I saw a post on Instagram that caught my eye. A newbie to skeins, as opposed to commercial yarn balls, asked an Indie dyer if winding a skein into a cake was necessary before beginning to knit.

Confession? I’ve been in such a rush to start a project that I have sometimes knit right from the skein. I always want to put myself in a corner at some point before that skein is all knit up!

The discussion continued, as the newbie didn’t know how to cake yarn, what a swift was or what she could use in its place as she didn’t own one. I decided to post my own swift hack on Instagram and Pinterest because I don’t own a swift either! I have something that works great for me, is super cheap, easy to put together and ‘green’. Picture follows with the blurb I posted with it. Pretty straightforward assembly and it puts zero stress on the yarn – one reason why some Indie dyers advise winding by hand v. a swift / winder combo.

“No ‪#‎swift‬? No problem!
KeiB’s ‪#‎diy‬ swift solution. These ‪#‎upcycled‬ coffee jars work great and don’t require rearranging furniture or introducing your partner to ‪#‎bfl‬ bondage wink emoticon. Get fancy with ‪#‎acrylicwater‬ to anchor the contents and ‪#‎sculpey‬ or ‪#‎fimo‬ to dress up and disguise the lids. ‪#‎knittersofinstagram‬ ‪#‎keibdesigns‬‪#‎crochetersofinstagram‬ ‪#‎instaknit‬ ‪#‎lifehacks‬ ‪#‎skeins‬ to cakes – buy yarn not gadgets 😄 💕 ‪#‎keibonravelry‬“