Using an Umbrella Swift

Try the "ferris wheel" method for smooth reeling with less tension
by Jackie E-S

An umbrella swift is a revolving device that holds a yarn skein under tension while the yarn is being wound off into balls or used directly on your project. Pictures usually depict the swift mounted so that the skein is held horizontally.

I find better results by mounting the swift so that the skein is held vertically, i.e. the swift revolves like a "ferris wheel". You don't have the possibility of the skein sliding down and off the ribs of the swift (a likelihood for slippery or large heavy skeins), and the yarn tends to reel off more smoothly with less tension (especially good for fine laceweight yarns). In this photo, the skein has been placed on the vertically mounted umbrella swift. Note that the ties for the skein are left on until ready to start reeling off.

This and other tips on using an umbrella swift is available in a 100kb downloadable pdf document.

Using an Umbrella Swift pdf document.

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