Skeins or balls?

#1

Hello all, and happy new year :slight_smile:

I was wondering if you could all help me out with something - I’m going to try to sell some of my hand-dyed silk this year, and I keep going back and forth over how to present it. I know that skeins show off the colours better than balls do, but if you get a ball you can knit right from it. It’s easier for me to do balls because it requires one less step, but if it would help them sell more then skeins it would be (poor fiance doing the skeining ;-)).

So, what would you prefer from a hand-dyed, moderately expensive yarn?

Fi xxx

#2

Anytime I do not have to wind a skein is a plus for me!

#3

I agree - winding takes up time. I prefer skeins. However, alot of the really nice yarns come in hanks and I have to wind into balls. If only it were a wind free world.

#4

I got a ball winder for Christmas and immediately began translating my stash into nice, neat little cakes. They stack, they’re easy to knit from and I <3. :slight_smile:

#5

The thing is that it presents prettier in a hank than just about anything else. I have also been told that you shouldn’t wind them before you are ready to use them because it stretches the yarn out. I don’t know if that is true or not though. I generally prefer to get them in hanks and wind them myself when I am ready to use them. I have had them wound when I was planning on using them as soon as I got them.

You could always offer to wind them if they would prefer.

#6

I have ball winder and swift. Skeins are nice, balls are great but hanks are best. When I didn’t have the swift, it was a royal pain to wind them my self but it is preferred when working with a beautiful, expensive yarn.

#7

Thanks everyone :slight_smile: I think I will do it so that they come in skeins, but can be balled before shipping if preferred. Yay - hope it goes well, I actually have to make myself sell the yarn instead of planning out what I want to make with it :wink:

#8

My understanding is that winding into a tight ball stretches the yarn a bit. If you leave it in this stretched position, you are changing the yarn. I prefer to buy nice yarns in hanks or skeins, and then wind them just before using them.

#9

i prefer to wind it into balls myself, gives me a feel for the texture of the yarn with it going through my fingers, allows me to remove any knots (gee, can ya tell i got a couple bad skeins of bernat baby yarn as well as some Red Heart?) BEFORE i’m working with it.