Skeins of wool always tangle

KnittingKnewbie · 2023-12-06T22:53:46+00:00

I have begun knitting recently. I have used balls of acrylic blend with no problem. But I then tried pure wool which comes in skeins ( is that the word? Twists). So before starting my knitting project I have had to spend hours untangling the mess the wool tangled into, then roll it into a ball so I can begin. What am I doing wrong?

MrsElsa · 06/12/2023 22:58

Gently untwist it so it forms a loop. Hang it on a door handle. Or ask a willing helper to hold it looped over each wrist. Then carefully wind it into a ball.

This person used two candle jars instead, looks tedious..

https://youtube.com/shorts/7UfgH4elSvY?si=pMh-1LXCV7GKC4op

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 06/12/2023 23:01

I use to dining room chair backs. If Dh won’t oblige. (Tbh he ‘forgets’ to keep
his arms the right width apart.) Have also hooked it over my feet and wound the ball
that way - cats got a little too interested.

Original poster

KnittingKnewbie · 06/12/2023 23:01

MrsElsa · 06/12/2023 22:58

Gently untwist it so it forms a loop. Hang it on a door handle. Or ask a willing helper to hold it looped over each wrist. Then carefully wind it into a ball.

This person used two candle jars instead, looks tedious..

https://youtube.com/shorts/7UfgH4elSvY?si=pMh-1LXCV7GKC4op

Thank you! I did untwist it then it all went pear shaped. Never thought of a door handle !
So it's not possible/, advisable to knit from the skein as is? Should it always be wound into a ball?

OP posts:

SoupDragon · 06/12/2023 23:02

I have fond memories of sitting with a skein of wool over my arms whilst my grandmother wound it into a ball...

You do have to wind them into a ball and you can't do this without putting the skein over something like a pair of arms or the back of a chair. Or a yarn swift if you have one!

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 06/12/2023 23:04

Yes it always has to be wound into a ball. Some yarn sellers offer to do this as an extra paid service.
Every year I think about buying a swift, and then think it’s not that hard to do……

AHobbyaweek · 06/12/2023 23:04

You cannot knit from a skein. You have to wind it or get a yarn store to wind it!
The door handle or feet or chair works well but I use a yarn holder and ball winder.

Scampuss · 06/12/2023 23:10

Whilst I have a swift and winder, I usually sit cross legged and wrap the skein around my knees and wind from there (quickly, whilst trying hard not to attract the attention of the cat).

Original poster

KnittingKnewbie · 06/12/2023 23:12

Ok I feel better now knowing I have to make it into a ball and I wasn't getting that wrong.
Looking forward to trying out these tips.
I love all the cats trying to get involved 😂

OP posts:

Catsmere · 06/12/2023 23:29

I love all the cats trying to get involved 😂

There's an entire forum thread on Ravelry called Cats Helping with Yarncrafts- it's been going about seven years and has well over 50 000 posts!

I had made the same mistake, OP - I rarely use yarn that's in skeins, and didn't realise they need to be wound into balls. I prefer winding into balls rather than cakes if I have to do so (swifts wind into cakes) because cakes tend to collapse after you've used a fair bit and need to be rewound anyway.

SoupDragon · 07/12/2023 07:28

I think pretty much everyone who uses yarn has tried to use it straight from a skein at least once!

SoupDragon · 07/12/2023 07:31

swifts wind into cakes

The swift doesn't, it just holds the skein whilst you wind it into a ball or a ball winder winds it into a cake.

when using a cake I either stick it onto my holder thingy (it's a wooden spike on a spinning disk so it rotates as you pull the yarn) and use it from the outside or I put it into a felted wooden chicken that holds the cake and use it from the middle (this is the transportable option)

Catsmere · 07/12/2023 07:44

The swift doesn't, it just holds the skein whilst you wind it into a ball or a ball winder winds it into a cake.

My mistake, I've only seen the one at my LYS in action! I thought the ball winder was the only way they worked. If you want to put it straight into a ball, do you have to do it by hand from the winder, much as if you did the over-the-back-of-the-chair method?

SoupDragon · 07/12/2023 09:04

Catsmere · 07/12/2023 07:44

The swift doesn't, it just holds the skein whilst you wind it into a ball or a ball winder winds it into a cake.

My mistake, I've only seen the one at my LYS in action! I thought the ball winder was the only way they worked. If you want to put it straight into a ball, do you have to do it by hand from the winder, much as if you did the over-the-back-of-the-chair method?

the swift basically takes the place of the back of the chair. It spins round when you pull the yarn when winding it. I've used mine with a cake making winder and just winding into balls by hand.

Catsmere · 07/12/2023 09:08

@SoupDragon thanks! That's useful to know - if I buy a skein from my LYS I'll ask to use the winder myself for a ball rather than a cake.

CrochetBug · 07/12/2023 09:14

I tried to crochet from a hank once. It was messy. Now I use my swift and winder to wind into cakes.

I used to get dc to help by holding the hank while I wound it into a ball, but once they realised how boring it was they refused!

ReineMarieGamache · 07/12/2023 10:18

Just to make you all laugh ... don't do what I did and sit on the floor with your legs out wide in front of you and hang the skein between your feet while you wind the ball. You will not be able to walk the next day 😂

Ariela · 07/12/2023 11:22

This was my favourite job as a child - winding the wool onto a winder like this https://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/bobbin-box-yarn-winder-with-oscillating-spool-centre with the skein over the back of a specific chair which they just fitted over nice and loosely so it didn't descend to a tangle. My mum was a seriously good knitter (did a lot of her own designs as well as complicated eg Kaffe Fassett), and above all could fix dropped stitches or other problems I always seemed to knit in.

Bobbin Box Yarn Winder With Oscillating Spool Centre

https://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/bobbin-box-yarn-winder-with-oscillating-spool-centre

Original poster

KnittingKnewbie · 08/12/2023 23:09

I put my new knowledge to work today and hung the skein off a door handle. It worked so much better 😊 a little tangle towards the end, but 5 mins unravelling vs an hour plus

OP posts:

bruffin · 08/12/2023 23:15

Ariela · 07/12/2023 11:22

This was my favourite job as a child - winding the wool onto a winder like this https://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/bobbin-box-yarn-winder-with-oscillating-spool-centre with the skein over the back of a specific chair which they just fitted over nice and loosely so it didn't descend to a tangle. My mum was a seriously good knitter (did a lot of her own designs as well as complicated eg Kaffe Fassett), and above all could fix dropped stitches or other problems I always seemed to knit in.

I have one of these and it is a game changer, also a yarn swift

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winder-Umbrella-Knitting-Holder-Skeins/dp/B097C1JRVK/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=VyqPL&content-id=amzn1.sym.6aea875e-359f-49f3-864f-cff62d586b6a%3Aamzn1.symc.ca948091-a64d-450e-86d7-c161ca33337b&pf_rd_p=6aea875e-359f-49f3-864f-cff62d586b6a&pf_rd_r=5P4QHZJ2NMFSBQT5KXHS&pd_rd_wg=jBBlp&pd_rd_r=12e0d0ce-6e4e-47fc-a06e-5a321ae33164&pd_rd_i=B097C1JRVK&th=1

Catsmere · 09/12/2023 01:03

Well done, OP!