Are you tired of yarn tangles? Perhaps a ball winder is what you need! We've reviewed the KnitPro ball winder and shown you three ways to use it WITHOUT a swift in our video tutorial and photo step-by-step guides.

What is a ball winder?

A ball winder is a handy gadget that allows you to wind your own balls of yarn. It creates a lovely neat ball which can be pulled from the centre, which sits nice and flat and doesn't roll about creating a tangle. If you've bought your yarn in a hank or a skein, a ball winder is going to be your new best friend!

Video Tutorial

Can I use a ball winder without a swift?

Good news! You don't need a swift to use a ball winder. There are 3 ways to use your ball winder, which we show you in the video tutorial above:

  • Wind directly from an existing ball to create a neater, centre-pull ball that is much easier to work from
  • Wind two strands of yarn together for easy knitting or crocheting on the go
  • Use a chair or other object to hold your skein while you wind the yarn onto the ball winder

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KnitPro Ball Winder Review

The KnitPro Wool Winder is a neat piece of kit that is lightweight and easy to store in your craft room. It can wind yarn from laceweight up to chunky with ease.

It only has one moving element (the cone which holds your yarn) so it is likely to last well, and the movement is smooth and quiet.

It comfortably holds 50-75g of yarn, depending how tightly the ball is wound.

The balls it produces are very neat and pull easily from the centre, making them much easier to knit or crochet from than traditional balls or skeins.

The ball winder includes a built-in clamp to keep it in place which has a rubber foot. The only thing we found in our testing is that if you are too "enthusiastic" with your winding, this sometimes comes a little loose - but it was rarely an issue.

It can be used without a swift, as shown in our video tutorials.