How I Wind Yarn

Okay, there are some fancy tools out there for winding your yarn from a skein into a ball. (And even fancier ones for reversing the process. No, it's real.) The most popular set-up is a swift and a ball winder. A swift looks like a half-open umbrella on a carousel and a ball winder looks like those old-fashioned manual pencil sharpeners. To buy this stuff new costs about $100 and don't even think about buying a used swift as they break if you breathe funny. Do you know how much yarn you can buy with $100? Admittedly, not that much if it's cashmere, but still...

Now, I wouldn't spit on a swift and ball winder should someone gift me a set but I would way rather spend my money on yarn so I use a manual ball winder. Super manual.

Manual (adj) of or relating to the hands

Here's my manual ball winding technique.

1. Drape your yarn around an open drawer. Yep, those are my scrap bins. Ignore them.


2. Butterfly-wrap a few times back and forth between two fingers.


3. Slip it off those fingers.


4. Fold one "wing" of the butterfly over the other.


5. Wrap a few wraps around the middle. This is the core of your ball.


6. Wind, sloppily. Stick a finger in there and let it get wrapped over. One of the biggest mistakes newbies make is winding the yarn too tight and stretching it. Just be a little sloppy. It's okay. You have permission. Like you need it.


7. Begin your project!

This is a pattern called Rocky Butte. It's by Miss Violet and the yarn is TVYarn, the colorway is The French Lieutenant's Woman. Combining rocky buttes and France makes me think of the Grand Canyon of France, Les Gorges du Verdun. Beautiful! So I think I'll name these socks Gorgeous Butt(e). Pronounce it in a way that makes you smile.