Winding Yarn Into A Ball By Hand
Lots of yarn comes in the form of a skein (also known as a hank). A skein is a big loop of yarn twisted into a coil. It’s critical to know that before you can knit with yarn that’s in a skein, you have to wind it into a ball, otherwise, it will end up in a very tangled mess! There are two common ways to do this: with a swift and ball winder or by hand. Here we’ll show you how to wind yarn into a ball by hand, and to learn how to do it with a swift and ball winder, please check out our Winding Yarn Into A Ball With A Swift + Yarn Winder Tutorial.
Why does yarn come in a skein in the first place, you may wonder… Mostly it’s so you can really get to know the yarn before you knit it. In a skein, you can feel the yarn’s drape and softness, its weight and texture. Also, storing yarn in a ball over a long period of time can stretch out its natural fibers, which is not good!
Follow along with our step-by-step photos showing how to wind your skein into a ball by hand!
First, unfold the skein so it is one big loop. Examine where the skein is secured to make sure that everything is tidy and no strands are astray. If you have a buddy who can hold the loop around their hands, that’s easiest. If not, try the back of a chair, your bent knees, or even your feet!
Snip the yarn that is holding the skein together, and finding an end, wrap the yarn around your hand a few dozen times. Slip the yarn off your hand, keeping it neatly contained.
Now firmly holding the beginning of the ball, wind the yarn perpendicular to the first wraps. Include your fingers, and wind until your hand feels full.
Slip your fingers out, grab the bundle of yarn, and wind around your fingers again, perpendicular to the last wraps. Continue in this manner until you have a ball!
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I tried winding a skein of lace weight yarn on my knees. It was challenging. I now have a very difficult task doing it on a chair. I must weave in and out of the tangled yarn. Any suggestions as to how best to unravel the mess created by an amateur? I think that thicker yarns are no problem, but the very thin ones are a special situation. If I buy thin yarn again, I will request that the seller wind it on the winding device in their shop. Caveat emptor!
Hello Ellen,
Thank you for reaching out! You are absolutely correct in you thinking that the thinner the yarn the more of a challenge it is to untangle- we have all been there. It is good that you have it on a now to prevent further tangling. Depending on the level of mess, y advice is to not be afraid to cut your yarn so that you have three or four balls. Especially if it is a feltable yarn as you can wet splice it back together if need be. No matter what this task requires a lot of patience so if you start to get frustrated it is sometimes good to just leave it and come back to it before giving up.
I hope this helps and good luck!
-Marilla
I am cocooned at the moment and had no one to hold my wool so that I could wind it. I have an oval plastic laundry basket, which, upside down on the floor, so that I could wind above it, worked perfectly. When the skein got very light it tended to lift. Just coax it round the last few strands. Don’t be tempted to take it off. I did that with my first skein, and got into a tangle.
I have recently had to wind four hanks of lace weight yarn. They mostly went without difficulty, but I had a bit of a tangle with the end of the first hank. The most important thing I learned is never to pull at a tangle! Quite often the problem is caused by fluff sticking two strands together, and you can find the place, and ease them apart. I also found that gently shaking a tangle sometimes worked. Gentle, patient handling is necessary as it can take a long time, but there is satisfaction when you finally achieve a ball without having to cut anything away!
Hi- I’m trying everything I can think of to tidy up the selvedges on this pattern- mostly slipping the first or last stitches but nothing is working. They’re knobby and unattractive. Any ideas?
Hello Alice,
Thank you for reaching out! Have you tried just slipping the first stitch? Slipping both the first and last stitch can give you a wonky edge, but if you slip 1 purl-wise through the back loop, you’ll get the selvedge you are looking for.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla
Thank you for this information, I will give it a try. I purchased 8 skeins of your Gentle Giant (it is sooo soft!), then proceeded to wind the first skein into a center pull ball. However as I was knitting, the yarn became incredibly twisted! I will try your method of winding into a ball, hopefully it will produce less twist as I knit!
Here’s my trick… I wind the skein around an empty paper towel roll. Then I slip it onto a paper towel holder and just pull while I knit.
Susan, winding yarn around an empty paper towel core, with a little extra effort, I can get the “cake” shape, just like when you wind it in the shop. But then placing the core with the wound yarn on an actual paper towel holder is brilliant. Especially for bulky yarns that don’t fit in a yarn bowl. Thank you!
Would LOVE to see a video of the extra effort to get the cake shape! Lots of great suggestions here.
You are a rocket scientist! I am trying that tomorrow with some baby yarn I have thank you!
I love skein yarns. I enjoy releaslng the loops and putting up the strands into round balls or flat bottom cakes. My favorite holder is my grandson. Then, 2nd holder is a small drawer in the kitchen or bathroom over which I slide a box of adequate size and slip on the loops. It gives me a chance to get a feel for my yarn and maybe watch a few utubes on my laptop sat on the counter.
Winding yarn – a hank of yarn is roughly about the width of the handles on a treadmill. Unwind the hank keeping it together as best you can. Remove the pieces keeping it together. With your hands stretch out the yarn place it on the handle bars. Unwind as u roll.
I put the open skein which is a giant loop of all yardage in it over the back of a dining chair (nice mahogany is my favorite) and start winding, usually standing. Then there is no need for another person.
Hope that helps
I was taught to wind it on my thumb. Put the skein over a chair or something, making sure the the strands are flat because if they are twisted they will want to lift off the chair as you wind. Take the loose end on the outside of the skein, hold that in your palm and start wrapping. Voila – you have a ball of yarn which pulls out from the inside. You could use a dowel rod, too.
That is how I learned to do it also. A center pull ball stays much cleaner.
I also use my dining room chair to wind my yarn, and even use this method to wind all my sashiko threads into balls as well! It works well and I can do it by myself.
I read somewhere that it makes a difference which end you start to knit with. Is that true?
Hi Karen,
Thank you for writing in with this question! There are many schools of thought on whether it is better to pull your yarn from the outside or inside of a ball, but they are largely based on preference and the specific yarn being used. A center-pull ball will roll around less while you’re knitting, although it may collapse as it gets smaller and will tangle more easily. Pulling from the outside is generally safer, although your ball may bounce and roll around quite a bit (a project bag will keep it from going too far). This tutorial will show you how to wind your own ball which can be pulled from the outside only.
I hope that helps!
Gaby
I just received the kit, and I honestly found these instructions a bit confusing! My ball is a bit lumpy-looking—will that create problems as I knit? Do you think you’d ever release a video for these?
Hi Kit,
Thanks for reaching out, and I’m sorry to hear that you had trouble with winding your yarn! Fortunately, as long as your ball is holding together, it doesn’t matter if it’s a bit lumpy, and with practice I’m sure you will find that your yarn balls start turning out nice and round. We don’t have the resources at the moment to create a video for this tutorial, but I will certainly pass your suggestion along to the design team!
Best,
Julianna
When in places where it is impossible to find a holder while you wind your yarn, I put the skein over my head and let it hang down on front and wind from there. It’s not as hard as it sounds. This is especially useful when on a long car trip.
I noticed in a pattern instruction using Field Linen it recommends pulling from the outside of the ball rather than the centre with plant based fibres. Courious. Can you explain why?
Hi Robin,
Great question – thanks for asking! For some yarns – plant based or some of the more slippery yarns – the ball won’t hold its shape when you’ve pulled a significant amount from the center, and will collapse and (often) get tangled. Most wool yarns will stick to themselves a bit and so pulling from the center is no problem. Hope this helps!
Happy Knitting!
Cassandra
Thank you. That helps. Always learning something new from Soho.
I bought a nostepinne at my local yarn shop. It was $40 or $45 but worth every penny. I finally got an umbrella swift and between the two, winding any yarn into a center-pull egg (that’s how it always seems to end up) is a snap. It’s also very soothing.
I can see that winding a bulky or extra-bulky yarn into a ball would be faster, but how on earth do you keep the thing from bouncing around and ending up in the floor? I have seen yarn bowls but everyone complains about snags.
Hi Carol,
Thanks for writing to us! I love my nostepinne too! For the occasional times that I’m working with a non-center pull ball of yarn, I like to use a smooth basket or cloth project bag (one that stands up on its own) to keep the ball from rolling across the room. That way, while the ball might roll around a little in the basket, it doesn’t go flying when I give a tug on it. I just started using a Uashmama bag for this and love it!
Best,
Cassandra
I use a cheap plastic wastepaper basket to keep my yarn balls and WIPs contained. Extra yarn goes in first, then I line the basket with a plastic bag and drop in the ball I’m working with. When I want to put my knitting aside, it gets placed on top. The whole wastepaper basket can be picked up and moved around, or the knitting in progress can be easily pulled out of the basket in the plastic bag if you need to go more mobile. Pull the bag out, with WIP inside, to get at a new ball yarn as your knitting progresses.
I purchased a old-fashioned tool called a “nostepinne”. A sort of take on the empty paper towel roll mentioned above. Makes for a fantastic center pull ball. Etsy has some great options. And YouTube has great videos on how to heat started. It’s easy!
To keep your lovely (or lumpy) new ball, put it in a round oatmeal (or other) box. In the 1940’s, knitting ‘bags’ were that shape. My mom had several that she covered in fabric with a drawstring top and a fabric handle. I don’t carry mine around, but use the round boxes to hold the yarn, especially for fair isle– we eat a lot of oatmeal – one for each color.
Sit on your bed and put your skein around your feet and open your legs. I find that the easiest way as i have a lung condition so cant bend over a stool etc. Works perfectly for me.
These are wonderful suggestions!
Especially loved the paper towel roll.
Cut a small slit on the roll to keep your yarn from unspooling.
I have four 26 in square feather-filled floor pillows. If my husband isn’t available, I use 3 or 4 fluffed, place the skein around them, then place them upright on the floor and gently wind to my heart’s content. It’s a great meditation. ?
I prefer hand wound to mechanically wound balls. When I can’t find someone willing to lend me their arms if found that I can place the skein across the handles on a pair of french doors. I keep a long tail of the yarn out when I start winding around my fingers and end up with a center pull ball. I turn the ball as I wind and it comes out looking mechanically wound .
I want to purchase from you, your jersey loops, as I want
to make some potholders.
I made many when I was a little girl.
I would like different colors – please.
Contact me – thank you – ChaletKnitter
Hi Beverly,
Thanks for writing in! I think we are all enjoying this nostalgic craft! You can order our loom and loops by clicking right here.
Best,
Julianna
I use a plastic turkey baster to wind a skein into a ball. After I untwist the skein and hang it over the back of my dining room chair, I tuck the end into the tube and replace the bulb over it. Then, I wind the yarn around the tube about 10 times before I start laying the yarn at a diagonal while rotating the baster in my other hand. When done, I undo the bulb and voila! I have a center-pull ball.
Turkey baster idea is genius!
I’m o knitter if 56 years. Many years ago, I decided that with the volume of knitting I do, it would be well worth it to purchase a swift and ball winder. It definitely was!!! A friend gifted me a yarn bowl, and it is wonderful ! I strongly urge anyone who knits a lot to make the investment. Just an FYI, an old teapot also makes an adorable yarn bowl. Just thread the yarn through the spout. It won’t bounce around the room!
Love the old teapot idea of threading the yarn through the spout, will be on the lookout for one. I’ve been using a rather nice pot shaped plant holder or a cheap smooth weave type basket from the local supermarket for larger balls. Stay safe everyone ☺️
If you have a light weight coffee table or smaller end table, flip it upside down on the floor and put the hank of yarn around the legs. (at home I have my swift and ball winder). Yet I do get caught short while traveling to friends out of town.
I’m so pleased to have found this article – the comments are also interesting and useful. I’d thought I was the only person who spun skeins which had too much twist in them, which then created a massive tangle when I tried to wind into a ball.
I do find that plying the yarn helps loosen it – as does washing, so I’d made some headway in understanding yarn but I’m still learning 🙂
To keep a ball of yarn from rolling around as you knit from the outside end, I cut a small diagonal slit in one corner of a plastic bag with a zip lock, thread the end of the yarn through the slit, put the ball in the bag, close it and start knitting. Not only does it keep the yarn clean and tidy, but it totally frustrates my cat!
Unfortunately, my cat loves to shred any type of plastic bag. I proceeded to thoroughly wash an empty gallon of milk container. I cut off a side at the top big enough to put the ball of yarn in the jug, then run the yarn up the spout to knit. My cat get gets so upset she dumps over my small waste basket and spreads everything in it everywhere. Now I have to figure out how to solve the waste basket problem. People I know have given her a street sign name, “One Way”.
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for reaching out and sharing your great tip with us! Your cat sounds like a hoot!
Happy crafting!
Gianna
My swift and ball winder were my best ever knitting investments. Here’s a trick to stop centre pull cakes from unwinding themselves from the outside, also keeps them clean. Cut an old pair of tights into 6” lengths and slip over the yarn ball. The open ends will pull in to the centre, tp and bottom. This really works with super wash wool which is kind of slippery
Hi Allison,
Thanks for reaching out! What an excellent tip! Thank you for sharing that with all of us, it is much appreciated!
Warmly,
Gianna
I’ve been winding yarn for years, most often using a swift and winder. Does a speedy and neat job, as well as producing a ball that allows for center pull knitting. Does your shop offer swifts and winders?
Hi Phyllis,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, we offer GLIMAKRA USA Umbrella Swift as well as LACIS Ball Winder and NANCYS KNIT KNACKS Heavy Duty Ball Winder!
Warmly,
Gianna
These comments are helpful and fun, but I don’t see the one piece of advice I think is most important. Be careful not to pull the yarn too tight as you wind it. My husband “helped” once and wound it so tight that it stretched the yarn! So now I wind my yarn myself, putting the hank around two sofa cushions.
Hi Gillean,
Thanks for writing in! That is an excellent tip and I agree- very important!! Thank you for sharing this, I am sure others will find it very helpful as well!
Warmly,
Gianna
i hung my recent Burnish hank off the end of the ironing board. It was easy to ‘tease’ the hanging layers of yarn apart to wind it into a ball.
About a year ago, when I started knitting, I used this excellent tutorial to learn how to wind hanks into the round, outside-pull balls. I’ve been very happy with them (and they’re so dang cute!), but now that I use mostly toothy, sheepy yarns I’m seeing a lot of added twist in my working yarn (which with stranded colorwork is a no-go- you can’t let the piece dangle to untwist!). I’m seeing that a yarn buddy might help, but can you still use a yarn buddy with the hand-wound, outer-pull round ball? Or only with swift/winder/machine-wound flat-bottom cakes? I can’t quite see how the round ball would unwind smoothly, but I don’t have the budget for the swift/winder, and anyhow prefer to wind by hand. Any advice would be very much appreciated!
Hi Heather,
Thanks for writing in. I think a yarn buddy will definitely help reduce the overtwisting you’re seeing! And I’m happy to say that there is a simple way to wind a skein into a cake by hand–I used it all the time before I took the plunge and bought a winder and swift. Here’s how to do it: Take a cylindrical item (I use an empty toilet paper roll) and start winding the yarn around in in a diagonal motion. Once you’ve wound all the yarn, you can simply pop the cake off the cylinder, and it’s ready to begin knitting with! I hope this helps.
All the best,
Lili
I much prefer a round ball to a cake. It is easier to work with. So I hand-wind all my skeins of yarn, and I enjoy it.
I have a large laundry drying rack from Ikea — it’s about 2 feet wide and the “wings” adjust to many different positions, so I position it so the rack is horizontal which brings it to just above my waist in height — PERFECT for winding balls. And since it doesn’t get fatigued I can take as long as I want to wind. So if it’s 400 yards of lace, I might take a break.
This way I can avoid those flat-bottomed cakes, which to me are clunky and not a smooth delivery of the yarn.
The yarn in the pictures is a much thicker weight than what I am trying to wind. I am very discouraged and not even wanting to make what I was going to make.😟😢
Hi Cynthia,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having a frustrating time winding thinner yarn! Our tutorial will work for any weight yarn, but it’s true that it can be more difficult to wind thin yarn, since there’s so much more yardage per skein, and it’s often harder to control tangles. What I like to do is put on a TV show or podcast in the background for entertainment, and then go very slowly winding up the yarn, making sure to keep it neat. It can take a while to complete a skein (hence the entertainment), but you can still follow the same exact steps we show in the tutorial. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
I have purchased some lovely yarn from you and am making it into a ball which is turned into a tangled mess at the end…Do you offer the option of winding (purchased) skeins into nice neat balls using your winding device?!
I’m grumpy now and I do NOT enjoy turning skeins into balls.
Gill
Hi Gill,
I am so sorry that your skein got tangled! We offer free winding of any two skeins per order, and to indicate that you would like your skeins wound, you can write a note in the special instructions box at checkout! Please note this does add up to a week of additional processing time before your order is shipped out because we are working with a limited staff. Additionally, if you would like to send us a photo of your yarn at [email protected], we can take a closer look to see if we can offer some suggestions for untangling!
I apologize again and hope we can get you back on track with your yarn!
All the best,
Margaret
I have 20 hanks of Super Soft Merino that I need to hand wind into balls. I have the yarn around the backs of two dining chairs and I am being super careful, going slow, and not pulling too hard as I wind the yarn. However, the yarn is getting incredibly twisted as it comes off of the chairs and into the ball.
I have a yarn buddy, so I periodically stop and spin the yarn backwards to remove the twist, but that takes a fair amount of time.
How can I wind this yarn into a ball without getting the twist?
Thanks.
Hi Sarah,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble winding Super Soft Merino! I’m afraid that I’m having trouble visualizing the twisting though. Would you mind sending a photo of the twists to [email protected] so we can take a look and troubleshoot from there?
All the best,
Lili