Buying wool in skeins...

tanith

I finally found some wool thats the right colour to knit arm warmers for my grandaughters but it comes in skeins I am just wondering how I deal with them.. do I have to roll it into a ball or knit it as it comes in a skein? I have never bought wool like this before... thanks for any info

Minxy76

Yes, you will need to roll it into balls, you'll get into a right old tangle knitting from the skein.

You can buy an item called a swift which would help you, or alternatively get someone to hold their arms out for free! If you're really desperate you can hook it onto your feet or the back of an old chair. It's laborious and a pain, but lots of the swankier yarns are now sold this way.

misskool

i roll it into balls. unravel the skein and lay it out across the back of a chair or something similar so it doesn't tangle.

Then pick up and end and roll it into a ball.

powershopper

oooooh its many years since we bought all our wool like this! I guess that now it must be a delicious colour and/or hand spun, lovely!!!!! Either get a friend to loop the skein over his/her outstretched hands and wind the wool into a ball from there, or loop it-the skein, not the friend- over the back of a dining chair. Either way, dont wind too fast or the ball becomes too tight and tends to stretch the yarn.
This is the REAL OS way.
good luck :j:T

tanith

Thanks for that I have a wooden chair that I can use to do it , alternatively I could trap OH and use his arms... thanks

Now I think about it I can remember my Mum who was quite poor when I was a youngster , used to unpick jumpers that were worn or outgrown, she used to wind the unpicked wool round a wire cake cooler rack, wash it in the sink and leave to dry. Then when it was dry she would get me or my brother to hold the rack while she hand rolled it into balls and then knit something else with the wool.. It used to be all crinkled when she wound it onto the racks but after washing the wool would straighten out like new... I'd forgotten all about this till I reread this thread....

Butterfly_Brain

Ooh I remember sitting for hours with my arms outstretched for my mum x

missychrissy

tanith wrote: »

Thanks for that I have a wooden chair that I can use to do it , alternatively I could trap OH and use his arms... thanks

Now I think about it I can remember my Mum who was quite poor when I was a youngster , used to unpick jumpers that were worn or outgrown, she used to wind the unpicked wool round a wire cake cooler rack, wash it in the sink and leave to dry. Then when it was dry she would get me or my brother to hold the rack while she hand rolled it into balls and then knit something else with the wool.. It used to be all crinkled when she wound it onto the racks but after washing the wool would straighten out like new... I'd forgotten all about this till I reread this thread....

I remember doing exactly the same thing when I was first married in the 70s. I used to find hand knitted items at jumble sales. Often I was able to use the same buttons as on the garment. I well remember unpicking a mans petrol blue coloured cardigan with brown leather buttons and making it into a lovely jacket for myself that lasted for many years.

horsechestnut

tanith wrote: »

Thanks for that I have a wooden chair that I can use to do it , alternatively I could trap OH and use his arms... thanks

Now I think about it I can remember my Mum who was quite poor when I was a youngster , used to unpick jumpers that were worn or outgrown, she used to wind the unpicked wool round a wire cake cooler rack, wash it in the sink and leave to dry. Then when it was dry she would get me or my brother to hold the rack while she hand rolled it into balls and then knit something else with the wool.. It used to be all crinkled when she wound it onto the racks but after washing the wool would straighten out like new... I'd forgotten all about this till I reread this thread....

I wind my pre-used wool around a wire frame (made from a wire coat hanger, but the cake rack sounds very good!) and just steam it over a pan of hot water; you don't actually need to wash it. Turn off the gas and leave it resting on the open pan until the water goes cool.

When you wind your wool from the skein, wind it around your hand whilst still holding the ball then when it starts getting a bit tight, take your hand out and repeat the process until you have wound it all. I know that this sounds odd, but it means that you get a very soft ball (as previous poster said if the ball is wound too tight it stretches the wool)