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Winding a skein into a centre-pull ball
February 19th, 2007 by ariadneNow that we have the Noni Bags available, we thought we would mention that many of the patterns require one skein of one colour, but with two strands of yarn held together. Now it’s not a problem if you don’t have a ball winder. Enjoy!
Turns out you don’t need a ball winder after all!
Okay, I LOVE mine, and wouldn’t part with it for the world. But if you don’t mind hand-winding your skeins, there is a non-toilet-paper-tube method for winding a centre pull ball. It’s even pretty easy, as long as the skein doesn’t get tangly—and you can’t blame us for that.
Ready?
1.Untie the skein, and identify the outside loose end. For easiest unwinding, stretch it out over your feet, your knees, the back of two chairs, your partner’s hands or any other convenient location. Ariadne does not endorse the use of pets for yarn-holding purposes, as this always ends in tears and soggy, tangled yarn.
2.Hold the loose end in your left hand (or right hand, if you are left-handed) with your thumb up in the “OK” sign. Make sure to leave a good couple of inches free.
3.Begin winding the yarn around your thumb, with the loose end hanging down your hand.
(Keep going . . . this is the part where we skip all the work and pull the already finished cake out of the oven. Oh the magic of the internet!)
4.Wind ALL of the yarn around your thumb. You can rotate the ball around on your thumb if you need to, but don’t take the ball off your thumb until you’re finished. You may or may not say “what a good girl am I” at this point in time.
5.Pull the ball off your thumb and admire its beauty and usefulness. Just keep it away from the pets.
Posted in How To | 
February 23rd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
OH my Gods….thats the best info I have had in ages and no I am NOT be sarcastic. Many is the time I have tried the “tie it to a stick and wind” method only to have the yarn slip off inside the ball as I pull out the stick, leaving me inside pull-less.
Thank you thank you thank you!
February 24th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Glad you find this useful! I must admit that it is probably one of the more useful things I learned in high-school, so I’m glad to be able to pass it along.
M.A.
March 5th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
It’s probably easiest to leave the yarn on your thumb but I have had good luck in taking it off (my index finger) and continuing to wrap from there, being careful not to close up the hole. I’ve become a little over-enamoured of my own hand-wound balls lately, fbofw.
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Thank you for clear, easy to follow instructions. Just what I needed.
March 29th, 2007 at 9:36 am
This is GREAT, I’ve tried other methods that resulted in “yarn footballs”, but with this method, I got a perfect circle,,,,,thank you
July 30th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
This is roughly the way I’ve been teaching at my class for years and now I have illustrations! Thanks.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
I start mine on my thumb and later replace my thumb with a size 13 knitting needle. It keeps the hole open, but lets you set the thing down and go answer the phone if necessary.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Teşekkürler ilginç bir çalışma.
Thank you. :)
July 30th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
you all are very welcome!
July 30th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
“I must admit that it is probably one of the more useful things I learned in high-school”
Hmmm. I learned Algebra, Geometry, and BASIC programming.
Also learned there’s probably a machine for every hand done task that will save you more in time than what the machine costs…
http://www.handknitting.com/Needles-Accessories/Yarn-Winder/Ball-Winder
July 30th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
[…] Here’s a fantastic tutorial by ariadne on how to wind a skein of yarn into a center-pull ball without having to use sticks or pencils! Link. […]
July 30th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
I didn’t know there was a machine for this. Since we have 4 teens to feed I will simply use my husbands thumb for this!
Thanks!
July 30th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
yay! you got boing boinged!
hope your server doesnt melt!
sean
x
July 31st, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I used to use my thumb, but stretchier yarns got unhappy about not having enough of a hole in the middle to relax into. I use two fingers now, or I tuck the end under the top of a tube of Airborne and use the non-lid end to wind with. I also find that if I continue to rotate the ball it comes out WAY more proportional.
August 1st, 2007 at 12:06 pm
[…] Ariadne at ariadneknits. She has a simple way to wind your own center pull ball of yarn using only your thumb. Yes, your […]
August 9th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I use a slight variation of this method, which involves winding the yarn around 4 fingers about 15 times, then taking your hand out and holding the loops against your thumb (with the same hand) and then following as above. It gives you a plug of yarn you can pull out to get you started.
August 10th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
ho ho ho! now i get to rewind the balls I wound last week! this is sooooo… (rolls eyes and grimaces) blinkin’ simple!
thanks!!!
October 8th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
[…] Winding a skein into a centre-pull ball Without the need for a ball-winder! (tags: knitting wool yarn skein ball centre-pull wind) […]
October 27th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
does anyone know how to wind yarn into a football shape ball or lemon-shaped ball? My mother wound all her yarn this way—I cannot recall how to do this.
November 7th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
I seriously love you right now!
Google + you have solved my dilemma of how to wind vacation-purchase yarn without having the ball run all over the plane on the way home!
For serious, you are made of win. Thanks!
December 1st, 2007 at 2:12 am
[…] yarn and find an end. wind the ball! i just make normal yarn balls, but you may prefer to make a center-pull ball. also, you can use chair backs instead of your […]
December 26th, 2007 at 9:08 am
very useful info. thanks.
January 21st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
thanks
March 4th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Hi, I am looking to find some 8 ply wool or wool/mohair cinch cord. Does anyone know where I can get a spool of it. I am not having any luck and have been looking for some time. Thanks
March 15th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
nice
May 25th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
You made my day with this…so cool. I’ve linked to this on my blog. Thanks.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:29 pm
[…] bei ariadneknits […]
October 8th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Thanks for the visual on such a simple solution… I work with mohair, horsehair and alpaca as a saddle cinch maker and will be using your technique since others have failed to do the job!
October 18th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Google + you have solved my dilemma of how to wind vacation-purchase yarn without having the ball run all over the plane on the way home!
For serious, you are made of win. Thanks!
November 26th, 2008 at 9:05 am
very nice page.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
[…] What’s racing through my mind: - The first time I bought a skein of yarn. I showed it to my Auntie Beth and she shreiked “YOU CANNOT KNIT FROM THAT YOU NEED TO WIND IT” - The Unfortunate Koigu Incident of Last Winter. My friend, Donna, bought a skein of koigu, knit from it and (at the end of our knitting date before I could say anything) threw the whole damn thing into a PLASTIC BAG!!! (it happened so fast I couldn’t stop her and some things are best learned from experience.) The next time I saw her the koigu was wound into a ball, oh so neatly! Oh, how far I have come. I know I should not laugh, but each time I read the “’Ive taken to unravelling them and re-winding into balls which is quite time consuming. Note: here’s a nice link to wind a center pull ball. […]
December 5th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Thank you so much for this! It works perfect everytime, it’s easy and best of all FREE!
December 21st, 2008 at 6:02 pm
[…] ran across this very informative post on ariadneknits.com that goes through step-by-step of how to wind a skein into a centre-pull ball. It was very helpful and mine came out pretty darn good (the yarn comes out so […]
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
What a nice, easy, and clear tutorial. As a kid I spent hours being my mom’s ’swift’ as she wound endless skeins of yarn. I was contemplating a ball winder and swift… may just wind my own and recruit smiling hubby:)
Thanks.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
ho ho ho! now i get to rewind the balls I wound last week! this is sooooo… (rolls eyes and grimaces) blinkin’ simple!
thanks!!!
January 18th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Very clear (and funny)information… thank you :)
February 1st, 2009 at 3:21 am
I can finally wind my own yarn and I don’t have to go to my LYS and be looked at weirdly by the people there. :P THANK YOU!
March 19th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Thank you so much for your tutorial on winding a ball by hand. I had tried to wind my own balls on several occasions but the results were a disaster! Your tutorial was easy to follow and the pictures were great.
Thank you again!
March 30th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
this was quite a treat for a Monday!!! my pro knitter sister said just wind it up, it won’t be a center pull, but oh well and then I found this and am so proud of myself! thanks for sharing!
April 12th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Fantastic info! It works way better than my makeshift nostepinne that I made not so long ago, and the sock yarn I usually have such trouble winding was PERFECT this time around.
May 20th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Solid post=D Will visit again.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Yeah, what great information! I have never seen this method but will use it in the future, especially with skeins of yarn that start to tangle towards the end of the skein.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
[…] in a coffee cup while I turned the handle on my mother’s ball winder. Much faster than the thumb method! Although that can be quite useful and curiously enjoyable with a small amount of yarn such as the […]