Have you ever heard of a nostepinne?

I had not and I’m amazed.  I’ve been knitting and working with yarn since I was a child.  As I wrote in my post Adventures of Winding Yarn, up until a month ago, I used 2 water goblets to hold the skein and wound the yarn into a ball.  Then I purchased a table top yarn swift.

Last week, I discovered a nostepinne.  For those of you that haven’t heard of one, it’s a tool used to wind the yarn into a cake type of ball that has a center pull.

So here’s how I wound my first skein using the nostepinne.  I did a Google search and found lots of information.  I discovered this tutorial that was a tremendous help.

This is the start of the ball on the nostepinne.

The yarn is anchored around the grooves in the handle (mine didn’t stay secure the first time).  Second, wind the yarn around the pin in a circular motion for about 1-2 inches.  Then start the diagonal winding as shown while slowly turning the pin to achieve a balanced ball of yarn.

The process is simple and relaxing.  I set my swift up in my sunroom and enjoyed the lovely weather as I wound this lovely yarn by Spirit Trail Fiberworks

Continuing around the pin, this is how it progressed.

With all the yarn wound, I finished by winding the last yard or so around the thick middle of the yarn cake.  All that was left to do was slide it off the pin.  Since the pin is slimmer on the end, this was accomplished without any problems.

So now, I’m ready to knit with this lovely yarn.  I’m working on a new design for a scarf and fingerless gloves.  If you’re signed up to receive my newsletter, you’ll be the first to see this new design.

Do you have a nostepinne?  This one is by Chiagoo.

I’ll be looking for handmade ones when I attend the Fall sheep and wool festivals.  I understand from my fellow knitters on Ravelry that a lot of knitters have several different ones.