun idea, I’ll have to try it out! It sounds like a great way to teach kids to make their first balls of yarn too.

By: Cbroman

Cbroman — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 21:56:00 +0000

My mother taught me to wind the yarn over my fingers as I make the ball so that it will not get too tight.

By: Gmapeady

Gmapeady — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:39:00 +0000

I agree with Ekozlow257. I’ve been knitting for decades and have always wound the skein as Ekozlow257 says — one long tail hanging out when you start, following the photos up to the point of “Making the Ball.” Then I put one thumb in the middle and wind it as the last photo shows, turning the ball around as I go. That lets me gauge how tightly I’m winding, too, since yarn needs that little bit of ease. It can get awkward near the end, but you can always re-wind the last few yards — and you don’t need any extra tools.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:31:00 +0000

This is where a commercial “yarn bra” or a clean used leg of panty hose can come in handy. I can cut at least 2 from a leg with runs in it, and it keeps a centre-pull skein like Homespun in nice shape all the way to the end. I learned on ravelry.com to find the outside tail, and note if it was tucked into one end of the pull-skein; then take off the label, push your palms against the ends of the skein to shorten and flatten it, then stick your fingers into the opposite end of the skein you removed the yarn tail from. In the very centre you should find the end of the yarn. I do like to get a centre-pull skein or ball, and I find this helps. Good luck.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:18:00 +0000

I’ve always done this–it helps take some of the tension off the yarn to make sure you haven’t wound it too tight. Always wind loosely or you may find your knitted fabric changes stitch count a lot when it first gets near water.