Ok. I admit it.. I really didn’ think my schedule through when promising a tutorial on the flower loom with videos and everything for this How to’s-day, so I need to table it for a week.. this is VBS week and things are a bit more crazy than I expected! Summer is the busy time of year around our house.. so I give you and oldie but goodie this week! I recently had someone use this little idea I thought up two and a half years ago (how can it be that long!!) and so I thought it was perfect to dredge up, make a little more easy to find; and share with anyone who missed it the first time around!! So without further ado.. how to make your own home made yarn swift!
Who wants to spend big bucks on a yarn swift? ME.. but I don’t have it! Not if I want some skeins of yarn to put on it that is! So I was trying my darndest to use my WONDERFUL yarn ball winder that I got from my birth Mother for Christmas and failing miserably! The yarn was getting tangled, the baby was getting into it, and I was STRESSED! I had to do something! I had to get the job done! But what could I do! Well my brain went into over time, I scanned Ebay but the swifts are few and far between, expensive and the bidding is furious! So that was a wash!
Then my eyes fell upon the objects in the house. What could I use? The back of a chair? NO. The legs of the chair? NO. What could I use.. Then I saw it! The holy grail! The object that would save me from my stress! A computer chair! Look at those spinning legs thought I. They look like they could work.
But what about the wheels? The yarn wouldn’t go round them, it got tangled in the. So I lost the wheels. Now what? I would have to find something to do for pegs! I didn’t have any dowels that we thick enough to fit in the holes left by the wheel pegs. UGH!
Then again my eyes fell upon the object of my desire! I spotted a crayola marker lying on the floor! Eureka! I grabbed it and it was a perfect fit!
Just stick those markers in the spots where the wheels normally go and voila! You have a swift! You can even adjust it by stitcking the markers in those triangular parts (if you have them) in the cross beams of the legs..
I can just see it now.. knitters carefully examining computer chairs for certain swift making attributes before they buy! (boy and we thought we just had to search for hand knit sock enhancing shoes!!)
very creative. i love that idea.
VERY COOL! I love how you did this and the things you used.
Thanks for sharing!
Dora Renee’ Wilkerson
Hilarious, ingenious (is that how you spell that?) and just plain brilliant! Hats off to you for thinking of it.
Now excuse me while I go check out our chairs for swiftness ;0)
Now,
That’s good thinking. Bravo *lol*
Why the heck didn’t I think of that!?
Genius!
rofl ok my son just lost his chair rofl, thanks for the tip 🙂 your the best 🙂
That is just amazingly cool. AWSOME IDEA
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you are a genius. my son and I were searching the how to sites and got great laughs from your design and great ideas. too clever!! thanks for the entertainment and the idea. he can’t wait to make me his own take on this .
That is an awesome idea.
I have another tab open right now to order a $50 swift, but before hitting “buy,” in desperation I searched and found your GENIUS idea! After all how many times will I really need a swift? Never, that’s how many. Thanks for saving me the money and the storage space. Sorry, Knit Picks!
Thats great! I got a tottle giggle out of the chair yarn swift. Great idea!!
You are a genius! What a fantastic idea. I bought some yarn from another knitter who didn’t need it, but I did NOT want to spend $100 on a swift and a ball winder to get it ready to use. Your idea was perfect. I didn’t have the right size pens, so I used three popsicle sticks in each hole — worked great! I also used a hand mixer and a paper towel tube as a ball winder. I can now wind a ball of yarn in less than 3 minutes! Thank you so much.
Incredible and resourceful!!
GENIUS. I LOVEEEEEEEEE THIS! Thank you so, SO much! Just for those who want a tip for doing this and they DON’T want to take the wheels off of the chair: With the flipped over chair next to (probably resting on top of a table), stand on a chair NEXT to your “swift”. By being elevated and winding the ball at an even pace, you won’t have a problem with the wheels at all!
Thank you so much for sharing this! It definitely makes winding balls by hand more pleasurable, considering I don’t have the money to invest in a swift and a yarn ball winder at this time!
And, you’re SO right about the search for shoes!
This is the best idea I’ve seen. People like you make life easier. And of course, the “I should have thought of that”. comes into my head. Have a blessed day.
OMG! I read this and grabbed the office chair from upstairs and ribbed off the wheels! Works like a charm! Even my husband is impressed! Thank you!
Totally brilliant! I was looking to go buy materials and spend today making something..that I was sitting on as I browsed the internet! Thank you!
I have an old lp turntable. Is there a way I turn it into a swift?
Hi Thanks for info.
This post is very useful for me.
Just so you know this post is that I was looking for.
Regards
percetakan
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Now I know why I’m always studying discarded office-type chairs at curbside! I always wonder if there’s not some way to use some part of them, even if they’re not fit for sitting on anymore. NOW, I know! Thank you so much!
That is a great idea! What a great way to recycle the things you already have.
Oh my goodness! I am SO doing this RIGHT NOW! (those caps are excitement, not anger, ha ha)…
My neighbor gave me a cheap computer chair that I really didn’t need, but couldn’t see thrown out. This is beyond perfect!
Thank you!
Wow! Am I glad to find this page! I baulked at paying £40+ for a yarn swift and was looking for instructions to make one, but I’d never have thought of using the old computer chair out there in my utility room, just waiting to go to the recycling centre. Perfect. Thank you so much. 😀
Super Idea! I am getting right up from this chair to give it a whirl… thanks!
Just another thought….Won’t have to search every inch of the house to find either!
I also used a hand mixer and a paper towel tube as a ball winder. I can now wind a ball of yarn in less than 3 minutes! Thank you so much.
that I was sitting on as I browsed the internet! Thank you!
his post is very useful for me.
Brilliant! Now I’m off to the local charity shop to find a cheap chair! :-b
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I do have the same chair at home and have already tried this method
but cannot manage to get the wheels off. They don’t unscrew nor pull out. How did you get them off?