Knitting Anyone? It's Called a Niddy Noddy...

Looks cool, but how does it work?

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Hey Chuck … very nice. I’m a spinner and have a Niddy Noddy, but it isn’t that nice. Its a necessary tool if you spin and want to easily and neatly make a skein of yarn.

-- Teri, Kokomo, IN

I’m not quite sure to be honest Gary. I know the yarn she spins wraps around it some how… I’ll find out more
tomorrow – she has a bunch of friends who want me to start making them custom stuff. If it looks like easy stuff to make and there’s $$$$ in it I may just have something to keep me busy during the slow seasons. And get payed to do what I like to boot!

-- --Chuck

Thanks Teri, maybe you could explain how it works – I know I can’t. Also my sister says there are lots of Women who will pay up to $40 for one of these, especially if it has their name and stuff like that in it. Is this true?? I saw a hand made spinning wheel for a $1100.00 on a spinners site last night! My sister claims spinners will gladly pay that much or more for one tailored to fit them perfect.

-- --Chuck

There you go, there is still room for those past skills. nice job on the Noddy.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

you learn something new everyday!! A niddy noddy..

Oh yes, personalized … uh huh.. special

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

looks like your in the money chuck !!

I am like you in that I simply don’t have a clue on what to do with it but your woodworking looks pretty good. Any day in the shop is a good day but if you can make a little money, get a new tool and make somebody happy with a project from shop cutoffs it just doesn’t get any better than this.

Go for it.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I’m sure glad you didn’t ask me to guess what it was.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Yeah, if I hadn’t seen one with yarn wrapped around it I would have mistaken it for a very confusing double coat hanger. It’s actually a kind of fun little project and if your wife is a spinner then it’s a Saturday approved task. Sunday you’ll be making a drop spindle, just as soon as your done taking out the trash…LOL
Really though, the more I investigate these odd looking tools of the knitting trade I come to realize their simplicity and usefulness. Nearly everyone of these tools were born out of neccessity – And not surprisingly they almost always were designed and fabricated by you guessed it; a woodworker!
There was a time when just about every guy out there had some kind of working knowledge of wood and how to apply it, especially if you lived in rural areas or a farm – there simply wasn’t time nor money to just go to town and buy another Niddy Noddy. If your wives spindle broke you fixed it or you went without socks!

-- --Chuck

i found this on the web…..
http://www.worldknit.com/howto/howtospin/sfiberprep/niddy.html
interesting little device….

ah!!!! Now I get it.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Interesting. I never would have guessed it.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Cool. Looks like you could use your new lathe to turn a ‘can of soup’ too.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

It’s a rather novel little device and a testament to the ingenuity of those who came before us. I recently saw our buddy on the WoodWright Shop make one of these a couple week ago.

-- Working at Woodworking www.VillageLaneFurniture.com

Thanks Russel, It looks as though I may be making more of them and other knitting devices and tools. I actually spun some real yarn yesterday, though not very much of it. I’ve spun yarns with the ladies before but they always seemed to come back later and get me in trouble! LOL ;.)

-- --Chuck

Chuck, it’s always fascinating what we run into in our travels. It was cool to see someone build something that I had recently seen and the talk of spinning caused me to look at a spinning wheel the Mrs has. Her grandmother brought it over from Germany with her many moons ago. After some inspection it looked like an interesting project to add to my never ending list. I’m glad you posted this.

-- Working at Woodworking www.VillageLaneFurniture.com

Nice work! I am going to be starting construction on several prototypes myself. I am hoping to be able to turn the spindles for both a one yard and a two yard niddy noddy.

-- Jace - http://rumplestiltskeins.etsy.com - http://www.lessthanunder.com - http://www.shopsmith.com --

“My sister claims spinners will gladly pay that much [$1,100] or more for one tailored to fit them perfect.”

Why not? If a person is going to spin for hundreds of hours a year the best most comfortable gear available is warranted.

-- Tony