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Make a DIY Ball Winder with a Mixer

January 26, 2016 by Sarah White

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. Rita Torfs says

    January 26, 2016 at 10:57 am

    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 !

  2. Mar__Be (@Mar__Be) says

    January 27, 2016 at 6:21 am

    I tried this before, and mixer was to fast for me so eventually my yarn was wraped all over the mixer hahahaha

Have you read?

Knits with Sheep

It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.

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