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pieheart
Permanent Resident
1872 Posts |
 Posted - 08/19/2005 : 06:07:59 AM
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I'm looking for a ball winder for a larger skein of yarn. I have the standard $35 winder (red and white) that you see in most catalogs, but I've never seen a large winder. I was trying to wind some yarn from Briggs and Little, worsted weight, and the winder was full before the skein was wound. I sure hate to create m o r e ends when knitting, so I didn't want to break the yarn and wind another ball. What I did was probably sacreligious: I hand wound the yarn around the circumference of the ball, loosely. I have seven more skeins of this yarn left, what are my options?
Almost FO: only six more rows left on my Sampler Shawl, yeah!
thanks,
pieheart |
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blr2449
Permanent Resident
USA
1378 Posts |
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jaymeKnits
Permanent Resident
USA
1326 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 07:50:11 AM
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| You could hand wind the rest around the ball winder ball. With a ball that big I don't like to use the center pull anyway since it has a tendency to collapse and get tangled 1/2 way through. |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 08:27:29 AM
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Super nifty trick: When your ball gets too big, take it off the ball winder, but DON'T CUT THE YARN! Leave a few inches, then re-thread and wind a second ball that's attached to the first! Same effect as a huge ball - fewer ends to weave in.
Lissa
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." --Dennis Wholey
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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jaymeKnits
Permanent Resident
USA
1326 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 12:34:38 PM
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Lissa,
How do you do that? Wouldn't it twist the strand attaching the 2 balls around and around or actually wind it with the new yarn being wound? I can't make this picture work in my head. I guess if you held the first ball over the winder it would just twist it and not wind it? I'll have to experiment sometime.
Jayme |
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pieheart
Permanent Resident
1872 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 1:28:53 PM
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Lissa, great idea! I thought of doing that, but I decided I needed another pair of hands, just in case things started to get tangled. I'll try it the first time when DH is home.
Jayme, that's just what I did. I was planning on using the center pull, but I can see your point about tangling. I think I won't take chances and use the outside strand!
blr2249: thanks for the link, I'll check it out!
pieheart |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 1:30:57 PM
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You know, you have a point. I read this on someone's blog (with finished-ball pics) and thought it was pure genius, but I haven't tried it myself. Guess I'll be trying it this weekend!
Lissa
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." --Dennis Wholey
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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Atavistic
Permanent Resident
6604 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 1:33:04 PM
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Ball one, pull from the inside thread. The outside will collapse like normal, a few inches will be waiting before the next ball, which will have been started like a center pull ball, pull from inside thread...repeat to end.
"Is that my Not-Mine Sweater? Whoever gets that Not-Mine Sweater is very lucky." |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 2:46:39 PM
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Amanda, I think the concern was in the actual winding of the second ball itself - how to keep the joining piece of yarn from getting massively twisted from the spinning action of the winder.. Using them once they're balled up wasn't the issue.
Lissa
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." --Dennis Wholey
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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Atavistic
Permanent Resident
6604 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 2:48:00 PM
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Make the strand between them longer than a few inches--like 5 feet. Would that work?
"Is that my Not-Mine Sweater? Whoever gets that Not-Mine Sweater is very lucky." |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 3:30:03 PM
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Maybe. I only have a SUPERJUMBOBALLWINDERONSTEROIDS, but I'll do some experimenting this weekend. I feel responsible, since I started this whole thing...
Lissa
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." --Dennis Wholey
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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mygomi
Warming Up
USA
93 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2005 : 9:39:21 PM
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I ordered my jumbo winder from Angelika at www.yarn-store.com and LOVE it.
Before I got it, I would get some extra mileage from my regular winder by pulling the metal thing that the yarn hooks through out a bit while winding. That way, as the ball of yarn swings 'round, it doesn't get caught on the metal hook for at least another half inch or so.
Monica |
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celia
Permanent Resident
Australia
2454 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2005 : 10:40:39 PM
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I modified my ball widner to wind bigger balls by attaching a toilet roll core to the center. works fine. I lent it to JulieB and she tried it and works too. So maybe try making your existing ball winder hold larger skeins before buying a new one? You can see it at work at julie's blog - http://www.blog.ca/main/index.php/julies_stuff
Oh and i forgot to mention - to make it work that way, I don't use the yarn guide.
celia
My blog is here:
http://celiaknits.blogspot.com
I am destashing here:
http://celias-basket.blogspot.com/ |
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Lanea
Permanent Resident
USA
5158 Posts |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 10:28:07 AM
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Yep, loves me my Bertha! If you buy one, make sure it's a newer one redesigned by Otto Strauch. He's added bearings and a nicer clamp system. The way to tell is if it has two clamps, it's the older one.
Lissa
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a
revolutionary act. -- George Orwell
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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achrisvet
Permanent Resident
USA
5986 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 12:20:50 PM
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Lissa, haven't I seen you ue yours without using the clamp at all? I want to get one of these. I'm expecting some huge hanks from Ellen's half pint via Red Oak designs.
Anita
My completed projects
and here
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Lanea
Permanent Resident
USA
5158 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 12:40:39 PM
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I use mine without a clamp all the time, Anita. I don't have a good place to attach it to yet, so I use it on the floor, with me sitting on the floor with a foot holding the winder still--hard to describe but works like a charm. Unless the cat is interested--he is evil, and destroys many things.
Support our Yarniversal charities, and buy silly stuff: http://www.cafepress.com/yarniversalcult
http://crazylanea.typepad.com/ |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 1:18:39 PM
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Yes, you have, Anita, but frankly, it's a bit of a pain to use it that way because it dances, so you have to hold it down. I've attached the clamps now, and enjoy using it MUCH more!
Lissa
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a
revolutionary act. -- George Orwell
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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pieheart
Permanent Resident
1872 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 2:32:32 PM
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Ooohh, I like the toilet paper roll idea! I'm going to try it the next time I wind my GMS Double Twist. If I wind that yarn too quickly it shoots across the room as soon as the winder gets full. Unfortunately, the winder gets full when there is still yarn left. If I wind really slowly I can make it finish up the skein, but I think the paper roll idea is worth a try. My luck the paper roll and yarn will shoot across the room!
pieheart
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Check out my album:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a80/PieHeart/ |
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RoseByAny
Permanent Resident
USA
12598 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 2:36:28 PM
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To answer the question about rewinding a second ball without cutting the yarn, you can't. Rather, you can, but the yarn will be so twisted it will be ruined. I'm not sure who did it on a blog, or how they produced anything reasonable by doing it, but it's not worth the mess - if you really can't get any more on the winder, cut it and weave the ends.
"Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable."
http://RoseByAny.BlogSpot.Com |
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Shelia
Permanent Resident
USA
2315 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2005 : 04:56:41 AM
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I've see people do it on a nostepinne, and using their hands, but not on a ballwinder. It's a great idea, though, if you hate joining or the yarn is difficult to join nicely.
Shelia
www.letstalkstash.blogspot.com |
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