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Your cart is empty.Umbrella Swift Yarn Winder is made of durable plastic. The purpose of this tool is for supporting skeins of yarns of various sizes for winding and balling off hanks of yarn. It has a table clamp with wooden twist screws to hold it in place and spins freely as you wind your skeins on your yarn ball winder (not included). For use with yarn hanks with a 60-inch circumference. Integral handle permits use as a winder, adjustable clamp permits vertical, horizontal, or angled operation. Imported.
Kate
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2015
Does the job, but doesn't have a smooth opening action. It's also sometimes tricky to get it fully opened, so smaller skeins are harder to wind. Unless the swift is "clicked" at the top, it will slowly start to close as you're winding yarn. The piece of wire at the bottom snapped off shortly after purchasing, so all the umbrella arms were loose and needed to be reattached, but luckily I has some sturdier jewelry wire at hand to repair it. It's a little troublesome to get back into its box nicely, but it will collapse for easy storage. Okay for the money, but it does need some babying.
Mom Jackson
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2014
I am a handspinner and a fiber arts judge. I needed a quick and easy yarn swift that wasn't expensive since my Glimakra yarn swift is safely packed away (heaven knows where). After researching the different ones, I chose this one to work with my handspun yarns. So far I'm pleased.* The parts that would snag are covered.* It works well with my jumbo ball winder.* This is not uber-sturdy so know it is not a play toy. It has stood up to many skeins so far.
Shanti
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2014
I have been spinning my own yarns from my own wool from my own sheep for 15 years. I had my own method of winding my yarn on a rack to wash and dry. Then the tedious process of manually unwinding it off the rack so I could use my ball winder to make my center pull.I finally changed my ways and made hanks so could use a swift. What use to take 30 minutes to do, wind a ball of yarn on the ball winder,now take 5 minutes to do!I use this swift horizontally as the instructions recommend. I use my free hand when winding my ball winder to guide the yarn, keeping it centered,as it comes off the swift. Its flawless. I also set the swift so the shaft is pulled all the way in so the swift is not sticking out a foot from the table. That keeps it sturdy.I use 100% large wool hanks, 60" long, on this thing and there are absolutely no issues. I spin large skeins not small.My ball winder is a metal extra large one and not one of those small plastic ones. I think if people have issues its more human error than mechanical as this swift functions fine and effortlessly.I dont use the case it came in as I dont want to change the position of the clamp to fit it back inside. I just take my swift off the table, collapse it and tuck it away in my drawer. I love how small it becomes for storage.
Carolyn Borders
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2013
This swift did the job for about three hanks. Then, the lock washer above the crank went flying off and I was never able to find it. I emailed Lacis CS twice to ask about purchasing a replacement part, with no answer whatsoever. In addition to being flimsy, the wire loops catch the yarn quite often. I do like how compact it is, but if it doesn't work, it isn't much help.
Kindle Customer
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2013
Nice light weight umbrella yarn winder, but my yarn caught in the metal parts, making it almost useless. I returned it and ordered the Stanley Amish style which I love.
J. Deaton
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2012
I have had this for a little over a year. It works okay and has not broken on me yet. The yarn gets caught in the little hook things all the time which is annoying but it doesn't hurt the yarn. It is pretty flimsy but you get what you pay for right?I gave it a 3 because yes it works but I wish I would have spent a little more on a wood one that is a bit more sturdy. Currently I am shopping for a new one.
B
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2012
My only complaint is an annoying one. It is a basic design flaw. The metal loops that hold the plastic bars in place bend inward tword your yarn. If your winder isn't located exactly in the path where the yarn comes off the Swift in the exact middle then the yarn gets hung on the loops as it angles up or down. The easy enough fix is to hold the yarn so it feeds off the swift directly in the middle. The down side is if you are balling a lot of yarn you can expect some rope burn on your hands. Other then that I've had no other issues with this swift. It folds up nicely into its own little holder and works well enough. You get what you pay for and so far it has worked out well.UPDATE: Some of my complaint is due to user error but not all. The pole that attaches to the spinning swift can be adjusted up and down in addition to at an angle and it takes a lot of the issue with the yarn catching on the metal loops away. I still wish the loops were simply pointing at a smooth angle rather then causing a hook effect at the ends. Since I've figured this out I will give this gadges a 4 start review instead of my origianl 3.
Diane LaScala
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2009
Ordered this for a gift for my mother-in-law who already has a ball winder. I couldn't believe how it packed down to the small plastic case which is ideal for storing it in. MIL had said she wanted a metal winder, I'd never seen anything but the wooden ones. The blue cross bars are actually plastic tubes that have some flexibility. I set it up and promptly wound a skein of worsted weight wool into a ball and the swift operated very smoothly. Then I wound a craft store skein that was partially used onto the swift using the little handle on the top - very slick! Then I rewound that into a center pull ball. I could have a lot of fun with this and have now put it on my own wish list. I was amazed at how well it worked and thrilled at the size and storage case.
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