Knitting

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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]

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 Classic Aran Cardigan with this Free Knitting Pattern

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time. 

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring. 

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. 

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row. 

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves. 

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body. 

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy. 

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn. 

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]