Do you need a ball winder?
January 13, 2009 by Del
Filed under miscellaneous, notions and accessories, yarn
A ball winder is one of those yarn-related accessories that’s nice to have, but as in a lot of cases, not 100% necessary. I did without a ball winder for years (and still don’t have a swift), but finally broke down because I use laceweight yarns from time to time and winding hundreds of yards of thin yarn by hand can get tiresome.
Of course, if you love winding hanks of yarn into balls by hand, then by all means, skip the winder. Your local yarn shop may even offer the service when you purchase yarn there (for a small fee). I’ve had online vendors offer yarn-winding, too (again, for a fee).
However, a ball winder can be a good investment. You can find a decent one that costs around $40.00. I’ve seen some for half that price, but can’t say how reliable it would be. And you can always find some that cost a lot more. For now, my kitchen chair backs work almost as well as a swift, but it’s nice to not have to wind 400+ yards of laceweight yarn by hand.
Image: KnitPicks
Awh man with a title like that I thought great she’s doing a give away heheh. oh well I have that one.. but it needs to be replaced.. and hey.. a computer chair and some markers make a great swift too… http://bit.ly/diyswift