This is SO COOL!!! DIY yarn ball winder instructions at Instructibles.com. I have a $20 ball winder from KnitPicks that I love, but I do have a DIY swift that my handy husband made for me last year. Truth be told, I think I’d rather spend the $20 for a ball winder that can be taken apart to fit in a small box – this DIY winder looks like it’ll take up half the size of my craft table! But it sure looks like it makes a nice big ball of yarn (one of the problems I have with my current winder is the balls are too small). It looks really neat, and if DIY is your thing, that’s definitely a cool-looking contraption!

( via CraftZine)

As you can see, I am now the proud owner of a DIY yarn swift thanks to my very handy husband B. :)

For years, I had been shying away from buying beautiful hanks of yarn because I did not own a ball winder or a swift. I always thought buying balls of yarn would be enough, and that hanks are for “hardcore knitters” who consider knitting as much more than just a hobby. Well, years later, I find myself admiring lovely hanks of yarn and wishing I had a winder and swift to make them into balls. Hmm, does this mean I am slowly becoming a hardcore knitter? :)

I bought a ball winder from KnitPicks at a great price a few weeks ago, and I started doing some research on yarn swifts as well. There’s the umbrella (most expensive) style, the ferris-wheel style, the pinwheel style, and a few others. The umbrella style is the best looking, and the kind they usually have at yarn shops – they retail anywhere from $50 (on sale) to $100 (Scandinavian-made, really nice quality wood). I showed them to B and he thought it would be possible to make the pinwheel style for a fraction of the cost, so why not?

We found a really cool tutorial by Craft Diversions, and after 2 weekends I finally have a working swift! I tried it out for the first time this morning and was able to wind up a hank of Cascade 220 wool into 2 balls of yarn. Success!