What Does Your Yarn Look Like?

There are many possible ways that you might get your yarn. The most usual ways yarn is sold is in a ball, skein or hank.

A ball, as it sounds, is pre-wound and ready to knit immediately. A skein is usually ready to work from as well but it's not a ball shape. A hank is yarn that is twisted over on itself and will require you to wind it into a ball or cake in order to use it. Hanks are often also called skeins.

How To Wind

If you get your yarn in a hank/skein that needs to be wound up you can either do it manually or with a few pieces of equipment. The equipment used to do this would be a swift (to hold the yarn) and a ball winder that winds it into a cake for you to use. Winding by hand is easiest if you have someone to hold the yarn but you can also use the back of a chair (or chairs) to hold the yarn if you don't have a pair of willing hands available!