How to Hand Wind a Ball of Yarn

Have you ever wondered how to wind a ball of yarn neatly by hand?
In this three minute video tutorial I show you how to wind a centre pull ball from a skein of yarn, by hand, and without a ball winder.
www.alexcollin...

[@OldWayArtisans]

Been searching everywhere for this information.
Short, sweet, right to the point, almost no preamble, and very clear instruction. Thanks for posting this and making it easy to follow.

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You’re welcome. I’m glad it helped!

[@OldWayArtisans]

@@AlexCollinsDesigns So am I! I just finished the first acceptable string-tied Turk's Head Knot foundation I've ever managed to create. They always came out lopsided and bumpy before.

[@diannacook6135]

Thank you, this is the first time I’ve actually made this work.

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Yay! That's brilliant. So happy I could help.

[@AKnittersHomestead]

Hi Alex!
Thank you so much for sharing your ball winding technique with us. I've always admired just how beautiful and neat your balls of yarn always seem to turn out!

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You're welcome! Hand-winding a beautiful yarn is so satisfying :)

[@EldenwoodCraft]

I love a hand wound ball of yarn. Mine never look this neat so will definitely give this a go. Thanks Alex.

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Thanks for watching Emma! :) Have a lovely weekend x

[@shobha7000]

This was so neat and clean 🧶...... thank you Alex Collins 😀

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You're welcome! 💗

[@michaelwinter742]

This looks so much better. Thanks for the tip!!

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You're welcome! I'm glad you found the tutorial helpful :)

[@julieedwards6937]

Love this little tutorial, I’m off to tidy my yarn scraps 😊

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

It's so satisfying making these like yarn balls 🙂 I'm glad you liked the tutorial!

[@SharonMichelleWebster]

Thank you Alex, just wound my first yarn ball after knitting for five years ~ love your technique 💓

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Brilliant! I'm so glad you found the tutorial useful Sharon x

[@SharonMichelleWebster]

Alex Collins happy holidays Alex 😘

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Sharon Michelle Webster thanks Sharon! You too 💗🎄✨

[@Clubkidknitter]

Brilliant! Good on you!

[@knittingpoppy]

Thank you. I hand wind all my yarn, love this technique:)

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

I'm so happy you enjoyed the video, it's very satisfying when you hand wind a beautiful yarn :)

[@noorasaid2063]

Thank you for sharing this; it's very helpful xx

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

I'm so glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching :)

[@anitaerasmus9700]

Wow! Looks machine wound. Thank you for teaching this!

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You’re welcome! 🥰

[@LochBriarKnits]

Wow - that was awesome. I'm definitely trying that.

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it :)

[@fdrake4508]

soooooo neat! thank you for sharing!

[@nwilson942]

Thank you 🙏🏽. This is so helpful!

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You're welcome! I'm glad you liked the video :)

[@valeriethomas7562]

Brilliant thank you Alex

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You're welcome! I'm glad it was useful :)

[@lizlaurichesse9056]

Thank you! Can’t wait to give this a try. 💕

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You're welcome! I'm glad you found it useful :)

[@Moll0510]

Awesome! Definitely going to try this!

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Great! I'm glad you found it useful :)

[@memestricotpop]

Amazing

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Thanks! :)

[@julielines3281]

Great tip thank you x

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You're welcome!

[@B00GH0STIE]

Pausing my project to do this with it still attached to the yarn cause I have a whole 1000 yards of it and I can’t work with the ball this big 😭

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

I'm glad you found the tutorial helpful. That is a lot of yarn to wrangle!

[@pkimmitt]

You are magical.

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Thanks Polly ✨🥰

[@abpgrace]

Did you mention which end of the yarn to begin with?

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Hey, great question. I’ve not noticed it makes a difference which end you use, so do what feels most comfortable 🧶

[@deborahblack8335]

How long does it take?

[@oliviagraham7549]

works extremely well but..mine is an egg rather than a ball

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

That's ok Olivia, the more you do it you'll see how you can manipulate the shape as you are winding. To get more of a ball shape make the angle smaller and do fewer wraps before you turn the ball on your thumb. Happy Knitting 🙂

[@onii-chanmomo7932]

Thank you so much

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

You're welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful :)

[@ArtemensiaK]

I guess one pulls the yarn from the center to use it?

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Yes, thanks right :)

[@JanetJenkins]

Will this work for silk yarn?

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

I don’t see why not :) I’ve used this technique for linen, cotton, alpaca and wool.

[@JanetJenkins]

@@AlexCollinsDesigns Thank you it worked great!!!

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

@@JanetJenkins Yay! Thanks for letting me know 🎉

[@kalpanakgowda1990]

Wow♥️ wow♥️ wow i do perfect like yuuu only ma'm♥️

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Glad you liked it!

[@NatalieP-d3q]

I tried to follow this tutorial and ended up with a horrible mess… it looks nice but definitely didn’t help me.

[@AlexCollinsDesigns]

Hey Natalie, sorry to hear this didn’t work for you. If you weren’t able to wrap the yarn around your thumb to create a ball of yarn you might find a nostepinne would be a useful tool. There are lots of tutorials out there on how to use one. Good luck!