DIY Yarn Winder | Simple Cardboard Project | How to Make Your Own Centre Pull Balls of Yarn

This tutorial shows you how to make a 'yarn winder' from easily available materials. It's just a project I did for fun, but it does work pretty well for making my own centre-pull balls of knitting yarn :)
If you want to read the written tutorial instead, please find it here:
www.instructables.com/id/DIY-...
For a very simple DIY yarn swift idea, check this link out:
aemmeleia.wordpress.com/2007/...
I hope you enjoy this video, and thanks for watching!
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[@judygude]

Sweetie, you just saved me about $100! I was going to buy a wooden one. Thanks very much! ❤️

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad I could help! Happy crafting :)

[@SheCriesRed]

You could also use the cardboard tubes from wax paper or aluminum foil, they are sturdier & you can skip the part of reinforcing from the inside.

[@beth12svist]

That was my immediate thought as well. :-) P.S. I have been saving some of those, and some cardboard spools from thread as well, because I do like how sturdy they are - I think this is the perfect use for them. :-)

[@robertapearson3507]

@@beth12svist -- just a note -- you don't want the roll to be too small in diameter. You will notice that most commercial ball winders have a fairly large centre to them. That is so that when you take the final ball off the winder, there is a good amount of space in the middle for the yarn to relax into, thus relieving any excess tension from the winding process. :)

[@rosin_eater]

i did that: THEY ARE SO HARD TO CUT

[@ladyandrade]

@@rosin_eaterI use a small handsaw to cut the thick cardboard tubes from aluminum foil boxes, you can get a cheap one for around $7 at a hardware store.

[@margaritagerman]

I know this is an old video. That said, this is amazing. Wonderful engineering and great teaching. I shall make one for myself. Thank you for giving me the power to do it. ☺️

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw thank you! Happy crafting :)

[@mellowsdiy1774]

How long did it last ?

[@doriskarloff964]

This is brilliant. In the finest Blue Peter tradition. Well done for being a genius - and my new heroine! I'm gonna make one tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Haha thank you!! Happy crafting :D

[@LauraDelvecchio]

I'm ALL about DIY stuff, and it just so happens that my medium of choice is carboard and foam. Thank you for this awesome tutorial!!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! I hope you enjoy making it :)

[@user-sx8yr5gj4i]

I want to thank you for sharing this. I have been trying to engineer one for winding embroidery thread and your simple, yet thorough video was the _perfect_ explanation of the basic concepts and parts, allowing me to make a miniature one in the medium of my choice (Lego). 😅

[@RokoleeDIY]

A Lego one sounds awesome :) So glad you found my video helpful!

[@AJITEM]

Made it today 👍. Thank you again. My wife is happy for it.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! I'm glad the tutorial was useful to you :)

[@DocBree13]

That’s so sweet of you!

[@artistpw]

There are nice cardboard thick long tunes from some incense sticks that have a smaller diameter. There's a nice epoxy material called Magic Sculpt that really can used for crafting. It is hand workable and cures in a few hours. Can be sanded. Resin is also great. Love to be a maker.

[@franny3614]

I live in a place where I can't buy a lot of things, so even if I did have the money to buy one of these I probably wouldn't even be able to get one with out traveling to a major city! Thank you so much for sharing this tutorial.

[@RokoleeDIY]

I'm so glad you found it helpful :) Thank you

[@normajeanmarchegiani9829]

A knob from a cabinet with 2 washers would be a good turning handle. 😀

[@ARtandSoul998]

I use wooden drawer knobs and wooden pencils for making my drop spindles lol, they are the perfect weight and the pencil fits snuggly into the hole :)

[@blackthumbgreendreamsLLC]

Thank you so much for this! I was able to modify this design using plastic water bottles, hot glue and electrical tape to create a hand held version. It is going to make my hand balled yarn much more uniform!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent :D love a bit of ingenuity

[@AJITEM]

Liked it very much. Truly mechanical mind. And it is always good to be self dependant.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks!

[@aynat3068]

I could've easily bought a proper one but i love diy and found this. Had some fun making it and didnt have to spend any money Glad i found this before i bought one, thanks for the clear tutorial!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Yay! Thanks for following along :D

[@raphaelsylla876]

Wow! This is amazing. I do need a winder, just for personal use, as I do buy yarns in a few hanks, and also some used cakes that needs some winding to a smaller cake

[@amandashare1281]

Wow you are so clever to have worked this out, amazing!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks! :D

[@ladybugg69]

Veryr,very impressive! Absolutely brilliant!. Please post more of you DIYs in the future.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you! Will do!

[@Angela10226]

Don't know how you figured this out but great idea. Thanks for sharing it.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :)

[@zQoQz]

You’re so amazing. I was just about to go buy one but now there’s this! :)

[@Sunshineblazefire]

I appreciate your creativity!!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks!

[@lbthingsstuffmore9513]

Started to crochet again🤗. This is a slick idea. I hands have gotten lazy, and this is perfect to work the strength back in my hands, plus a good reminder uh, cheap and cheerful😉. Will try it and let ya know🌹. Thank you. L

[@RokoleeDIY]

Great! Have fun :)

[@seattlesalt5248]

Thank you so much for this tutorial! I know what you mean when you say you'd rather make something than buy it. The mechanism is so simple, why should I pay $15 for something that will end up in a landfill? And thank you so so much for including a written tutorial! I don't see that happen often, but it makes all the difference for neurodiverse accessibility

[@RokoleeDIY]

You are so welcome! Glad you like it :) Trouble is, I don't know when to draw the line - I always want to make everything!

[@seattlesalt5248]

@@RokoleeDIY Ha, I feel ya there! I always overestimate my ability to make stuff... "What do you mean 'practice' and 'do research'? I can totally hand-carve this wood piece, spin my own wool, make my own nuclear reactor and know how to use a welder without any of that stuff! This definitely won't take five hours and be incredibly frustrating." It's a good thing this tutorial was so simple ^_^

[@PieceCraftLove]

This is awesome! Thank you for creating such a clear tutorial

[@RokoleeDIY]

You're very welcome!

[@sherrywortman2267]

Thanks for sharing. Great tutorial. :)

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks :)

[@michals4190]

Wow great job,love ur diy,very inspiring

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you so much 😊

[@krystaltheyarnychicken]

this is neat!!! very creative!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you! 😊

[@MoniqueAO888]

That's fantastic - thanks for sharing !!! 🥰

[@RokoleeDIY]

You are so welcome!

[@rosamantuano696]

Recién encuentro tu página pero estoy feliz de ver este video ya me suscribí a tu canal muchas gracias por compartir tus conocimientos fabulosos te seguiré saludos desde Ecuador

[@suzettesain1180]

Great idea....thank you for sharing it....

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you for watching :)

[@JaneSmith0709]

I'm so impressed!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw thank you!

[@garrixgirl18]

Thank you for sharing! You’re a genius!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Haha! Glad you like it!

[@petemoore5104]

You absolutely deserve a Blue Peter badge for this demonstration. Properly called Sheesham winders, for them that didn't want to know.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Ha thank you :D I did in fact not know that..thanks for the info.

[@tonyastokley5165]

Wow ! I live any way to save then to pay someone or Corp for a tool ! Very creative little lady ! Much help for many ! God bless

[@RokoleeDIY]

Ha thank you :D

[@nowheregirl2791]

This is insanely creative

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw thanks!

[@llllllllllilillii]

youtube saves all of humanity!

[@RokoleeDIY]

:D

[@itsbrigitte_]

thank you so much, i did it and i love it :D

[@RokoleeDIY]

Wonderful! Glad you liked it :)

[@annawilk1809]

Thank you so much for this video it was so helpfull i giftet it my mom

[@Melanie-yj8hs]

Great job!!!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you!!

[@megmagruder7124]

Outstanding... maybe this is what I can do with my collection of PVC Pipe. Or have a friend who is a 3d printer hobbyist. print up some parts. Probably someone has designed in the Thingy Universe. Outstanding break down.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :D I need a friend with a 3D printer haha

[@robertphillips7067]

This is more important than you think.

[@RokoleeDIY]

:D

[@MaryJaneMcPot5]

definitely gonna try making one hahaha but i would make the handle like a cylinder bigger than my index finger and make a hole to put the tip of your finger, i think it would make the work even smoother and less effort :D

[@twinsmashup3709]

Thank you. I tried to make alot of diys of this but it keeps floping. This is soo helpful

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw thanks, glad you liked it!

[@suzie9404]

Brilliant

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks!

[@ARtandSoul998]

This is a great cheap alternative. I have been using a nostepinne (homemade) for making my balls of yarn, but also for a quicker way, I glued a plastic bobbin from the sewing machine to the bottom of a homemade spool made of tough cardboard tube from a cut tin foil roll with two round cardboard ends, and placed on my bobbin winder on my sewing machine, it works a dream to spin wool onto a spool quickly from a drop spindle :)

[@RokoleeDIY]

Ha now that's a clever idea! Love people's ingenuity :)

[@lorrainegurner9661]

For the handle could you use a bigger bead on a wire (like a shorter version of the wire yarn guide?)

[@RokoleeDIY]

Not 100% sure without a picture, but that sounds like a good idea! :)

[@_bewitchedbyyaz]

Just made this! Made it opposite by accident, so i guess it's lefty friendly lol. My handle on the bottom was a tiny curtain rod holder. Pretty sturdy! I just need to tweak the roll the yarn goes onto. I accidentally made the tip cover too wide and my cakes can't come off lol

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hehe :) So glad you made it, I hope you enjoyed following along!

[@Olivia-dv8fb]

how do you know the mesurmonts of the base?

[@skielah7998]

I'm currently making this and was wondering if you have any ideas on how to possibly improve the handle

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hm I've not thought about it for a while, but perhaps it would be better if the handle rotated as you spun? It could maybe be attached with a split pin or something of similar design? If you come up with anything better, please do share!

[@Laura-bq7cu]

thank u! i was looking at amazon and the 25 dollar ones all have reviews about them breaking, not working properly, breaking yarn when it gets caught up in the gears.. etc, and I am from Colombia so 25 dollars in my currency is quite a lot for something that was going to break as soon as i tried to use it. I will be trying to recreate this and let you know how it goes! thank u!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! I hope it goes well :)

[@cintiapollock2486]

did you make a new final draft of this idea that winds tighter smaller more even balls of yarn? I would love to make one that does that.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! Unfortunately no I haven't made another one, sorry. I think making one with a stiffer cardboard (particularly the tube) would help - the 'give' in the cardboard is what creates a looser wrapped ball of yarn. Thanks for watching :)

[@cintiapollock2486]

@@RokoleeDIY oh ok thanks for that info. I do have some very thick sturdy cardboard box's I have made into heddle looms so I will try it with that material : )

[@gmjr60]

Pure genius

[@camohunter1544]

ok question about the wire, can i use a coat hanger or would that be too weak?

[@RokoleeDIY]

It depends really - some wire coat hangers may be stiff enough but make sure you test it first. You can always double up the wire by twisting it together.

[@gaylescovel7308]

Great question. I have lots of those n a pair of strong hands in the family to coil it for me, lol. Im not capable to do it.

[@pendragonjackson2107]

Will this hold a while jumbo skeins from red heart super saver

[@RokoleeDIY]

Probably not no...I would stick to 100g or less :)

[@user-yv5do1un9y]

you geniuos 🌹Thank you

[@RokoleeDIY]

Haha :D

[@asknaksu1676]

Teşekkürler çalışmalarında başarılar dilerim. Güzel çalışma

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :D

[@SelfProcKazuMain]

Budget version

[@edpevaz]

👍

[@VultureSkins]

Are the written instructions no longer available? The article says to click on a photo, but there doesn’t seem to be a photo besides an Amazon Affiliate ad.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! Yes it's over on Instructables: www.instructables.com/DIY-Yarn-Winder-Cardboard-Knitting-Gadget/ :)

[@amelia-rq8js]

how do other yarn winders work so that you don't have to rotate the yarn every few rounds? i made one but its annoying having to move the yarn around.

[@RokoleeDIY]

I think the angles may be slightly off, but it's going to be impossible to get it spot on with cardboard unfortunately - because it is not solid, so it wobbles a bit. You could get the angle perfect with a material like wood, but obviously most people are not woodworkers. I hope it works well enough for your anyway :)

[@wryliecomoda5098]

Can I use hot glue instead of super glue

[@RokoleeDIY]

Perhaps, I'm not keen on hot glue personally though!

[@satsumamoon]

You could save time by making 12 at once on a production line, that way you will have a whole years supply of winders.

[@ginafurannetonic3048]

I keep trying to think of what needs to be fixed so you don’t have to rotate the yarn by hand, maybe change the angle of the spool from 45 to 60 degrees.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Yeah, I think experimenting with the angle would be the way forward. Maybe one day I'll come back to it!

[@robertapearson3507]

To get rid of rotating the yarn ball by hand, you will need a kind of cog wheel machine-type thing that turns the cardboard tube whilst the tube is rotating around. You will see what I mean if you analyse a ball winder to see the mechanism that makes it wind into a nice, perfect-looking cake. I am not sure that cardboard is up to that kind of precision. There may be a way of making the circular base (that holds the winding ball) a lot bigger so one could manually give it a turn every other rotation of the ball??? I don't know. I would have to have the "machine" in front of me to analyse the operation. It could be done, I'm sure. Just how, I'm not sure, at this point. I will leave it up to you to figure it out. I am an old woman with significant arthritis in my hands and not feeling up to constructing this machine. I will say, one tip, when using cardboard -- -- -- if you are making a "sandwich" of pieces, try to orient the ribs (inside the cardboard) of each piece at right angles to each other. That way, the strength of the sandwich is significantly increased. If you have all the ribs going the same way, the cardboard has a tendency to buckle along the lines of the ribs. Having the ribs at right angles reduces that possibility greatly. Sort of like how they make plywood. Hope you can figure out the mechanism to turn the ball spindle while the spindle is being turned by the machine. :)

[@EndlessSims3]

Thank you for this now I can roll all my yarns into balls for no money cause I have everything needed in my Art Studio ty. BTW you can to make it look cooler if have a airbrush paint with compressor paint it you favorite colors..I have several airbrushes paint brushes and 2 compressors one bigger one Wireless hand held one….That if you have those too? Make a tutorial for painting the yarn rolling cardboard machine, use a good clear sealer on the painted parts…ty

[@RokoleeDIY]

Painting would make it prettier, just be careful you add some kind of sealer/varnish after so the paint doesn't rub off on your yarn :D

[@loudestcloud]

(Temp comment for my time stamp) 7:40

[@juliaresnikowski2507]

Lastima q está en inglés .pero es genial. .y eléctrico como se hace🇦🇷

[@RokoleeDIY]

Gracias :)

[@janniagonzalez5459]

Hola el tutorial escrito está en la descripción. Puede usar la versión escrita, si lo abre en chrome y le da traducir a la página le muestra el texto ya en español. Espero le funcione.

[@melanyyuleydelahoz6285]

A alguien le funcionó??

[@foodie3467]

so i stay in singapore and for some reason our toilet paper roll is way smaller and i spent 3 hours making it and 2 hours trying to roll half a ball of yarn and it didn’t really work😭so now i’m going to throw it away 😭

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw no! Sorry it didn't work out well :(

[@gaylescovel7308]

😕, try useing a roll from paper towel, cut the desired hieght, cut a slit from top to bottom n make a gap. Useing the unused portion of paper towel cardboard insert n push between the gap n tape/glue/hot glue thus making it bigger around. You may have to add ribbing inside for sturdiness still. Make the gap an inch wider, mabe 1 1/2 inches wider.

[@sarag1158]

As Alton Brown would say, "no unitaskers" Paying $100 for a device that does one thing makes no sense. You figured it out. I was thinking of using my bobbin winder on my sewing machine and a toilet paper roll.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Well said :)

[@carolynwatkins4058]

Buy one off Amazon for$15. It will last for years! I've had mine for 15years

[@satsumamoon]

Why., When you can make this piece of crap instead? You could make 30 of them if you want them to last 15 years. 5 hours ×30 = "my life has no value".

[@lilyang4432]

😂😂

[@DaLamaQueenn]

Tried to make this. It went horribly wrong because you didn't give any measurements.

[@ileanamartinez727]

Muy mal ovillado, queda muy feo