I’m sure most of you reading this blog will be asking yourselves, “what is a yarn swift?” Well, if you know someone who knits, it’s a really handy tool used to wind yarn.
I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to shoot a video of this because it is a project that appeals to a very specialized audience. After listening to feedback on Twitter and Facebook, I realized that quite a few people knew about yarn swifts.
A few months ago my wife asked me to make a yarn swift. I looked online and discovered plenty of designs; some I liked, and some I didn’t. Kathy didn’t want it to take up a lot of space; it’s not something she uses every day, and by its nature a yarn swift has a fairly large footprint. So I got to work figuring out ways I could make it both functional and collapsible.
This project was as an exercise in problem solving. One morning I spent over an hour at the hardware store just looking at all sorts of parts, gizmos and gadgets trying to figure out an efficient method to get something to spin on an axis and yet have a hole through that axis that would allow for a tightening mechanism. As always, the solution was simple.
The answer lay in the plumbing department.
-- Entertainment for mere mortal woodworkers. http://www.WoodworkingForMereMortals.com
12 comments so far
Rob_n_Wood
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109 posts in 1516 days
#1 posted 632 days ago
Steve as usual your video’s are informative, fun and need I say practical I always enjoy them
keep up the good work Happy Knitting
-- "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." Thomas Jefferson
Bearpie
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2474 posts in 1185 days
#2 posted 632 days ago
Ahhh! So that’s what a yarn swift is, and I always thought it was someone who uses yarn up really fast! ;-)
-- Erwin, Jacksonville, FL
rance
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3856 posts in 1327 days
#3 posted 632 days ago
Steve, I don’t care what the subject mater is, your videos are just plain fun to watch, and I often learn something about woodworking(or knitting) too. Thanks for sharing.
-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--
will delaney
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306 posts in 802 days
#4 posted 631 days ago
I don’t think I will be making a yarn swift, but i really enjoy watching you woodworking videos. Thanks Steve can’t wait to see what you make next. Could it be a pasta drying rack?
ShopTinker
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861 posts in 935 days
#5 posted 631 days ago
Very educational video Steve. I didn’t know what a yarn swift was. Now I realize I used to be one, on occasion anyway. I remember mom telling me “put your hands up like this”, and then she would drape the yarn over my hands and I’d have to sit there until she had rolled the yarn into a ball.
I can add Yarn Swift to my list of skills on my resume. :) ~ Dan
-- Dan - Valparaiso, Indiana, "A smart man changes his mind, a fool never does."
SSMDad
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402 posts in 763 days
#6 posted 631 days ago
Awesome as always Steve. Son and I watch them every week. S T E V E! he shouts. haha
-- Chris ~~Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."
Stevinmarin
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817 posts in 1242 days
#7 posted 631 days ago
I seem to have a huge toddler audience. Maybe I should incorporate Thomas the Tank Engine!
He’ll be the only kid in class that knows what a yarn swift is!
-- Entertainment for mere mortal woodworkers. http://www.WoodworkingForMereMortals.com
Stevinmarin
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817 posts in 1242 days
#8 posted 631 days ago
Will: Not a pasta drying rack, but you are close! I’m making a coat rack this weekend. Although, pasta is sounding a lot better than coats right now.
Oh, and yeah…I know I showed my belt sander and called it a biscuit jointer. Yep. I am a MASTER WOODWORKER.
-- Entertainment for mere mortal woodworkers. http://www.WoodworkingForMereMortals.com
Beginningwoodworker
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13225 posts in 1840 days
#9 posted 631 days ago
Great video, Steve.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
Beginningwoodworker
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13225 posts in 1840 days
#10 posted 631 days ago
Steve, Congrats to your son. I was homeschool as well I have a GED and have a A.A.T in Building Construction.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
Stevinmarin
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817 posts in 1242 days
#11 posted 631 days ago
Good for you! Homeschooling has been a long strange road. Now that Wyatt’s in school, I still homeschool him. School only covers so much. Wyatt is in “honors” classes, yet finds them simple. Actually any parent who is deeply involved with his kids (and especially their homework) is a homeschooler. It ain’t rocket science.
-- Entertainment for mere mortal woodworkers. http://www.WoodworkingForMereMortals.com
SSMDad
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402 posts in 763 days
#12 posted 631 days ago
haha NOOOO not Thomas the tank! If I have to hear Welcome to the Island of Sodor one more time I’m shutting down mentally! haha
Agree, homeschooling while in school enriches learning even more. Congrats to Wyatt for being in the advanced classes. He sounds quite intelligent from his cameos in your vids. :)
-- Chris ~~Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."
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