Sometimes yarn is sold in units wound in such a way that you can knit or crochet from them immediately. But often yarn is sold in skeins. These skeins of yarn need to be wound into balls in order to knit them easily. If you don’t wind them first, you will end up with a giant tangled mess of yarn! If you buy your yarn in a nice yarn shop you can ask them to wind it for you, which they will do with a yarn swift and a yarn winder. But if you forget (or buy it online,) you’ll need to do it yourself. Abbie demonstrates here one way to convert your skein of yarn to a knittable ball. She is using a skein of Cascade 220, an easy-to-find worsted weight wool. – Mrs. Brown
How to Wind a Yarn Ball
Remove the tag and open the twisted skein by pulling out the tucked-in end.
Each end of the untwisted skein will have a loop. Open up the loop and lay the yarn in a circle
Find the ends of the yarn. If they are knotted, untie them and work the ends out until they are loose.
Transfer the skein to a place where it can hang in an open circle. Here we are using the side of a folding clothes drying rack. Be sure that the circle is not twisted. The end you start with should be on the outside of the yarn, and as you unravel the skein, the yarn should be coming from the outside of the circle.
Hold the end between your thumb and two fingers. Wrap about 10 times.
Remove the wrapped yarn from your finger and turn it 90°. Wind another 10 times or so, loosely. Continue to wind and turn until a ball shape begins to form.
It is important not to wind too tightly, or you will stretch the fibers and make them less pliable and soft in your finished item. Your ball should be solid but squishy. If you notice you are winding a hard little rock instead of a yarn ball, try this technique: simply wrap the yarn around the ball and over one of your fingers as you wind. When you remove your finger the yarn will loosen. You will need to remove your finger and replace it each time you change directions.
As you unwind the skein and wind the ball, make sure the yarn coming off the skein is loose and not getting tangled. Stop as soon as you notice an issue with the skein or you will make it worse. Readjust the yarn to ensure that the working yarn is reachable from the outside of your skein. If you don’t have a folding rack like ours, you could use a chair back with square edges (the yarn will slip off a rounded chair back,) or your lap, as Abbie shows here.
You could also use the extended arms of someone who really really loves you, and they will need to love you a lot because this will take a while! Just keep winding until all the yarn is transferred from the skein to the ball.
Do you have any tips to add for winding a ball from a skein? Share in the comments!
- a skein of yarn
- drying rack, lap, or someone's arms
- Remove the tag and open the twisted skein by pulling out the tucked-in end.
- Each end of the untwisted skein will have a loop. Open up the loop and lay the yarn in a circle
- Find the ends of the yarn. If they are knotted, untie them and work the ends out until they are loose.
- Transfer the skein to a place where it can hang in an open circle. A folding clothes drying rack is perfect for this. Alternately you could use a chair back with square edges, your lap, or the extended arms of someone who really really loves you!
- Be sure that the circle is not twisted. The end you start with should be on the outside of the yarn, and as you unravel the skein, the yarn should be coming from the outside of the circle.
- Hold the end between your thumb and two fingers. Wrap about 10 times.
- Remove the wrapped yarn from your finger and turn it 90°. Wind another 10 times or so, loosely. Continue to wind and turn until a ball shape begins to form.
- It is important not to wind too tightly, or you will stretch the fibers and make them less pliable and soft in your finished item. Your ball should be solid but squishy. If you notice you are winding a hard little rock instead of a yarn ball, try this technique: simply wrap the yarn around the ball and over one of your fingers as you wind. When you remove your finger the yarn will loosen. You will need to remove your finger and replace it each time you change directions.
- As you unwind the skein and wind the ball, make sure the yarn coming off the skein is loose and not getting tangled. Stop as soon as you notice an issue with the skein or you will make it worse. Readjust the yarn to ensure that the working yarn is reachable from the outside of your skein.
- Continue until all the yarn from the skein is transferred to the ball.
