Winding Yarn

I am done with my first hank of merino sock yarn. It is time to turn this hank (or skein) of yarn into a center-pull ball, my favorite way to get yarn ready to knit. I begin by untwisting the hank and placing the loops of yarn on a stretcher:

Knitting shops sell lovely umbrella swifts one can use, but the handlebars of my husband's elliptical machine are adequate for the purpose. I then cut the ties holding the yarn strands together, find an end, and start to wind.

I hold the end of the yarn in my palm and stick up my thumb. Yarn from the stretched skein is wound around my thumb, changing directions often in order to create a ball with a center opening (the opening my thumb will leave in the middle) with a strand to be pulled out for knitting.

If you are not familiar with anything besides a standard acrylic pull-skein from a big box store, here is a guide to the different ways yarn is sold.

I will try to wind two balls of almost equal size, one for each sock. The tops are nearly done from the first skein, so this skein will be more than enough for the feet. I look forward to making much progress this week.