How to Use a Yarn Winder

Co-authored by Erin Toews

Last Updated: November 19, 2024

Sometimes the yarn you buy from the store is not in a usable form. Here are some simple instructions for how to use a yarn winder.

Steps

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Square edges are best. To avoid damage to your counter/table, you may want to place a piece of cloth between the ball winder and the counter.
This can be tricky. Have patience.

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(Refer to your item's directions to see how to do this. Every ball winder is a little bit different!)
You will want to do this slowly at first to get used to how the yarn winds. Different fibers react different ways.
If you go too fast, the yarn may get caught in the gears below (on some models.)

Method 1

Method 1 of 1:

If you are winding a skein

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Community Q&A

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Question

Is it true that I shouldn't wind my yarn until right before I'm ready to crochet?

Community Answer

It's all about your personal preference, but there's no harm in winding it right away. It's better to do it when you're excited about a new "toy" than when you're just about to start a project! Winding now will also help you spot imperfections or issues with the yarn before you get into a project. I don't like unnecessary interruptions when I'm working a project, so I wind beforehand.

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Is it OK to wind yarn any time? I read somewhere where you shouldn't wind yarn until right before you use it.

Community Answer

I don't see why not. Yarn comes in hanks, balls, or skeins, which are all wound in some way or another. It's an excellent way to store your yarn - it's much easier to store uniformly sized skeins or balls, and it makes it easy to tell at-a-glance what you have. I wind my skeins or hanks as soon as I can so I can undo knots and spot any issues before I begin a project. Variegated yarn makes a strong case for winding right away, and that case is to make sure the skein doesn't have a new color pattern starting in the middle of a skein.

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Tips

If you are still unsure of how to use a ball winder, your local yarn store will most likely be able to show you. It would be a good idea to bring your yarn winder, as the stores' may be different than yours.

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Some yarn stores will offer to wind your yarn for you if you are buying skeins.

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If you see a winder in plain view, but the store owner does not offer to wind your yarn, you may politely ask if the would wind your yarn.

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Warnings

If you do not pay attention to what you are doing, you may get the yarn caught in the gears. This may destroy your yarn.

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