Happy Friday all!
So the last few days my kiddos have been sick, which has made me slow down and stay home more, so I’ve actually got quite a bit of crocheting done the last few days. My current work-in-progress is a baby blanket using Caron X Pantone yarn. I’m hoping to have the finished project ready to go up next week (fingers crossed). But in the meantime, I thought it’d be a great time to show you how I got my yarn prepped and ready to work with.
Now, if you’re not familiar with the Caron X Pantone yarn, it looks like this…
So here’s my positive thoughts on this yarn. It comes in these very adorable looking skeins, which are actually 5 separate mini skeins of yarn. They’re color coordinated and just enough yarn to make a small, colorful, little something without having 5 giant balls of leftover yarn. Also, the fiber blend (60% acrylic, 20% nylon, 20% merino wool) makes it super soft, so I’m actually really enjoying working with it. And bonus, its machine washable.
Now, here’s the not- so-positive thoughts. The yarn splits really easily. So if you’re not careful with your work, you can end up pulling fine strings out of the yarn with your hook or needle as you go leaving little snag-looking spots. Next, there’s not a lot of yarn here (127 yds), especially for the price ($7.99)…but y’know, coupons. And finally, this thing comes with 5 separate mini-skeins that need to be individually wound before you can even start a project. Yikes.
So, there are several videos on the Yarnspirations youtube page about how to wind your yarn to prevent tangles. But honestly, for a larger scale project, I was thinking, Wow what a nightmare! Lucky for me, I recently invested in a yarn swift and ball winder.
Based on some recommendations from fellow yarn lovers (and some Amazon reviews), I got the Stanwood swift and ball winder. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily buy this type of equipment just for one project. I actually have some skeins of silk yarn that I want to use, so that was my primary reason for finally pulling the trigger on these. However, this has been a lifesaver in cleaning up my yarn stash. If you’re anything like me, you have a pile of mostly used yarn stashed in a cabinet or bag somewhere. I was able to rewind those loose yarn balls and sloppy skeins into cakes that are now neatly in a clear tupperware in my laundry room. My stash (well part of my stash) is organized and I can easily see what colors I have. So that alone was worth the investment for me. Plus, you really only need a ball winder to deal clean up a stash; the swift is only used when you have hanks that need winding.
Now, I know that these aren’t cheap, but Stanwood does make another ball winder thats nearly identical for a bit cheaper. I’ve also heard good things about Knit Picks ball winder (haven’t tried it personally, though). Some of my friends have the plastic swifts versus the wooden ones, which are significantly cheaper. According to them, they get the job done, so thats another option as well. (Note: I’ve only linked the products that I have personally used.)
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Now that being said, this was the perfect project to get the swift and winder out for. I’ll show you how I got them wound.
I think winding each skein of 5 minis took me about 5 minutes. And with 8 skeins to deal with, this was definitely a lifesaver. So what would have taken me a couple hours by hand, took about 40 minutes. All caked up and ready to go!
So, if you’re on the fence about a swift and ball winder, or if you have one and didn’t even think to use it for this yarn, do it! Until next week, Happy Crafting!
Kelsie
