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Make a DIY Ball Winder with a Mixer

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How to wind a ball of yarn with a mixer.Lots of yarns come in hanks these days, which shouldn’t be knit from directly. They need to be wound into balls. And some people just like all their yarn in balls instead of skeins.

So what’s a crafter to do who doesn’t want to shell our for a ball winder?

Use an old or inexpensive cake mixer.

You’ve probably seen this one floating around the Internet (and Try It, Like It recently posted a photo tutorial about it) and wondered if it actually works.

All you do is install a single beater on a hand mixer, put an empty toilet paper roll over the beater, and then either wrap a little yarn on by hand, tape the end of the yarn to the outside of the roll or cut a little notch in the roll as seen in the video below to hold the yarn in place.

Then turn the mixer on and your ball will wind itself.

I’ve always been sceptical of this, which is why I went looking for a video.

Has anyone tried it? I don’t have a mixer like this but I’ll bet you could score one at a thrift shop if you wanted to give it a try. I’d love to hear what happens if you do!

[Photo via Try It, Like It]

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Comments

  1. you dont need to wind a ball first, you can go with your fingers into the middle and find the loose end, when you start with that end to knit or crochet, it will stay putt untill the end !

Have you read?

Knit a Glasses Holder for Your Bedside Table

knit glasses holder

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]