I have been looking for a ball winder to wind center-pull balls of yarn. After reading many reviews of commercially made winders, it seems that all of them have something wrong with them. So I decided to make my own. It is not perfect, but I made it all by myself! This Ball Winder can wind 100 grams of yarn easily, and I was able to double up and wind two 100 gram balls together as well!!



This instructable may look long, but you could make it in a few hours.



I didn't feel like working in the workshop so I designed this so you don't have to use any power tools or hand tools that would make a mess.



Most of the items I had on hand. I just bought the lazy susan bearing ($2.19) and the tubes of silicone (~$7.00 each), and the binding post (~$1.00).



Using a Yarn Swift with the Ball Winder is a good idea. I made a swift out of wire hangers, a wine bottle, duct tape, and a box to stabilize the bottle. It is a modified version of the Yarn Swift at http://aemmeleia.wordpress.com/2007/09/05/diy-yarn-swift-desparate-measures/. I used 6 hangers instead of 4 and put the bottle in a box. Didn't cost anything!





