There it is. Nothing amazing about it. Though, I did have my hubby cut the stick too long. I meant to have him cut it shorter while he was working on the yarn swift, but I forgot. Oops. However, that little notch is to hold the tail of the yarn. You make a little slip knot and slip it there. Then, you start winding. There are a lot of websites out there that teach you how to use them. A simple search will show you if you're interested. That little ball there was my very first yarn ball I wound after my nostepinne was finished. I think it turned out pretty good!
You can find some beautiful ones for sale that have been lathed and are polished and stained. Mine is a simple little dowel that I bought and sanded down. In the end, I used an old fingernail file/buffer on it to get it smooth enough. The yarn ball needs to slide off at the end and I definitely didn't want it snagging any of my more fancy yarns later on. It did well with the test wind.
Of course, by this time, I've wound a few hanks of yarn into balls and realize that a yarn swift is a valuable tool to have. It's not used all the time, but anything to help keep the yarn hank organized while you're winding is awesome! Yarn swifts can be expensive critters. The umbrella style can run you up to $100 depending on the quality of materials. Right. We have 3 boys and we're a military family. In other words, the kids eat a lot, grow fast, and suck up a lot of money. lol Also, toss in the 'military' side of things and we're always moving. Umbrella yarn swifts would be too delicate for our way of life. I did some searches and came across a simple, portable yarn swift we could make ourselves. Bonus!
And, there you have it. Only took a trip to Lowe's, $15, and a little time with the ol' wood working tools. I have yet to wind a ball using it though. I'm still feeling the effects of the tension headaches, so I've been trying to take it easy. I did end up making mine out of pine instead of poplar. Might not have been the best choice as the pine is a lot softer wood. However, I loved the color of the wood and the grain patterns. Okay. And I miss Colorado and pine reminds me of my home state. ;-)
The beauty of this yarn swift is it completely comes apart. There are a total of 4 screws in the entire thing and all they do is hold some base feet in place. In our mobile lifestyle, being able to break this down to its smallest parts is a bonus. I'll make a case for it before long, in the way of a pretty cloth bag, to hold and store it while not in use.
In a craft where everything at the end is made by hand, it's neat to use tools I have also made. I love crafts for this very reason. There's just something about it that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
No comments:
Post a Comment