Knitting tool/accessory question

A good friend of mine has done me a couple of good turns recently, so I’d like to give her a gift in thanks…

She knits and crochets - lots. Recently we were talking about yarn ball winder thingys; she wants one but didn’t feel like spending the money on one.

Something like this.

But I want to get her a good one that will last, & not a crappy cheap one. Can any of the knitters here recommend a brand, and the features I should look for?

Ok then during the same conversation about yarn ball winders, she also said “but if I get one then I also have to get X”, X being some other kind of associated yarn thingy, but I didn’t catch what X is. Any guesses? Is there something that somewhat automatically goes with a yarn baller?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Probably a swift, which you can see in the “related items” tab in your link.

I don’t have either, so can’t help with recommendations.

Yeah, it would be a swift. The tricky thing about winding hanks of yarn is keeping them from moving around and getting all tangled while you are winding. That’s what a swift does.

Knit picks.com has sone decent, inexpensive winders and swifts.

I bought my winder and swift years ago before more affordable ones were available (before KnitPicks existed!). My winder is by Royal and I’ve had no trouble with it in all these years. My swift is a wooden one, no brand written on it.

Both cost twice as much as the Knit Picks ones. I suggest you go with Knit Picks.

I recently got the swift and ball winder Knit Picks sells. They are both lovely and work very well. I’m pleased by them both. They would make a great gift, but do get the set. If you want to spend more, spend it on a “better” swift, made of smoothed maple or something. They are very pretty, but they don’t really work any better, they just look nice. As far as ball winders go, they’re all about the same, so the knit picks one is a great choice.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to pm me!

Like miss elizabeth, I just got the Knit Picks swift and ball winder as a Christmas present, and they are certainly good quality, if not top quality. The two definitely go together.

An alternative gift might be a Knit Picks gift certificate, as they do have some other great stuff.

I have the linked ball winder as well, and think it’s of quite good quality. They no longer sell the swift I have.

Thanks all this was very helpful. Bought the swift and ball winder!

Too late to be useful to you, since you bought both (awesome!), but it might be useful for other posters: winders and swifts work great together, BUT if you can only get one of the two? Go with the swift first.

Most people want a winder and swift for twisted hanks of yarn like this. It untwists into a big loop that you put onto the swift, which will spin the yarn around as the ball winder pulls it into a ball/cake.

Trust me, the swift is WAY more useful by itself than the winder is. You can pretty quickly wind a hank into a ball with your hands off of a swift, but using a wonder with the yarn loop just laid out? Ugh. Disaster. The slightest tangle will snag a bunch of strands and yank them, and then they need to be untangled and fixed. Then do that about every 5 seconds.

QFFT. I made myself a ghetto swift out of a wine bottle and some metal coat hangers a week or so back, and the difference even that makes is unreal.

Or you can make one out of Tinkertoys.

I’m sure Suburban Plankton would be thrilled if I got a swift. I make him hold the yarn while I wind the ball.

FYI, I tension it with my knees, and this doesn’t happen.

Not that I entirely disagree with you – just want to point out there are options in between " purchase yarn swift" and “total shitshow.”

Wow, I had no idea that these things existed! I’m a novice knitter who isn’t skilled/practiced enough to really justify buying/making these things yet, but I am impressed.

I didn’t mean that I think you need a swift to wind yarn into a ball at all; I’ve wound yarn by hand while having the yarn hang draped around my knees or feet or in my lap. Is that what you do or do you mean you have a winder and you use it while tensioning the yarn with your knees?

Because all I was saying is that if a knitter wants to get a winder and swift but can only get one (like for budget reasons or whatever), the swift is absolutely the one to get first (not that a winder or swift is required at all; just makes it a lot faster). CrazyCatLady backs me up, here! :smiley:

Update: the swift and yarn ball thing arrived and were received with delight. They were exactly what she wanted & she was especially tickled with the swift.

Thank you all again for your help.

I don’t know about an automatic winder, But I had 2 when I had my machines. Both did a good job. I don’t know if there is a company that sells them around here any more. I gave my Machines (Brothers)to a charity because my eye sight wasn’t as good as it was when I was younger,and difficult to see any dark yarns. They were not expensive I do remember that.