Tabletop Amish Style Wooden Yarn Swift

I initially purchased this because of the price point. I needed a yarn swift but I had no desire to spend $40+ on one. This had enough decent reviews that I finally decided it would be worth a try. I have since come to the conclusion that this is probably the best design I could have found for my own personal use. The simplicity of the design means two things: it's easy to put up/tear down and there are next to no parts that break. There are no hinges or dozens of connecting pieces all waiting to be pounced upon by a cat. I am pretty sure that it would take more than even my 17lbs cat or my own klutziness to break any of the pieces here. If for some reason you need the space it's on it's super easy to put away. A single dowel keeps the base and arms together so removing that makes it so that you can just pick up the others and you're ready to go. I have a basket next to my craft table that I put this and my ball winder in when I need the table for sewing or other such things so I don't have to worry about misplacing the dowels. The other part about this design that I greatly appreciate is that it's so easy to adjust the tension on the skein before you start unwinding by moving the dowels along the arms until you feel comfortable with the tension. It's maybe slightly more difficult than an umbrella yarn swift, but I am not certain seeing as I've only seen how those are used on youtube videos. I can say that I don't have to go to my local yarn shop to change a skein to a ball which is a double-bonus for me and my bank account. I would suggest getting a ball winder while you're at it. This could be used easily by someone who is hand winding their balls but I found that I truly came to appreciate using it when I added a ball winder (I like the knitpicks one for the price point and that it gives you a few options) and between the two I can make a "cake" of yarn in less than 5 minutes. Maybe 7 if it's a skein of sock yarn. Tl:Dr - it's simple, can be torn down and put away, does the job and likely won't be broken by dropping it. Take advantage of the cheaper price and go for it.

Love this swift. Easy to set up and take down. Sturdy and works perfectly to wind a perfect ball. I tried another swift and winder and they just did not work for me and wound very strange shapes balls. This swift with the plastic knit picks winder work perfectly together, hooray!

This swift is really cool! I saw a version at one of my LYSs and was enthralled by how easy it was to use. I'm not a fan of tabletop swifts, because they travel when you have large skeins to wind, so I may modify this one with a counter clamp. But that aside, I'm blown away by the simplicity of the design (fewer tangles) and the way it can be so easily modified for different skein weights and lengths! Why didn't I know about this years ago!?!

So simple and practical! I love this Amish style Yarn Swift, it comes in a slim box, you just put a few pieces together and voila!, you don't have to beg a family member to stand there holding a hank of yarn while you wind it! No electricity required, but I did feel like I had gotten an upper arm workout after winding three hanks of yarn into balls, and that's a good thing. I highly recommend this product for anyone, it goes together in a second and comes apart again quickly for storage. It's well made and the delivery was very quick. I'm definitely pleased with my purchase.

No, I don't do needlework. But I am married to the world's best knitter! And she's so much more than a knitter; for a while now, my wife has been turning Alpaca fleece into roving, spinning that roving into yarn, than using her knitty-knotty to turn the yarn into a hank. But when it was time to turn a home-made (or store-bought) hank into a ball of yarn for knitting, my qualified and highly skilled (!) arms and hands were needed. Any husband that was enlisted to hold apart a hank, and moving it just right while the wife balled up the yarn, can probably relate to my experience and feelings. So for Christmas, I wanted to give her (and subsequently, my tired arms ...) the gift of a swift, so she could ball up her hanks of yarn whenever she needed to, even when neither myself nor any of the kids were around to lend a helping hand (or both arms...). She had previously pointed out two different styles of swifts to me: a complicated looking "umbrella" style, and this rather simple looking design. Going with the "KISS" (keep it simple, stupid) approach, I decided to go wit this style. And I am glad I did! As it turns out, my wife loves the Tabletop Amish Style Wooden Yarn Swift I got her for Christmas. The swift is easy and fast to put together. She is using it on the table top together with a mechanical ball winder and I can only admire how well it works and how fast it is (especially compared with me holding the hank ...). The pegs can be inserted into different holes, accommodating hanks of different length, so her home-made yarn and store-bought yarn can both be used with this swift. According to my wife (who has used an umbrella style swift before) she likes this swift better than the umbrella design because easier and faster to assemble, easier to transport, it uses up less space when stored and works very well. So what could I possibly add to her review? Only that my tired arms express their gratitude! Husbands (and needle workers), you can't go wrong with this swift.

I really looked forward to receiving this item, as using a huge cooking pot to convert my skeins into balls had grown old. ;P I rate the swift 4 stars because while it does get the job done, the process can be exasperating...at least so in my case. The swift rotates in a very "wobbly" manner. While I'm no expert, I believe the issue lies at the point where the legs overlap; the fit is insecure, therefore, a lack of stability exists. Because of this instability at THE primary point of the device, the overall operation is immensely affected. When not in use, a simple tap on the end of either leg will cause both to rock back and forth significantly (think rickety seesaw), but not as much while in use, as the yarn provides SOME weight). These unsteady spins, as well as the slightest position changes of my yarn winder, have caused strands of yarn to jump from their assigned pegs to either tangle with those on other pegs or to slip down altogether into the center of the square (or "boxing ring" as I like to refer to it :P) where they'd wrap around the base of the swift. Having to stop every few rotations to unwind/untangle strands of yarn and then situate them back onto the swift properly was and still is irritating. I don't know if THIS level of instability is a trait of this type of swift, or I just happened to receive a "defective" product, but based on the smooth, error-free operations of those swifts shown in the videos submitted by other reviewers, I'm willing to bet the latter. What I do know is the constant breaks in rhythm make the job twice as long than it should be and whenever I need to convert my skeins into center-pulls, I do not look forward to the process. That said, I love the idea of the swift, and but for the issues outlined above, I'd be thoroughly happy with my purchase. The finish on the swift is amazingly smooth; it's not snagged a single yarn of mine (thus far...I've not wound any fingering or lace-wt yarn as of this review :)). As stated, the device breaks down very easily and stores conveniently. Put it this way, it's much easier than using a huge cookware pot, that's for sure! Would I recommend... probably, but with a strong urging to ensure the stability of your device upon receipt, particularly in the area of the leg overlap. This is the crucial point of operation, and I don't wish for anyone to have the issues I currently have with my swift.

Very well designed and easy to set up. Quality wood product. Very stable and spins smoothly. Adjustable for different sized hanks and best of all it doesn't need to be clamped to a table. Compact when not in use. It's really the best yarn swift.

Such a minimalistic Tinkertoy-like design, but works perfectly!

I'm very happy with the yarn swift. It is nicely made and spins very well. It is easy to put together and pulls apart to pack away in the original box. It will definitely last many years longer than the plastic swifts that are around. I also like the fact that one of the arms have measurements for various size skeins, this would also give the opportunity of being able to average out the approximate total length of yarn in the skein.

Simple to set up and so easy to use with no mechanical parts or clamps to rely on. This simple unit stayed put, was a dream to use and will in no way damage my table top. Initially purchased an umbrella version...wooden support clamp cross threaded after 2 uses and could no longer stay secured to the table top. Wish I had trusted my gut and got this one first.

Purfect product, lightweight, easy to assemble and use. Takes up very little space ( I put mine back in the box after use). Extremely fast delivery.

It's a beautifully crafted wooden Swift. Works ideally if your space is not expansive. Easily constructed and dismantled. It does what it was supposed to do. Highly recommended

Best swift I've ever used! Well made, no burrs or splinters, moves smoothly and I'd definitely recommend this to anyone using hanks of yarn. When you're done it all fits nicely back in the box; it's so easy to assemble, too.