Cutehill Umbrella Swift Yarn Winder, Hand Operated Ball Winder Holder, Knitting Tool, for Swift Winding Lines, Laces, Yarns, Fiber or Other Strings

Fantastic! Ordered special yarn and didn't realize it came in hanks so I needed a yarn swift stat!! A yarn what??? Lol yeah a yarn swift I was told. So I purchased this one and now have been rolling my hanks into balls in no time flat!I considered purchasing the more expensive wood ones however after asking the wonderful Amazon crafting community what they thought of this product because I didn't even know the name of this cool apparatus before I ordered it..and I erroneously thought that a wooden, more expensive yarn swift equaled better for me lol.. thank god I asked because I received lots of great feedback about this model. So I purchased this this one over ones two times as much that do the same exact job... roll yarn into a ball from a hank. I'll say I was skeptical at first because it's made with plastic but I was quickly reassured that it would be ok. And it was! I quickly received my new yarn swift... pulled it out of the box and attached it to a chair arm via the adjustable clamp with no issues.. watched a you tube video that another Amazon community member, a wonderful lady, suggested that I watch being that I'd never used one plus the yarn was wicked expensive lol..just so I didn't ruin the yarn.. I was up and running in 3 minutes it was that easy! I placed my yarn hank on the yarn swift, hooked up my electric ball winder and went to town! Crazy fast and cool! I was actually sad when I ran out of hanks to wind into balls! Now I no longer have to pass up the beautiful yarn in hanks thanks to this baby. Don't let the price or the plastic be a deterrent to purchase this model. I will say it's made in china so some of it is of a cheap plastic but I find no issues with that. I'm careful and store it in the original box when not in use. I just pull it out of the box and clamp it to my chair arm when I need it. Super easy. I've used it quite a bit with no issues other than my user error. If you're new to yarn swifts, start with this model because it's very inexpensive, fast shipping and I don't think you'll be disappointed. Then if you decide to go pro and do nothing but wind hanks into balls all day then you might want to upgrade but for the occasional hank winder, this is more than sufficient for your needs.

This may be a cheapo yarn swift (exactly what I needed with my limited budget), but it does the job just fine. It arrived in a long thin box (no instructions, of course). I carefully fidgeted with the straps - it works like an umbrella. With the clamp clip at the center bar, squeezing and moving it up and down opens and closes the spinning part of the swift, which is the part with all the green plastic bars. Then you can twist the fly nut and adjust the clamp so that the swift could attach to a sturdy foundation such as a coffee table to hold it in place. Tighten the gear-like pieces that connects the foundation clamp to the spinning bar. You are done!My only issue is that the flimsy metal bars that attach the green plastic bars to the center bar is exactly that: flimsy. Once I finished winding my first yarn cake and folded the swift up to pack away, one of the flimsy metal bars was slightly bent outwards so that the swift would not fold up neatly together. It is not a big deal, though. I do wonder how long this swift would last me before it falls apart.

In the past, I have seldom purchased hanks of yarns that need to be wound into balls, but lately I have discovered some wonderful vintage cotton crochet threads that are so much nicer than the modern equivalent. The hanks range from 300 to 750 yards and must be wound. Can you imagine doing that without a swift? Yikes. I did one 300-yard hank (I had to wrap part of it around my foot) and said never again.This swift worked perfectly. It comes folded up like an umbrella and can be opened to any width using the sliding clamp. The base must be clamped onto something solid and flat, like a table edge. I did not have such a space available, so I actually used my computer stand. Hey, it worked.It was very simple to set up and use. There are no instructions, but it’s not rocket science. It spins easily, and I had no problems. I’m sure it will last quite a while. For someone who typically buys fine yarns and needs to use a swift on a regular basis, perhaps that person will eventually feel the need for a sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing swift. But for the occasional use, this works like a charm.By the way, I also lucked out and found a second-hand electric ball winder for a bargain price. I don’t think anyone makes those anymore, which is a shame. I highly recommend looking for one. I had to run it on the lowest speed as my thread is very old and tangled, so I had to continually pull it off the swift to feed it onto the winder, but it was still a million times easier than doing it all by hand.

I really wasn't sure about this swift at first. It seemed pretty fragile. It is true that you absolutely have to put something padded between it and wood or it will "bite" into the wood. After using this for quite a few months, I tried a wooden, much more expensive, swift that I had been eyeing and wishing I could get. I thought I would love it, However, when I tried using the wooden swift, I found that it didn't spin nearly easily enough and made the yarn cakes really tight! I like mine to be more loose so that the yarn isn't pulled out of shape over time and give me a different gauge at the beginning versus the end of a project. I am now very happy with my swift. It is so light weight that it is really easy to set up compared to the wooden one, and it spins so easily that my cakes aren't too tight, and I can easily re-skein yarn if I have to from a cake without wearing out my arms! If I want a tighter cake I run the yarn through my hand on its way to the winder - the pressure creates a tighter cake. I think you could also use one hand on the spokes of the swift, letting the spokes hit your hand as it goes around, but that would be a bit awkward. The swift does seem a bit fragile, so I wouldn't have children around it, but as long as I am not careless and treat it with care, it has been fantastic and very affordable. Recommended!!