I remember the time that I first bought some yarn that was in a skein rather than wound in a ball.  It was some Debbie Bliss Pure Silk in a pale lilac colour.  Beautiful.  But because I’d never bought skeins before, I didn’t realise the importance of winding it in to a ball before starting to knit with it.  You can probably guess what’s coming… Yes, I started to knit straight from the skein and before I knew it the yarn rapidly becoming a big tangled mess!  I quickly learnt my lesson.

Anyway, a recent arrival from the USA is this wooden yarn swift.  It sits on a table top and you put the skein around the 4 pegs.  As you start to wind your ball either by hand or with a yarn winder, the swift turns, keeping the yarn tangle-free.

Wooden Yarn Swift

Yes, I know you can put your skein around the back of a couple of chairs or ask a friend to hold it, but a swift can be a handy item to have and would make a lovely gift for a knitter.  It can be folded up for storage and doesn’t take up too much room.