Working from a center-pull ball of yarn can make our lives easier. From hand-winding without a tool to three methods using a nøstepinne, you’ll be winding tidy center-pull balls in no time!
You’ll be winding tidy center-pull balls in no time with Heavenly’s method using the nøstepinne. Merino/silk combed top from Lisa Souza Dyeworks. Photo by Matt Graves
Having a center-pull ball makes it easier to work with yarn while you’re knitting or crocheting. Pulling from the center as you work prevents the ball from rolling around and prevents unwanted tangles. There are many ways to wind a center-pull ball of yarn. Here, Spin Off editor Kate Larson leads you through easy steps to winding a tidy center-pull ball around your thumb in a short video. Then, Spin Off author and instructor Heavenly Bresser shares three different methods she uses for winding a center-pull ball using a nøstepinne—a traditional tool that’s used to manually wind a center-pull ball of yarn. And, finally, current subscribers to Spin Off can access Heavenly’s full article, where she explores how the use of this tool impacts the twist of the yarn. Let’s get started!
Kate’s Rule of Thumb
Kate Larson prefers to wind yarn by hand. Watch Kate demonstrate the technique she uses to wind yarn into a center-pull ball in the following video and then try it for yourself.
1) Lay your skein of yarn across your knees, over the back of a chair, or on a yarn swift.
2) Place the tail in the palm of your hand and point your thumb straight up.
3) Holding the yarn from the skein in your other hand, wind from the bottom right side of your thumb to the upper left side. Make sure the first few wraps are loose.
4) As a small yarn ball forms, use the fingers on the same hand to rotate slowly clockwise as you wrap the yarn.
Tip: Keep the ball resting toward the top of your thumb instead of pushed firmly down onto your thumb.
Heavenly’s Nøstepinne: Three Ways
Heavenly researched the history behind this traditional tool and found that the nøstepinne has many names in Scandinavia, such as a vindepind, wickeldorn, and nystepinne. Here, she shares three different ways to manually wind a center-pull
ball of yarn.
Method One: Keep it Rolling
Get a closer look! Click on any image in the gallery below to open it in full-screen mode.
Method One: Keep it Rolling. Photos by Heavenly Bresser
With this method, the hand holding the nøstepinne does the majority of the work. This is the method I used for the three-ply and singles yarns.
1) To get started, hold the nøstepinne in one hand, create a slipknot, and attach it to the top of the nøstepinne.
2) Allow a length of the working yarn to move
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Having a center-pull ball makes it easier to work with yarn while you’re knitting or crocheting. Pulling from the center as you work prevents the ball from rolling around and prevents unwanted tangles. There are many ways to wind a center-pull ball of yarn. Here, Spin Off editor Kate Larson leads you through easy steps to winding a tidy center-pull ball around your thumb in a short video. Then, Spin Off author and instructor Heavenly Bresser shares three different methods she uses for winding a center-pull ball using a nøstepinne—a traditional tool that’s used to manually wind a center-pull ball of yarn. And, finally, current subscribers to Spin Off can access Heavenly’s full article, where she explores how the use of this tool impacts the twist of the yarn. Let’s get started!
Kate’s Rule of Thumb
Kate Larson prefers to wind yarn by hand. Watch Kate demonstrate the technique she uses to wind yarn into a center-pull ball in the following video and then try it for yourself.
1) Lay your skein of yarn across your knees, over the back of a chair, or on a yarn swift.
2) Place the tail in the palm of your hand and point your thumb straight up.
3) Holding the yarn from the skein in your other hand, wind from the bottom right side of your thumb to the upper left side. Make sure the first few wraps are loose.
4) As a small yarn ball forms, use the fingers on the same hand to rotate slowly clockwise as you wrap the yarn.
Tip: Keep the ball resting toward the top of your thumb instead of pushed firmly down onto your thumb.
Heavenly’s Nøstepinne: Three Ways
Heavenly researched the history behind this traditional tool and found that the nøstepinne has many names in Scandinavia, such as a vindepind, wickeldorn, and nystepinne. Here, she shares three different ways to manually wind a center-pull
ball of yarn.
Method One: Keep it Rolling
Get a closer look! Click on any image in the gallery below to open it in full-screen mode.
Method One: Keep it Rolling. Photos by Heavenly Bresser
With this method, the hand holding the nøstepinne does the majority of the work. This is the method I used for the three-ply and singles yarns.
1) To get started, hold the nøstepinne in one hand, create a slipknot, and attach it to the top of the nøstepinne.
2) Allow a length of the working yarn to move [PAYWALL] close to the center of the shaft. Use the thumb of the hand holding the tool to press the yarn against the shaft, while the other hand winds the yarn around the shaft to create a base.
3) After winding five or six times for the base, position the yarn-holding hand so the fresh length of yarn extends several inches away from the nøstepinne.
4) While maintaining a gentle hold on the yarn with one hand, allow the hand holding the nøstepinne to rotate the tool clockwise. As yarn starts to wind on, pivot the nøstepinne to wind the yarn on at an angle so the ball is building over the base wraps.
5) Continue Step 4, keeping close watch on the ball as it builds to avoid a lopsided center-pull ball. Note: Allowing the yarn to wind on close to the shaft will create an elongated ball. Conversely, building up the ball over a small section of the shaft creates a flat-topped and flat-bottomed ball.
Method Two: Corner to Corner
Click on any image in the gallery below to open it in full-screen mode.
Method Two: Corner to Corner. Photos by Heavenly Bresser
With this method, the hand holding the nøstepinne shares the load with the yarn-holding hand. This is the method I used for the two-ply East Friesian and two-ply Merino/nylon blend.
1) Attach the yarn and create a base by following Steps 1–3 from Method One.
2) Starting at the bottom right corner and ending at the top left corner, wind the yarn around the front of the nøstepinne.
3) Rotate the nøstepinne clockwise a little.
4) Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until finished winding.
Method Three: Figure Eight
Click on any image in the gallery below to open it in full-screen mode.
Method Three: Figure Eight. Photos by Heavenly Bresser
With this method, the hand holding the nøstepinne bears the majority of the work. This is the method I used for the two-ply alpaca/silk blend.
1) Attach the yarn and create a base by following Steps 1–3 from Method One.
2) Turn the nøstepinne so that it is almost parallel to the floor.
3) Wrap the yarn over the base layer by carrying it from the bottom right to the upper left corner.
How does the use of this tool impact twist? Heavenly put it to the test, using the three methods of winding with handspun samples and making note of the effects on the twist of the resulting yarn.
An egg-shaped ball of yarn resulting from Heavenly’s Method 2. Photo by Heavenly Bresser
The three methods were tested on five yarns of various fiber content and ply structures:
A 2-ply 75% baby alpaca and 25% peduncle wild silk yarn, measuring 13 wraps per inch (wpi).
A 2-ply mixed blend of Merino and trilobal nylon measuring 6 wpi.
A not-so-consistent singles with a mixed blend of Merino, Tencel, and other fibers, measuring an average of 11 wpi.
A 2-ply, hand-processed East Friesian wool measuring 8.5 wpi.
A 3-ply, hand-processed Shetland wool that measured 11 wpi.
The winding method for each yarn was chosen at random.
Unwinding the Nøstepinne PDF download
Current subscribers to Spin Off can download a copy of Heavenly’s full article, which includes the results of how each winding method affected the twist angle. Click here to get the PDF download of Unwinding the Nøstepinne. Or visit the Spin Off Library to read the full article.
An egg-shaped ball of yarn resulting from Heavenly’s Method 2. Photo by Heavenly Bresser 