Make Your Own Yarn Swift this Weekend

Having a yarn swift is maybe not essential to having a happy life as a knitter, but if you buy a lot of yarn in hanks that need to be wound into balls before you can knit with them, having one can certainly save you some time and aggravation.

I love mine, which I have had for years and leave open, clamped to the side of my desk, pretty much all the time.

Admittedly this gadget is a bit of a splurge, but blogger Measured and Slow has a great idea for how to make your own yarn swift from things you might have lying around the house or be able to find at a thrift store.

The base is a lazy Susan, with an expandable coat rack on top to hold the yarn. Such a smart idea! Using some supplies she already had and thrifting others, this project ended up cost $14.

Have you ever made your own knitting supplies or do you have a tip for making knitting easier? I’d love to hear it!

[Photo via Measured and Slow.]

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Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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