Friday, May 7, 2010

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.

8 comments:

  1. How awesome this is! Great that your hubby hand made it too.

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  2. Thanks, Sam! We're both on the cheap side, so the fact that it cost only a few dollars as opposed to $35 or more was a huge plus--but I also prefer this design to the commercial umbrella swifts.

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  3. Oh, I think I might have or have seen Mom's. But this really looks superior (prettier, too)! Kudos to D!

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  4. What did your husband use to connect the arms to the base. I see a wing nut but what did he use as a spacer?

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    Replies
    1. He used a combination of metal and teflon washers. It's presently broken down and stashed away, so I can't give a precise answer; but if you would like more detail, please feel free to email me directly and I will get back to you.

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  5. Hi -
    I don't seem to be able to find the link to how to make the homemade yarn swift your husband made for you.
    Could you please redirect me? Much appreciated, SureenM

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  6. Hi Sureen,

    My apologies for taking so long to get to this. This blog is now so old that some of the links are no longer viable. Here are some instructions I found for swifts like my husband made--I hope they are of some help:

    http://www.instructables.com/id/SewUseful%3A-Portable-Tabletop-Yarn-Swift-for-windi/

    http://everything-old-crafts.blogspot.com/2011/05/tutorial-diy-yarn-swift-for-under-15.html

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  7. Thank you very much for coming back to me re the swift. Will check out the links. :)

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