Swift for Under $10!

#1

I’ve been thinking lately about buying a swift, but would rather spend the money on yarn, so I started researching ways of making an inexpensive swift. My husband and I put our heads together and came up with this for under $10 in materials. It works great!

#2

Very cool! I have a question though. What is the green think you used at the base of it?

#3

It’s a lawn sprinkler from WalMart. We just cut the sprinkler parts off with a hacksaw and inserted the wooden dowels (7/16").

#4

[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey all,
Newbie “DER” moment: What is a swift? What is it used for?

My understanding is that it winds yarn. But surely, if you buy your wool in the thing that looks like its in lots of knots rather than a ball, it wouldnt get tangled up.
~Phoenix~
[/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]

#5

Omigosh, that is both hilarious and terrifically ingenious! I HAVE to remember that! :slight_smile:

Here’s a review of swifts that also gives you a good idea of what swifts are for and why they’re a good thing.

#6

SLIM! you (and hubby!) are BRILLIANT!!

:muah: I love it! I’m gonna make one :mrgreen: thank you so much for posting this.

Is that a real nosterpinde? (sp??) or some other clever idea? It’s pretty, anyway!

#7

Looks like a fence or banister part, to me. You can buy them in hardware/DIY stores! I never thought of using one as a nostepinne – what a great idea that is, as well!

#8

No, it’s not a real one, but it works great. We made it from an unfinished table leg we bought at Lowe’s for $3.68. Just cut it down a little shorter and sanded it smooth.

#9

That’s so clever. I wind my balls by hand, but I could still use that. Thanks for sharing your idea!

#10

That’s great - I just love the clothes pins!!

#11

[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey All,
Globaltraveler -Thankyou for the resource. So a swift is the wooden equivelant of getting my partner to hold the wool betwen his hands, or between two knitting needle in my crossed legs in order to turn the tangled mess/fancy balls of wool into straightforward balls of wool.
Hmmm…:think: I can see its merits!!!
~Phoenix~ [/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]

#12

Yes. The thing is with a swift, you don’t have to worry about tangles as much as the yarn leaves the skein. It makes balling yarn, whether you’re doing it on your thumb or a cardboard roll or on a nostepinne or with a ball spinner, soooo much easier and faster.

#13

I must, simply must interupt to clarify. Aren’t swifts used with [B][U]hanks[/U][/B] to wind onto nostepinne (nøstepinde) to make skeins, balls, or cakes?

About.com has a picture show about using a swift and ball winder. http://knitting.about.com/od/toolsandsupplies/ss/ball-winder.htm

But as I search Google images for the following, I find many people lable hanks as skeins… :??

Hanks…

[Twisted Hanks for Display]

Untwisted…

[Untwisted Hanks]

Skeins…

[Typical Retail Skeins]

Skein on a paper towel dispenser…


[Creative or Humorous Use for a Paper Towel Dispenser]

Balls of yarn (in a vase?)

[Yarn Balls]

Yarn Cakes…

[Yarn Cakes]

Spools…

[Spools]

#14

Excellent idea and very creative. Are you and your husband engineers? :slight_smile:

I think a trip to my local Hardware store is in order! LOL

Thanks for the clever adaptations!

–Jack

#15

That is very cool! I had a swift on my wish list for Christmas, so I got one, but that’s a wonderful substitute! Awesome.

#16

Thanks for the pictures. I agree with you. It’s very confusing for a newbie and very annoying to those of us who DO know.