Head to head
Winder vs Swift vs Winding by Hand
Two machines that only work as a pair, and a free method that works alone.
By Sawyer V. · Published September 9, 2026
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The short answer
A swift holds a hank open and spinning; a winder pulls from it and makes a center-pull cake. Each is close to useless without the other. Winding by hand needs neither and takes about fifteen minutes per 100g - which is why the equipment only pays off above roughly six hanks a year.
Why the two tools are one job
Hand-dyed and independent-mill yarn ships as a twisted hank: a large loop of yarn twisted on itself for transport. It cannot be knitted from directly.
Turning it into something usable has two steps. The loop has to be held open under gentle tension so it can pay out without collapsing, and the yarn has to be wound into a stable shape. The swift does the first, the winder does the second, and neither does the other.
The three routes compared
| Swift + winder | Winder alone | By hand | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Two purchases | One purchase | Nothing |
| Time per 100g | About 2 minutes | About 2 minutes, plus untangling | About 15 minutes |
| People needed | One | Two | One |
| Result | Center-pull cake | Center-pull cake | Center-pull ball, less tidy |
| Table needed | Yes, with a clampable edge | Yes | No |
| Storage | Two bulky objects | One | None |
| Worth it at | 6+ hanks a year | Never on its own | Under 6 hanks a year |
What the winder actually gives you
A center-pull cake, and that is a genuinely better object than a ball.
- It does not roll. The strand comes from the middle, so the cake sits still - which is why a winder makes a yarn bowl redundant.
- It sits flat. Cakes stack and store; balls do not.
- You can see how much is left. A collapsing cake is a visible progress bar.
- It lets you pull two strands from one ball - outside and center - which is what two-at-a-time socks and alternating skeins need.
Capacity is the limit worth knowing: the common hand winders top out around 4oz per cake, so a 100g skein is right at the limit and a 150g one needs two cakes. Our best yarn winders page covers the models.
Doing it by hand
This works, it is free, and it is what everyone did until quite recently. It is worth knowing properly rather than treating as a fallback.
- Untwist the hank into its full loop and find the ties. Cut the ties, not the yarn.
- Put the loop over something. Two dining chair backs set apart, someone's arms, or your own knees.
- Find one end and start winding around two or three fingers, changing direction every twenty turns or so.
- Keep it loose. A tightly wound ball stretches the yarn, which relaxes later and changes your gauge.
- For a center-pull ball, start by laying a tail across your palm and wind around it, then pull that tail out at the end.
Fifteen minutes per 100g, and it is pleasant enough to do while watching something. Two chair backs work as well as a swift for one hank; they are tedious for six.
Check your table before buying either machine
Both clamp to a table edge, and both have a maximum thickness - commonly around 1.5in to 1.75in.
Modern kitchen worktops are frequently thicker than that, and many dining tables have an apron underneath that leaves no clean edge. Measure first. It is the single most common reason a swift or winder gets returned, and our best yarn swifts page says the same thing.
The honest threshold
If you buy hanks a handful of times a year, two chairs and fifteen minutes is the correct answer and the equipment will gather dust.
If you buy hand-dyed or independent-mill yarn regularly - six hanks a year is roughly the crossover - the pair pays for itself in patience rather than money. And if all your yarn comes from craft shops as pull-skeins and balls, you need neither, ever.
What we would buy
- Both, or neither: the swift and the winder together. One alone is a two-person job.
- Whichever winder is in stock: the YBW-A and YBW-B are functionally close enough that price and availability decide it.
- Under six hanks a year: two dining chairs.
- For the cakes afterwards: an ArtBin Yarn Drum.
The three routes
- No photo
Stanwood Needlecraft YBW-A Yarn Ball Winder
The winder half: metal body, sealed gears, center-pull cakes of about 4oz, clamps to a table edge.
- No photo
Stanwood Needlecraft Wooden Umbrella Swift (Medium)
The swift half: solid birch, holds skeins up to 6ft in circumference, clamps up to 1.75in.
- No photo
Stanwood Needlecraft YBW-B Yarn Ball Winder
The sibling winder, same 4oz capacity with fully sealed gears - pick whichever is in stock.
- No photo
ArtBin Yarn Drum
What to keep the wound cakes in, so the thing you just wound does not unwind in a bag.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need both a yarn winder and a swift?
If you buy hanks, yes - they are two halves of one job. A winder without a swift lets the hank collapse and tangle, so it becomes a two-person operation, which is the problem the winder was meant to solve.
Can you wind yarn without a winder?
Yes. Put the loop over two dining chair backs, find one end, and wind by hand, changing direction every twenty turns. It takes about fifteen minutes per 100g and costs nothing.
How many hanks a year justifies buying a winder and swift?
Roughly six. Below that, two chairs and fifteen minutes per hank is the sensible answer. Above it, the pair pays for itself in patience rather than money.
What is a center-pull cake and why does it matter?
Yarn wound so the working end comes from the middle. It does not roll away, it stacks flat, it shows how much is left, and it lets you pull two strands from one ball - which alternating skeins and two-at-a-time socks both need.
Will a yarn winder clamp to my table?
Check the thickness first - most clamps take edges up to about 1.5in to 1.75in. Many kitchen worktops are thicker, and aproned dining tables leave no clean edge. It is the commonest reason these get returned.