Stanwood Needlecraft Large Metal Yarn/Fiber/Wool/String Ball Winder - 10 oz

Well worth the money. Very simple to put together and works beautifully. Being metal it is very sturdy and stable. I absolutely love it.

A new knitter here. I wound one skein of yarn into a ball by hand and looked for a better plan! I bought both the yarn winder and the Amish swift made by Stanwood after watching a review on YouTube which compared both cheaper and more expensive models by other makers. I tried it out on two completely different yarns: Blue Sky Fibers Organic Cotton Worsted Weight, and an Etsy 100% Mulberry Silk fingering weight. It was very easy to get set up within 5 minutes and begin winding yarn. The worsted cotton wound quickly and I had the perfect yarn cake at the end. I did 5 cakes without a hitch. The fingering weight silk did begin to wind around the top of the bobbin for a few turns but I think this is user error. The cake turned out to be perfectly useable. Although the notched gears are not covered, I saw little chance that my yarn would be exposed to them or get tangled in them. A non-issue as far as I can tell. Both tools feel well made and sturdy. The place I buy yarn charges $4 per skein wound and the price of this equipment was reasonable enough that after two projects’ worth of yarn it will have paid for itself. Did I mention it is FUN to watch the yarn wind up all neat and tidy while the swift flies around like a windmill? Even my dogs are fascinated!

Very pleased with the purchase. Treat yourself to this winder. Excellent yarn winder! Perfect tension, large capacity, yarn pulls from the center or outer side, very easy to use. Sturdy construction.

[Photo: Cake of 608-yard Lily Sugar'n Cream Big Ball 100% cotton yarn in Emerald Isle, wound in under 10 minutes.] I haven’t been knitting long, but long enough to know that winding a 400yd skein of yarn by hand is as close to the definition of “tedious” as anything I’ve ever come across. I usually buy yarn in skeins (not hanks), and while skeins technically don't have to be wound into balls or cakes like hanks do, I find doing so reduces the chance of getting things tangled beyond repair. There were many different winders that all had very good reviews, though I suspect the joy of switching to a winder after doing it manually probably makes many reviewers overvalue the quality of the winder itself. I wanted a model that I could use for even the largest amounts of yarn I've ever bought—the Lily Sugar ’n Cream Big Ball (608yd) shown in the picture—yet still work well for winding up remnants and small skeins. I was ready to select a similar model from Royal when I found this one. Many, many reviews for several different winders made note of the noise produced by winders with metal gears (something like an eggbeater, I would imagine, or even louder). I often work late at night when the rest of the world is asleep, so metal gears were not ideal. When I came across this Stanwood model with nylon gears, I decided to try it. When I unpacked the box, I found a high-quality winder that was easy to assemble using only a regular Phillips screwdriver to attach the outer arm. I bolted it down to the table and tried it out with one of my pitifully hand-rolled balls that I had been working from, and I found that it was a little tight and difficult to turn the crank. That was easily fixed by loosening a screw at the bottom of the core, according to the included instruction sheet. When I did that, it worked beautifully. All my old balls were quickly turned into cakes. Then I started another skein of 608yd cotton yarn, which I was able to wind in under 10 minutes. Yes, five minutes compared to well over an hour by hand! I have found that it's often helpful to wind a cake twice. The first time I do so, the tension tends to vary as I move the yarn from the store-bought skein to the winder, especially toward the end of the skein where it likes to tangle. The second time I wind it, it winds up evenly and beautifully since it's coming from the center of the cake I wound in the first stage. Simply holding the yarn taught (not tight) between the fingers of my left hand and cranking with my right, it takes no time at all to get a cake that's beautiful enough for any wedding. ;-) I've wound various yarns in DK (3), worsted (4), bulky (5), and super bulky (6) weights, made of 100% wool, 100% acrylic, 100% cotton, and wool/acrylic blends. I haven't had any problems with any of them. Working from them couldn't be easier. When you've finished winding, find some way of securing the outer end (tuck it under another strand, wrap it with something, etc) before you remove it, then HOLD THE END in the center while pulling the whole cake up off the core. If you don't hold the center, it tends to fall down through and (maybe) come out the bottom instead. You'll probably have a small amount of yarn at the beginning that sort of "sticks out" the top, but provided you pull from the center, you'll go through that in no time and it will be nice and uniform thereafter. The cakes store neatly, don't roll around everywhere, and are a breeze to work from. I believe this winder will last for a very long time, and there's nothing about it I dislike. It does its job quickly, quietly, and easily.

I’m so impressed with this heavy duty large yarn-ball winder. I even purchased a different brand knock off of it hoping to save $50 and it started to make a mess out of my yarn. This Stanwood is wonderful. It’s worth the price. It made a beautiful nice firm cake from my handspun single ply of lace weight Marino wool 70% & Tussah silk 30%. This Stanwood Yarn ball winder is very quiet. It is really solid. I think this is an exceptionally high-quality product that I think will last for many many years. It can handle anything from super thick to lace weight yarn. And I was surprised at how quiet it was. It’s definitely the worth the price don’t waste your money on anything less;they’re not as good.

I bought this for my wife, to help with storage of the massive collection of wool that she has accumulated. Well... She pretty much hasn't used this since it arrived, and I've been happily converting her healthy obsession into an organised mountain of cakes!! I don't buy cheap tools, and this certainly isn't the cheapest compared to other options on here, but like others have said, it's quality that just works. Making the cake twice is essential to ensure correct (relaxed) tension. The first cake made from a skein will naturally be too tight, the second cake made from the first cake will be larger and looser so no stretching. Be sure to keep the wool you want to wrap to the right of the winder, this will prevent the yarn guide slipping and loosening. I'd buy another in a heartbeat, if you're on the fence, just go for it, this will keep you busy for hours!!

Caked up yarn is probably the best thing ever for yarn crafts, it's easy to store and convenient to use. The stanwood does an amazing job of caking up yarn. It feels extremely well-built and cakes wound using it are practically perfect. It might be a lot pricier than other smaller yarn winders but the quality you get from this far exceed the competition at equivalent or lower price points.

If you are looking for an easy to use and quality product, look no further. Simple to assemble, stable and easy to attach to virtually any table top. Definitely worth the extra spend. The consistency and tightness of the resulting ball was ideal and with the gearing takes less effort to rewind a skein into a ball. Not a wrap out of place, no wierd loose spots, the resulting ball was a dream to work with. Originally purchased a cheaper model and you get what you pay for.. the mounting bracket was not versatile and kept coming uncliped in the middle of a job, the resulting ball was uneven and loose. After 3 skeins, never wanted to use it again. With my next project using over 20 skeins, so happy I invested in this new one and I am no longer dreading preping the wool.

I was hesitant to buy this as it is not cheap. However, when I received it, I instantly realised that it is worth every cent. It is very sturdy, and very easy to use. It flies through my unruly yarn balls and makes nice neat centre pull balls in no time. I also like to combine 2 or 3 strands of left over yarns to make colourful thick yarn balls. The Stanwood copes without any issues. I have another, smaller winder of a different brand which can only make small balls, I will be retiring it as this Stanwood is far superior! You will not regret buying one!

Habe lange mit einer Investition in einen Garnwickler gewartet. Nachdem mir dieser empfohlen wurde habe ich ihn mir dieses Jahr zum Geburtstag gegönnt. Erfüllt meine Erwartungen voll und ganz. Es ist möglich auch etwas größere Knäuel zu wickeln und die Qualität der Konstruktion und Materialien scheint sehr robust zu sein.