Avoiding Excess Twist as You Knit // Technique Tuesday

[@mydigitaldiva]

Whenever I have an odd problem and think, “oh, nobody else actually cares about that, they just keep knitting,” Roxanne DOES CARE ABOUT THAT! AND she’s made a terrific video with PERFECT explanations. Thanks Roxanne!

[@sky-cap]

I started a sock from the center of a big ol’ sock cake and it was twisting and driving me crazy. Paging through your videos and saw this one and could not click play fast enough. My mind is blown! I didn’t want to cut the yarn so I managed to wrap up the sock tightly around the dpns and shove the whole thing through the center of the cake and out the other side. NO MORE TWISTING!

[@angieruns]

This is perhaps the clearest explanation I've ever heard about ANY knitting topic. Thank you!

[@barbarasmith5144]

The one and only proper and clear explanation for a long existing problem! So glad I found you, Roxanne!! Thanks a lot!

[@TheThirdWiseMonkey]

I'm strictly a hooker but I so wish I had come across this video a lot sooner. I have waged war with certain yarns such as Noro for years and am currently fighting with some Sirdar Jewelspun that is beautiful but insists on twisting badly regardless of whether it is being pulled from the center or the outside. This video has provided me with an explanation for why this occurs and the solution to this issue. Thanks so much for posting this! It is so appreciated.

[@Appellonia]

Just wondering...were you ever a teacher? Because you're absolutely ON IT when it comes to figuring out how to take a situation that is hard to visualize and understand and make it completely simple and digestible. Seriously it seems so simple when you show it physically with the spools of ribbon and the drawing of the spiral but I wouldn't have thought to explain it using those things. And without using them I know at least for me, wouldn't have been able to completely grasp this principle. I need to give you a giant thank you because I've been looking for two days for a solution on how to get my damn yarn to untwist. You completely explained it and showed me how to solve the problem in five minutes . You have no idea how much headache you saved me. My husband's ears (I scream when I have to constantly untwist yarn) and mental state thank you. seriously... so much😂❤

[@tracyvision]

Rox, you’re such a great teacher. You explained this so clearly. I love that you teach the WHY and not just the what, it makes all the difference to my brain. Thank you!

[@NinaKeilin]

The ribbon demo is such a good demo of the twisting! Wow!

[@AnnaKlura]

I have been knitting for a while now and never have I thought about this. I feel so enlightened.

[@donnawilson96744]

SUCH A SIMPLE CONCEPT. I KNEW IT HAD TO BE. SO GLAD I FOUND YOU.

[@charmer6813]

Wow! Now I know why my yarn twists on its self. So much good info! Thank you!

[@heatherr296]

Oh Rox, you DO rock! I have had some Socks that Rock sitting in my stash because the twist was so horrible!! I had split the skein for two at a time socks, but frogged them because I couldn't deal with the twist. I took those two cakes out and re-caked them, making sure I took them off the winder so that I would be knitting in a Z twist (they had a powerful S twist). I actually rewound one with a Z twist and took it off so I would knit it with a Z twist. So I can compare the two cakes. I can't wait to see how much of a difference it made, just pulling from the new center balls, they seem much more relaxed.

[@Jezza11bh]

Huge thanks Roxanne for this very well illustrated video. I could sense the problem I was having, but I could not visualise how to counteract it. Your visual explanation was so easy to comprehend. I definitely owe you a coffee!

[@heyBrownBerry]

I learn so much from you and this channel, Roxanne! Thank you SO MUCH

[@MarilynWiley]

This is really interesting. When i g to make my cakes i always feel for the nap of the yarn by rubbing the yarn back and forth to feel which way is smoother /softer so when i knit the yarn going towards the ball is the smoothest i find it does not twist back itself or the plies do not unwind themselves. I was always told there is a nap to yarn just like there is material.

[@jeannettelarmore8667]

What if you thread the cake on a needle and suspend it through holes in the sides of a box; so it spools off to the winder? In other words stick the needle part way towards the center of a cardboard box, stick it into the center of the cake, then through the other side of the box. Just like one of those ribbon storage boxes.

[@jeanniescrochetcreations4978]

I was taught to wind round balls and put them in coffee cans lol! My Granny taught me that and her sisters got together on Thursday afternoons and I got to go because I was spending the summer! When I got older she taught me to see and how to work with materials and sewing patterns! 😥Who'd of thought I would have a sewing job 11 years out of my career?!! But I had also worked 13 years civil service.

[@pennyleesk]

So glad I found this video - I have been dealing with really twisty yarn in my latest project and its been driving me crazy. I already re-wound it once, but it didn't help, but now I will try again and make sure I am pulling from the ball correctly.

[@catherinebrazeau3554]

This explains how hoses and extension cords get twisted too. Thanks Roxanne.

[@deborahpoole471]

Wow, this is so helpful! No one ever addresses this and it's something I've always wondered! Thanks, you give great explanations!

[@joannashelton4168]

this was exactly what needed! i had knitted from the inside of a cake of already overspun singles (noro taiyo sock) and greatly exacerbated my problem. now i can rewind to counteract the twist!

[@carb101]

I’m watching because of Noro too!

[@fritefal]

You are a godsend! Wish I had watched this video before I started winding my yarn. Thank you!

[@ievabernieks325]

Thank you for Explaining! It’s so helpful to understand what causes the Twisted yarn and how to Avoid it from happening.

[@lorim5235]

THANK YOU for explaining something I've tried to wrap my brain around for a while!

[@blackmber]

I got a couple of hand-wound balls of cotton thread from the thrift store. I tried to wind them with my ball winder so I could use them on the knitting machine and they kept tangling so badly. Every time I tried to rewind the ball it got worse, no matter which direction I wound it. I managed to knit with them but the fabric had a noticeable bias. This video saved the project. I was finally able to get the extra twist out of the thread and it’s not tangling any more. Thank you!

[@dukeofpurl]

My very favorite video of yours up to now!!! 😊 This twisting issue has confounded me since I started knitting, so thanks a bunch for clearing that up. NOW there's 2 reasons I'm falling in love with you!! LOL 💐🍭

[@kittenwizard1404]

I love this explanation. Thank you! I couldn't understand why working with one skein of yarn gets gets a lot of overtwist but another skein of the same exact yarn wouldn't get very much.

[@yarnexpress]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! A number of years ago I bought a ton of Lamb's Pride Bulky & Worsted(on sale) which are in pull skeins & a single ply Z twist. Every time I tried to knit with either the yarn would twist & kink causing me to abandon the project. I was pulling the yarn from the center using the strand as it presented itself. I couldn't find a resolution. Today? TADA! The solution? I pulled that yarn to the other end of the skein--not easy to reach in & grab the center but manageable. I just finished knitting several hundred stitches with no additional twist added. I always thought my problem had to do with how I knit not how the yarn was pulling from the skein!

[@Grandmasterrett]

What a revelation! So simple to fix....you just have to have the info. Thanks much, no more twisted yarn for me!

[@JulieMielke]

This TT saved my sanity. Just tryng to create a swatch for a sweater with magic loop using not so magical needles and yarn that is wonderful but twisting up on itself with every pull, I just about gave the whole thing to my cats. Then I remembered your video i bumped into and thought was interesting, but not practical at the time. My solution, b/c I do not have two ball winders, is to place the cake on a spool so that pulling freely turns the ball counterclockwise from the outsde of the cake. It works! Also, when examining my yarn, I call the S twist a back slash and the Z twist a forward slash, can't seem to see the S and Z.

[@stephanieselb8329]

How enlightening! And here I thought my knitting technique was the only thing causing this annoying twist. I can’t wait to start another project and really “take charge” of my yarn before I start knitting. Luckily, for the sweater I’m currently knitting, I’m accidentally counteracting the twists. Im becoming a more confident knitter because of you!

[@NamelessOne08]

Hello :) I am SO glad to have found your channel ... I have learned so much from your videos, and repeatedly refer to them! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the thought, energy, and time you put in to producing them ... the on-screen written notes, the timing-locator for specific sections, etc., are all so helpful. I have really struggled with the concept of twist, and this video just absolutely spells it out in a way that, at last, I can make sense of. Again, thank you SO much ... and keep on Rocking Roxanne! Wishing you Peace, Joy, and Happiness :) xOx

[@mindymartinez5559]

Thank you for this awesome tp. I feel like i had an "aha" moment watching this.

[@karenarnett5167]

This is really helpful. Next time I use Swift and winder I will wind twice. But if I have already started a project with the ball easing center pull I still have to now figure out how to deal with the extra twist that keeps being introduced.

[@siyaz]

You explain so well! Thank you Roxanne!

[@mnjudybug6001]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. I pull from the outside, knit continental, and usually don't have an issue with the yarn twisting. When I knit stranded with yarn in both hands, I always get a twist in the yarn on the right. I will have to try your tips to see if I can alleviate that problem.

[@bearpawqs]

Awesome, so helpful. I've been having trouble with my balls of Alafosslopi twisting like crazy whether pull from the center of the skein as is or wind it on my ball winder. I'm going to try winding it from a second time and pushing the center pull to the other side.

[@ConnyNordlicht]

That's my idea, too! Thanks so much! I look at my needles: when l'm knitting yarn twistscounterclockwise. So l lay down my yarn - cace so there it goes the contrast, clockwise! So it's not so big problem as if it were different. But every stitch is one twist and several stitches are one single round. So l put the cake on a yarn holder and give it some fast shugs so it goes in a round for some rounds. I repeat several times every hour and so it's ok again. Your idea is brilliant: l'll give it several tries to learn and the bes* l'll do till the end of my life! Be blessed and stay healthy (you know that weird President doesn't know nor tell the truth cause he failed so much that it costs lives, till now 20.000 minimum! Physical disance and masks without ventils - they spite out the virusses to the others) are the best one can do at these times! I'm a nurse for lCU patients who are gonna die if we make mistakes or it's too late. Please, take care!

[@robinatkins5332]

Very helpful! I've always wondered why sometimes my cakes get extra twist and at other times not. Thank you!

[@theastewart6721]

Very interesting! I’ve never heard of winding the yarn twice! I’ll have to do some experimenting! Thanks for sharing!

[@gfitz6001]

I had NO idea. I appreciate the info. I may have to repeat watch this video many more times. 🤣

[@Blaize24]

Thank you for this! Sadly, I wound a ball last night exactly as you described (twice in the same direction and pull the center tail through to the other side and I'm still having dreadful twisting as I knit. I must have done something wrong.

[@rleeheyer]

Me too. I tried both ways (knitting from the outside version and the center pull where you pull the tail through to the other side) and I still have awful twist. I don't know what to do. 😕

[@kyststudio-epicartadventure]

Pull everything through the center of the ball to the other side if it will fit , or cut the yarn, pull it through to the other side, reconnect and then continue knitting. This will reverse your twist.

[@anaverageamerican7224]

Oh my gosh! I didn’t even know this existed or how important it is. Thank you.

[@TrudySchwartzBurrill]

This is a deslexics nightmare to contemplate. Good job. However remembering these types of details is just confusing to me unfortunately and is not likely. So if there are other deslexics out there and you have any tricks for remembering sequence's like this. I'd very much appreciate your tips that helped you. For me just knowing or remembering if I am winding the same direction from ball to ball is not something easily remembered, and does it stick if I tell myself I wound it clockwise say. I would need to write every step down and possibly draw what I'm looking at visually to help me remember. Is there anyone else out there that has this kind of very basic stuggles?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

wind it clockwise twice (second time pull the tail from the center), then push the tail through to the other side after the second winding. Knit from the pushed-through center tail.

[@latitude1904]

@@RoxanneRichardson And if we knit from outside of ball?

[@theresahall6815]

A third way to manage the yarn twist is to use a rotating spindle for the second wind…this takes the yarn off the ball from the outside of cake without twisting in order to reduce the tension on the yarn. Or to avoid the 2nd spin altogether, I often reduce tension from swift by pulling the yarn off the cake by hand and feeding the yarn into my ball winder without tension.

[@37vegalyra63]

I love this video that clearly shows how this works. Thank you! I have a question about how many times it is ok to wind from the center? I made a couple of cakes of yarn, wound them twice, yet the center seems a bit tangled and it may be a little tight. I'm thinking the yarn needs to be wound again into a softer 'cake'. Is it possible to re-wind the ball too many times to get a cake that won't mis-shape the yarn? I'm making my first cardigan and don't want to mess up. Thank you.

[@josephgranata13]

Excellent content! As others have said, I’ve been looking for info on this for a while. So if I’m understanding correctly, the way to avoid imparting extra twist (or losing twist) during the knitting process is to wind the opposite twist into the yarn itself so that they cancel out when you actually knit?

[@barbarabenson5590]

How did I not know this? I've been knitting over 50 years, and winding from a swift around 10 years. I've been wondering why sometimes my yarn twists tighter and tighter while knitting, and sometimes it untwists. Mystery solved! Thank you!

[@JustAnotherBuckyLover]

Good grief, I wish that I'd known this a week ago when I started knitting this basket. I had to create four balls from two giant skeins of yarn, and knit with four strands at once... and my GOD the twisting is driving me INSANE! Next time, though. Next time I KNOW. Next time, I'm turning my balls upside down!

[@JustAnotherBuckyLover]

Huh. Okay. I can see that. But the AMOUNT of twisting was ridiculous... within about 20 stitches I had them twisted together so tightly the yarn was barely knittable.

[@jillianbold4757]

This was SO helpful. It makes so much sense! Thank you❤

[@wendyphillips9760]

Great information! Thanks for explaining it so well. 🤗

[@saandavies13]

Thank you so much Roxanne...... my yarn is driving me nuts....🙊 xx

[@maried3717]

Thank you so MUCH! This was driving me nuts because some balls were twisting ans others didn't.

[@debolliff5720]

How interesting. I had no idea about this! Thank you!

[@christineosterbuhr3264]

Thanks so much. This was very informative.

[@lchubert9207]

Thank you so much for addressing this problem I have been having. I wind from skein to ball/cake by hand and do it so the result is relaxed. Is a 2nd winding still necessary? If I wind an S twist yarn clockwise the first time will this solve the problem? Sorry, still trying to get my head around this.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

If you wind by hand around, say, a nostepinne or a toilet roll, where the starting tail is coming out of the center to the left, and you are winding clockwise around the stick or tube with your right hand (coming under the tube toward yourself then over the tube and away from yourself), then the center tail will come out of the ball counterclockwise, which counteracts the clockwise winding, so you would not need to wind twice.

[@lchubert9207]

@@RoxanneRichardson Thank you so much. I'll give this a try.

[@dewisalim3320]

Hi, thank you very much for this video! Just need to clarify one thing. After the 1st winding (from the swift to ball winder), when taking off the cake from the winder, do we leave the yarn tail on the top, or push through the tail to the other side of the cake? I intend to knit from the center of the cake.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Push it through after the second winding.

[@southerngirlhandmadeknit]

Aha! Many thanks for this very helpful explanation and demonstration.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Glad it was helpful!

[@shirleybrumley8421]

Wow! I love learning from you.

[@lynnknight2192]

Great tip! I'm winding yarn right now!!!

[@karenbochinski]

Never realized this amazing.

[@vivrbn]

Thank you for this. It will be a Huge help!

[@allisonbyrd]

Thanks, Rox! This video explains EVERYTHING I was wondering about yarn twist. The ribbon demonstration was particularly helpful in visualizing what’s going on. A question, though: If I were to remove the cake of yarn from the ball winder after the first winding (after spooling the yarn from the swift to the winder), then place that cake in a yarn bowl with a side slit, keeping the cake oriented the same way it came off the winder, can’t I just unspool it from the yarn bowl to the ball winder, with the yarn being drawn out of that side slit and the cake of yarn turning as if on a vertical axis? Wouldn’t this result in a relaxed cake without any added or subtracted twist? Then, if I pull the yarn from the cake in the same manner when knitting (unspooling it from the side slit in the yarn bowl), wouldn’t that avoid altogether any change to the yarn’s twist (ignoring for the moment any minuscule change in twist that might result from the actual knitting)?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

If you can get the ball to rotate to facilitate the spooling, then that would work. If the ball remains stationary and the yarn ends up unwinding, instead, then you'll still get the added/removed twist. Some people use spindles they impale the cake onto, which have a rotating disk that the cake rests on, which allows the yarn to spool off.

[@allisonbyrd]

@@RoxanneRichardson I have such a rotating spindle, so I’ll try that next time I need to wind yarn a second time. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@ritapicarelli35]

Thank you so much for all your videos. What happens if you do the first winding with a ball winder but without a swift and just have the hank around your knees? Will you gain or lose twist? And how should you do the second winding?

[@megrussell6556]

I really appreciate this video. I get my yarn twisted a lot. I hand wins my ball and don’t use a ball winder. Do you have any advice on hand winding? I can’t seem to figure out how do determine the s and z and how to counteract one with the other.

[@julienneyueh831]

What a great tutorial! Thank you so much! What type of tension do you apply while winding the second time, from ball to yarn cake? Thanks!!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I don't apply any tension, I just let it run through my fingers. It naturally winds a lot looser without the drag from the swift.

[@julienneyueh831]

@@RoxanneRichardson so without tension the cake is quite floppy. Is it ok to put this into a tight elastic yarn cozy? Or does it have to stay loose

[@FaerieDust]

I just used my yarn winder for the first time & realized my yarn suddenly started splitting like CRAZY - absolute hell to crochet with when I needed my tension to be very tight. I can't quite wrap my mind around the twists (I have a hard time thinking in 3D 😂), but I'll rewatch the video a few times and experiment with my yarn. The most important bit to me is that I at least know I can save the yarn - I have 10 unwieldy skeins of it that I really would like to rewind into cakes!!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Crocheting tends to untwist S-plied yarn (S-plied is pretty standard). Wind the yarn on the ball winder by cranking clockwise, and rewind the yarn at least once more, if not twice, winding from the tail at the center of the ball. Rather than pushing the yarn tail through to the other side after you are done with the last winding, keep it where it is. The yarn will be more twisted from the extra windings (you might want to wind once from the swift, and then twice more from the cake). As you crochet, the yarn will lose some of the extra twist, but having the extra to start with will likely help prevent the yarn splitting.

[@FaerieDust]

@@RoxanneRichardson oh my god, thank you so much for the help!! I look forward to working with my properly twisted yarn 😁💖

[@kj3d812]

So if I'm understanding correctly, outside yarn end pointing to the right = center pull; outside yarn pointing to the left = outside pull, or flip the cake over and pull the tail through the center ... is that right? 10:10 illustrates this, which I hope I've interpreted correctly.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Yes. When the yarn travels counterclockwise, it gains s-twist, and whatever direction the outside goes as it comes of the ball will be opposite from the inside.

[@julienneyueh831]

I have another question! Thanks so much for your expedient responses! Such a great answer to a mystifying question. Now when I have a Z twist yarn, Do I then knit from the outside with the tail pushed into the other side after winding 2 times? So counterclockwise, against the Z clockwise twist ?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

If you're knitting from the outside, there's no need to push the center tail through to the other side. You just need to make sure that the cake is sitting in the right orientation for the yarn to wind off in the correct way. If it's not, then just turn the cake upside down.

[@katiegallant9917]

Very interesting. I sometimes have so much trouble winding my Hanks this may shine light on why. I wind very loose to begin with so when I have wind a second time for splitting fortwo at a time socks it has resulted in too loose. Any advice?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Are you letting the yarn flow between your index and thumb of the hand that isn't cranking the ball winder? You can control the tension of how tightly the ball is wound by how closely you hold those two fingers together as you wind. You want a small amount of tension, but not a lot. If you wind the second time without letting it flow through your fingers, you're going to get a very loose ball.

[@catherinecullen1825]

I’m trying to understand this, but I wind balls by hand on my thumb and honestly I got hopelessly lost in the explanation.

[@victoriaressler3547]

Thank you!!

[@susannewman7810]

Thank you for this explanation! I love your videos :) I want to start implementing this, but I am in the middle of a large sweater. If I switch how I wind my balls in the middle of a project, will it have a noticeable effect on the look of my stitches?

[@dorothywilliams8160]

thank you. I don't have a ball winder. I do have a swift. How do I determine how to orient my yarn on the swift so I don't create more twist in the ball as I hand wind into a ball. Or, with hand winding, does this matter?

[@robyn3349]

Just what I was wondering!

[@NinaKeilin]

Does this really work? I need to make more relaxed yarn balls. I can't wait to try.

[@isabelriveroroch4505]

Hello Roxane. I hope you are well. I have 2 questions. What happens when you want to divide a ball ( not a skein) into 2 smaller balls. I mean those self stripping socks balls. They say you can knit a pair of socks with one ball. But I like knitting two at the same time with magic loop. So how should I divide that ball correctly and knit from it avoiding twisting or losing twist? The second question is how to knit from two balls that I have no idea how the seller did the winding or how many times either? I just have the 2 balls that were made from the skein or hank. Thanks!

[@plastilina000]

If you wash a hank of yarn with warm water to relax it, will it relax too the extra twisting in the unraveled yarn?

[@dbkoppich]

Would you recommend winding two strands of yarn into a cake when knitting double stranded? Would you then wind the doubled cake a second time to prevent twisting of the yarns?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I would not recommend winding two strands into a single cake. It's a real pain in the rear if you decide not to go forward with the project and then need to separate the two strands from each other.

[@ljs94]

I’m not 100% sure I understand this...it seems that you introduce the problem of extra twist when doing a second wind to get a softer ball? Is it really necessary to do a second winding for a softer ball? Genuinely curious...

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You introduce twist when the yarn winds *off* the ball. The ball winder acts as a spool, so it's not introducing twist. You would introduce that twist if you knit off that ball, as well. The point of winding a second time is to create a ball that is not tightly wound. The yarn is best used when it is relaxed. Pushing the yarn tail through the center to the other side after the second winding is what keeps you from doubling the amount of twist you would gain from knitting from the center after the second winding, and instead counter acts it by removing twist.

[@ljs94]

Thanks Roxanne, I will have to give this a go and see it for myself. Thanks so much for responding!

[@daleodberg6714]

Amazing, thank you, how did you learn about this?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I learned to spin, and began to understand more about yarn twist, and then figured out what caused excess twist and therefore how to remove it.

[@arlaschmaltz2821]

Hi Roxanne, I just watched this very informative video for the second time. It occurred to me that one's tension could be affected with the supertwisted yarn if they were to persist and persevere through all those twists...am I correct or way out in left field? Thanks again for your tutorials! ☺

[@RoxanneRichardson]

The look of the stitches and fabric might be affected, but the actual size of the stitches may or may not be affected, since the size of the stitch depends on how tightly or loosely you wrap the yarn around the needle.

[@katgore99]

Excellent video.

[@markoug13]

if you don't start cranking from the swift but from a ball of yarn, does it make a difference if you crank clockwise or counterclockwise? which one is adding Z twist and which one S? thank you! :)

[@sarahmorrison9007]

Is it different if you’re winding from a commercial skein as opposed to putting a hank of yarn on a swift?

[@NinaKeilin]

Rox, do you prefer to knit from center pulls? I do not like to do that because I end up with yarn barf or tangles eventually. How do you handle that?

[@innapotekhina4652]

Hi Roxanne, thank you so much for your video. I just purchased some amazing Soft Donegal tweed from Etsy but am having a really hard time enjoying the knitting experience as the yarn twists horribly. They are wound in very tight cakes. I don't have a yarn winder, so is there anything I can do to relieve the twist? Thank you!

[@meloniemacdonald6884]

Thank you for this video. I'm knitting socks. Is it the same for single-ply yarn?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Singles usually have a Z-twist, so you just need to keep that in mind. You likely won't have to push the tail through to the other side of the ball after the second winding.

[@joan9569]

I'm confused.

[@lyncampbell1626]

Great tips. Thanks you.

[@karenbork706]

Hello I am a relative beginner at both knitting and crocheting. I am having trouble with yarn twisting as I knit or crochet. It actually got so bad with the crochet that the 4 ply yarn looked like two really straight strands with two wrapped around it and the straight core was about 4 inches longer than the two twisted around strands. I ended I'm cutting the yarn to deal with it. I am somewhat handicapped on my left hand so I don't crochet in the standard holding position. My right hand is doing most of the work. People who are actual crocheters look at me funny for the way I am doing it. But I have to adapt to what I can do, right? Long story short, I think I am adding twist in a reinforcing manner to the existing twist in the yarn. I watched the "S" versus "Z" commentary but I don't understand how to tell what the yarn is starting with. I am using yarn that already comes in a cake, store bought, Lion Brand Comfy cotton. I tried rewinding the ball before I got started because the first skein I opened had joining knots where the manufacturer had reattached cut yarn only about 2 yards from the end, and I'd rather not use this at all. If you can advise -- should I be rewinding the yarn that us purchased in a cake? I will be hand winding. How do I tell which direction to go? What to do? Thank you for sticking with this long question/discussion and any advice you have.

[@dguiliano100]

I only wind by hand. Does that method cause the same problems? I keep the yarn loose (around my knees) as I wind, without pulling.

[@saiimal4552]

Very informative

[@pennyleesk]

OK, I have a question. Since I"m already part way through this knitting project and the ball is attached to the project and I've been pulling from the center, I want to rewind from the outside of the ball (so that I don't have to cut the yarn). Should I rewind in the opposite direction from how I initial wound it?

[@janinenewman5906]

I don't have a ball winder. How do I make a ball of yarn by hand without twisting it?

[@denisenico2889]

Gosh I had no idea!

[@MaraschinoPenguin31415]

I like to put my ball on a spindle so that it spools off like a hank on a swift.

[@debmauritson5016]

At the risk of sounding stupid, I have 12 small balls of yarn that I "would" have pulled from the center on, in starting my baby blanket, but I couldn't find the center yarn. SO I re-wound it by hand (as they are small balls of medium 4 ply with two yarns twisted together...already going to be a problem because of that). This yarn is cheap, poly-acrylic blend from Turkey, no stretch or give...more like working with cotton "yarn." So tell me how my twisting problem can be rectified without holding my work/needles up high and letting it dangle and untwist that way. Thanks.

[@SueB8746]

Hi Deb. When my yarn twists, I place the ball or skein or cake in a plastic bag with handles. Then I decide which way the yarn is twisting: towards me or away from me. Then I spin the plastic bag around my finger in that direction (towards or away) by placing one finger in the bag loops and keeping the yarn that is outside of the bag heading towards the floor. This is the way I can rotate the ball (inside the bag) around the piece I am knitting (or crocheting). I find that this technique untwists the yarn. Does this make sense? Do you want a live demonstration? I am delighted to find Roxie's video; what a treasure she is!

[@debmauritson5016]

@@SueB8746 Thank you so much for responding! I actually have the small ball in a plastic yarn canister and it's "trapped" in there. I pulled it out of the canister and now just unroll it a yard or so at a time. I have "dangled" my work on the circulars and let it "unspin" that way. It's all been a very aggravating start to a baby blanket I decided to knit on a whim. My next skein I will pull from the center and not re-wind by hand, and see if that solves my problem, OR not use my "lidded" yarn canister and do it your way with the yarn in plastic bag with handles. Thank you again for this tip!!!

[@sharonallen9802]

I love this. thanks

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Glad you like it!

[@christines1924]

I'm going to watch this again, and I'm familiar with A and Z twist, but I'm totally confused as to what to do. I wish you had llaid out, at the end, what to do, ie., #1, #2, #3......

[@RoxanneRichardson]

The only real trick is how to take the ball off the ball winder after the second winding.

[@christines1924]

ok...so all the resulting "cakes" you were demo-ing from are assumed to be from a second winding; that helps.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Yeah, so there are two things. One is to wind a second time (which many people aren't aware of), and the other is how to take the ball off the winder, depending on whether you intend to knit from the outside of the ball, or the inside. If you don't do the second winding, the ball is tight and tense, and when you knit from it, you will introduce some kind of twist.

[@TheSuzberry]

Something I didn’t know I didn’t know.