homemade yarn swift

A short while ago, I mentioned to my knitting buddies that I don't own a yarn swift. Whenever I need to wind yarn, I ask my agreeable husband to hold out his hands and tilt this way and that until I have a ball.


But real knitters use a swift, it seems, and my friends urged me to get one. I did consider it until I realized that there are too many styles and prices to easily choose a single model. As I was googling, however, I came across many versions of homemade swifts:


from a broken patio umbrella


from a lazy susan


from tinkertoys


and this one, made from scrap wood and widely copied.


I mentioned to my husband that a homemade yarn swift would be a nice thing to have and not surprisingly, he jumped at the chance to be freed of having to stand like a statue every time I begin a new knitting project.


A few hours in the garage, and he had a finished swift. He used the latter pattern, adding a few curves and some rubber feet. It's beautiful, and it spins like a dream.

I especially love the fact that it breaks down into a few simple pieces for easy storage.

At the moment it's tucked in an old pillowcase, which will eventually be modified for a better fit.


My husband recently started his own blog to chronicle a robot he is making from an electric wheelchair. If you're of a geeky bent, take a look at it here.