Build a Yarn Swift
A yarn swift winds a skein of yarn into a ball or a cone of yarn into a skein. Any yarn enthusiast will tell you that winding a ball of yarn without a swift is possible, but tricky. If you want a yarn swift of your very own, you could shell out as much as $60 for an umbrella swift online, or try making your own using items you can find in any home-improvement store.
Instructions
1. Take a 6-foot length of 1-inch-by-1-inch poplar board and cut it in half, so you have two pieces that are each 3 feet long. Cut a notch out of the center of one board that is 1 inch wide and 3/4 inch deep. Use this notch to place one board on top of the other, in a cross shape. Drill a hole and use a screw to attach the two boards together.
2. Drill holes the width of your dowels on the top of each board, starting 3 inches from the outside edges and working in every 1 1/2 inch. Make your holes approximately 1/2 inch deep, evenly spaced on the ends of both boards.
3. Use wood glue to glue the bottom board onto a Lazy Susan, and let dry. The center of the cross on your boards should be centered over the Lazy Susan, which will serve as your base.
4. Cut four dowel rods to 6 inches in length, and insert them into holes on the planks. Correspond your placement so that each rod is placed in the equivalent hole on every board (in other words, put them all on the last hole, or the third hole, or whichever). These dowels will hold your yarn in place.
5. Take a skein of yarn and wrap it around the dowels. If it is too small to fit, move the dowels in toward the center until it fits snugly. Now you can pull the working end of your skein and affix it to a ball winder or wind it by hand into a ball.
