Hi All,
Got a swift and ball winder a few weeks ago and I was a ball winding fiend, I did all my hanks and it took only minutes, and I even did a few skeins that would be easier to knit and was getting anything that looked like like it would wind into a ball. (jk)
But I have a question. What is the limit that should wind into a ball? Meaning, can it wind a bulky yarn say 500 yds? Or should I break them up into smaller balls.
I just didn’t want to do it and when I start to knit with it, there will be problems later.
Thanks!
I have a swift and winder on order and I was told to get the heavy duty swift made of wood. So, I presume alot depends on how sturdy your swift is. Did the swift and winder come with recommendations?
Hi Sheri,
Sorry for the confusion.
I have a large swift and the royal ball winder. My question wasn’t if the swift could handle it. It was how big of a ball could I wind.
I mean if I have 500 yds on a hank and I did it all in one ball, would it still be okay to knit with and will there be any problems. I hope that make sense.
I didn’t want to have King Kong sized balls (hahah that didn’t come out right) and have problems later when the yarn is on the needles.
This is the one that I got. It works great and they are great to deal with if anyone else is looking for one. http://cgi.ebay.com/SET-Large-GLIMAKRA-Yarn-Swift-Royal-Ball-Winder-NEW_W0QQitemZ250234522016QQcmdZViewItem
Take care…
Right, the size of the ball won’t affect the knitting. It may affect the convenience of your project (I found that when I had a huge ball of yarn and a reasonably small project…everything fit nicely into my purse, except the yarn!!
I can’t really contribute on the size issue but here is what little experience I have.
I purchased some lovely wool/silk in a slightly boucle texture somewhat slubby. Came in large hanks since it was handpainted. DH helped me by holding yarn while I wound into a usable ball, took a while. So I asked around and one of my local LYS wound 8 skein into balls for me I measured and they are 4.5" in diameter 3" high. Because of the yarn texture they would not work as center pulls the yarn kept catching and throwing out clumps that I had to detangle. However using them from the outside in presented no problems as long as the balls were underneath my working area and fed straight up.
So the only caution I can add is that texture may be a factor for size as well, probably along with gauge of yarn. Thick smooth should be able to be wound into larger balls than fine fuzzy, I also agree that mine are not that easily slipped into a small bag
