Skeins, Hanks, and Balls

One question I'm often asked is, "Why don't you send out my yarn in center pull balls?"  Well.  Lets talk about it! 

When a yarn is pulled off the bobbin of my spinning wheel, I wrap it on something called a Niddy Noddy.  It looks like the letter I, but with the bottom line twisted 90 degrees.  I use that thing to count the yards as I wind off your yarn.  Then, I wash the yarn (still in a big loop) and hang it up to dry.  When its dry, that big loop of strands is called a HANK.  When I twist the hank on itself after photographing, its now called a SKEIN.  I pretty that up and send it to you!  

 SKEIN

 HANK

I do not put the yarn into center pull balls because its not very good for your yarn!  If you're going to use yarn right away, a center pull ball is a fine choice - keeps everything nice and tidy.  If you're going to think about it for a little while, store it in your stash, a center pull ball is not the right choice for Fine Lime handspun.  It can cause some problems!  

• A ball is much tighter and compact than a skein.  For nice, loffty, squishy handspun, it will flatten your yarn out by smooshing the fibers.  This would be an especially sad fate for thick and thin yarn! 
• A ball doesn't allow for air flow through the fiber, so if the humidity changes, moisture can be trapped inside, causing yucky things like decomposition and mold.  
  

You can easily create a center pull ball at home.  The fastest/easiest way is to buy an inxepensive swift (looks like an umbrella!  It holds your hank in a big loop and spins as you wind) and ball winder.  For shorter projects, I know several knitters and hookers who choose just to work from the yarn on the swift. A less expensive way is to use a nostepine (tapered stick, basically!  You can even use a large knitting needle) and wind by hand.