My favorite yarn winder and yarn swift -

A yarn winder, yarn swift, and yarn holder are not required to finish a beautiful sweater or blanket, but they can make your knitting or crochet process much more enjoyable and goes much faster. For machine knitters, a yarn winder, swift, or yarn holder are the must-haves to avoid jamming and uneven stitches.

I used to put off buying good quality crafting tools because they can get expensive for just hobby knitters. But, a properly working and good quality tool can last for a long time and save you a lot of frustration. Since my cheap yarn winder broke recently, I tried a few products recently and really like some of them. The links in this article can contain affiliate links, meaning I can get a small commission without extra cost to you if you buy through them.

✔ Metal yarn swift: https://amzn.to/2QQDaPn

✔ Jumbo metal yarn winder: https://amzn.to/3m7bOjN

✔ Wooden yarn ball holder/spindle: https://amzn.to/39sgXxJ

Watch our video for the metal yarn winder, swift, and the wooden yarn holder

The metal yarn swift

The metal yarn winder and yarn swift go together nicely. If you can only get one tool, get the large yarn winder so you can wind yarn balls and skeins into cakes. You can hold a skein of yarn with your arms or the back of a chair the old-fashioned way. A yarn swift acts like the 2 hands holding the yarn, and feed through the yarn winder to produce neat yarn cakes.

Before the yarn winder, I try to place the yarn around the back of a chair, but the winding process can be very slow, and yarn gets tangled easily.

Most traditional yarn winders are made of wood. They can be bulky and difficult to store. The metal swift can be folded and stored in a plastic tube when not in use. It is also very lightweight and reasonably priced.

Mounting and operating

The yarn swift can be mounted vertically or horizontally by being clamped to the edge of a desk. It is better if the desk has a 90-degree edge instead of a curved edge. It will fit most desk thickness. You can adjust the knob to make it tight and stable.

You can also adjust the diameter of the swift easily (by lifting and down the adjustment clip in the center rod) so the yarn swift will fit any size of yarn skein.

When placing the yarn on the swift, make sure the top side of the yarn matches the top all across to prevent twisting and getting tangled.

Top of the yarn should stay on the top all the way around to avoid tangling up.

✔ Metal yarn swift: https://amzn.to/2QQDaPn

Pinch to slide up and down to adjust the size of the swift.

You can turn the swift from the dial on the top.

The metal jumbo yarn winder

My requirement for a yarn winder includes 1. being sturdy, and 2. big enough for larger size yarns. This metal yarn winder has a metal base, so it is very durable and smooth when winding. And the cone is big enough for large skeins of yarn or big size yarn balls.

If you do machine knitting, it is more important to keep the final yarn cake as large as possible instead of several small cakes. It means fewer joints to worry about. This will save you time and headache in the future.

So after you place a skein of yarn on a swift, pull one yarn end through the 2 metal loops on the yarn winder, and clip to the center top of the yarn cone. Then you can start to turn the handle clockwise. You will see both yarn swift and yarn winder run very quickly and you will have a perfected winded yarn cake in a short time.

✔ Jumbo metal yarn winder: https://amzn.to/3m7bOjN

The yarn holder or yarn spindle

Another useful tool is a yarn spindle. Place the yarn on through the rod, and both the base and rod will spin when you pull the yarn out. It is a very simple design but super useful. It prevents the yarn ball rolls all over the floor when you knit or crochet.

✔ Wooden yarn ball holder/spindle: https://amzn.to/39sgXxJ

This yarn spindle has double rods so you can have 2 balls on at the same time. It is practical when knitting the color works. So it will not get tangled easily.

There is some weight to the base of the yarn spindle, plus a few rubber dot stickers to be placed under the base. So the yarn spindle stays in place and does not slide around easily.

This yarn holder or spindle can be used alone or work together with any yarn winder or swift. Some people just put the yarn ball into a bucket or a box when they wind them into cakes with a yarn winder. Use the yarn spindle will be much faster with no tangles.

Those are my current favorite yarn craft tools and accessories as a knitter. It is the small things that make us happy and I look forward to using them in many future projects.