Tips on Unwinding a Skein of yarn with a Ball Winder and Swift 

Kyle's demonstration on unwinding a skein of yarn with a ball winder and swift is VERY thorough. Excellent. He taught "an old dog" some new tricks! Now I am MORE confident in avoiding problems when unwinding a skein of yarn.

THANK You SO much for all the tips you gave for how to put a hank/skein of yarn on a swift correctly. I just wound my first hank without all the problems you mentioned. Before this it was always in a "world of hurt"! This is definitely the BEST demonstration and explanation out there!!!!

This is a great video, very clear and Kyle has a great way of chatting us through a complete, easily understood video.

This video is a lifesaver! I have already ruined 2 hanks of yarn so I am so glad I found your video-thank you!

Thank you! the best demonstration I’ve come across

After years of "self taught" swift use, I found this video excellent and wish I had found it when first buying skeins of yarn.

Thank you so much for this video! I just purchased a swift and used it for the first time. I ended up with such a mess that I almost gave up and threw the yarn away. It took me more than an hour to get out all of the knots and tangles so I could wind the skein into a hank. Now I'm confident that I can try again without all of the tears.

Thank you for this demo! I've heard knitters on YT speak of a "swift" and a ball winder, but had never seen one in use. Very, very good demo!!

You demonstrate this so well I purchased one and I absolutely love it. Thanks

I've learned the hard way. Nice to learn the better way(s)!

Great video! Thanks for all of your tips!

Kyle I've had an Amish swift before and it was "better than nothing" but I was always going around trying to untangle this bit or that. I was looking for exactly this video. The tips I needed were for properly installing the yarn on the swift and how to find problems BEFORE I started winding instead of trying to fix them in the middle (sometimes with a pair of scissors). This was a wonderful demo, thanks!

Just a year new to crochet I'm glad I saw this a few weeks before my first purchase of silk hanks. I have spent hours unhappily dealing with yarn tutor called yarn vomit. Great job! Best of luck with becoming a fiber artists everyday he- man tutor.

Thank you for this! I am in "that world of hurt" now. Should've searched RU-vid prior to loading a 400+ yard skein on my swift. I was so cocky, because I have done it before. Live and learn. :D

Thank you so much for this!! I tried using a swift for the first time the other day and it was an absolute disaster. I spent 3 hrs having to untangle an entire skein of yarn lol was really dreading having to cake 4 more for the MKAL I have coming up. This definitely give me the confidence to get it done now😊

Thank you! I have this style of swift, but not this company’s and I have been in a world of hurt. This video explained everything that I was doing wrong.

Thanks for this useful video. I only wish I found it before I made the mess that’s on my swift now.

Thank you for this tutorial. It will help me in the future. I will be asking for a swift for Christmas! This is an amazing video. I only wish I'd found it before I got into a world of hurt with this great big knotty mess I'm now stuck with. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Thank You Kyle. I’m new to using a swift & ball winder & unfortunately just made a HORRIBLE mistake while balling up some expensive yarn. Not a mistake I’ll make again now that I understand what went wrong. Paradise Fibers also has a beautiful website which I will be visiting soon. TY Nancy

thank you so much. Great detailed explanation, and tips.

I love this. Can't wait to get my swift. Hopefully by February.

Excellent video. Thank you!

seriously the BEST tutorial! thanks!!

Very helpful. Thank you

Thank You for your great video, I have trouble every time I try to wind a skein

Very interesting!

Very informative.

Enjoyed your video. As others have mentioned, having the camera on a tripod would improve the video. I also suggest you get a camera that can take a close up picture. I would enjoy seeing the set-up and break-down of the swift. The base of the swift appeared to move around easily. If you remake this video, please explain about the base and how to keep it stationary. Thanks.

Thank you for this video. I'm going to buy my first swift and winder soon and your tips help a lot :)

Hi Kyle, great video. Can you demo how to break down and store your swift. Thanks!

Thank you!!

Great video, thank you. I loved the extra feature you showed at the end. I think this could be ideal for me as I'd like to be able to take a yarn ball from a shop and get it easily onto my swift to then cake it. I hope that makes sense. I am however in the UK, do you ship here and if you can do you know what costs I'd be looking at? Thank you so much :).

Kyle, the yarn I purchase from Paradise Fibers has the knot around the yarn but it's weaved in and out through the yarn instead of it just going around the yarn like the one you show. I also have problems with getting my yarn on the swift correctly, I even had to unwind the entire skein and wrap it around the swift so it would come off correct. Any advice on the yarns that have the knit weaved in and out through the yarn? I hope I made sense with what I was explaining. Thanks Kyle

There's a wood one under the table. Do you have a video of that one. I found one St. A thrift store

I need a swift to take me out of the world of hurt!!!!

👍👍👍

Is he doing this in his store or do all of those balls of yarn belong to him? If this is a shop where is the shop located and where how can I get there. One more thing how much are the skeins of yarn?

Can I buy these from you

I appreciate that you made this video with all the great info but....please invest in a tripod and keep the camera still? I couldn't watch it all the way through due to motion sickness. :(

That bunch of yarn in the beginning is not a skein; it is called a Hank.

A guy or any one else who works in a yarn shop should know the difference between a "skein" of yarn from a "hank" of yarn. What you have there sir, is a Hank of yarn, not a skein. You are confusing new people who don't know the difference. A hank of yarn is a length of yarn that has been wrapped in a series of loose loops sort of like a garden hose or a lariat. To keep these loops from getting tangled a few bits of other yarn are tied here and there around the loops. Some of these ties may be tied all the way around the strands of yarn. Some of them are tied with the ties running in and out of the strands to divide the strands into smaller sections to help keep the hank flatter so it is easier to put the hank on a swift without the whole hank getting twisted on the swift. Once you have it on the swift nice and straight, you cut these short strands and the two ends and place the outer end on a winder as you did. The wound up product on the winder is what you call a skein, but in your case as the skein was wound in a cake shape we call it a cake, but it is essentially a skein because it's wound up in a tidy form ready to use. If you go to a good bead shop, you will often find bundles of beads strung up on stings hanging on pegs on the wall. These are also called hanks. Of course, you don't wind up hanks of beads into a skein. You cut the string and put the beads in a jar or some other container with a lid.

BALL WINDER?? Sounds Painful Kyle.

I liked the content of this video but feel it is mis-leading. What you're doing is balling/winding a hank of yarn, not a skein. :)