Buy Simplicity Boye Electric Yarn Ball Winder

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List Price: $89.99
Sale Price: $59.19
Today's Bonus: 34% Off

I got this at Joann's because I had the 40% off coupon which made it about the same price as the one Amazon offered and I needed it today. I have two of the hand-wind models (a KnitPick and a Royal) and I have an umbrella swift and the flat swift made by the Oregon Wood Worker.

In the hour that I've had the Boye Electric at home, I've wound off seven balls of Berroco Lustra (Aran weight, kind of slippery) and a ball of handpainted light sock yarn. It took two trial-and-error balls for me to figure out how to get nice, tightly wound balls, but after thatit has been smooth sailing and I really like this gadget.

I didn't have good luck with the umbrella swift so I put the Lustra on the flat OWW swift (which I love better than any swift I've ever used!) and it worked like a charm. I put the winder close to the flat swift and spread the hank of yarn out across the pegstook my hands away and it pulled the swift just fine and I just had to put hands on the yarn and swift every now and then if the yarn got twistednot more than once or twice per ball.

Lots easier on my hands and wrists than the manual winders and makes just-as-good-if-not-better center-pull balls.

I'm going to try to put a picture above of the seven Arans and the sock yarn to show how they turned out.

It's not perfect, it's noisy for one thing, but for what I want to use it for (occasionally winding off nine or ten hanks), it works fine.

If it "dies" tomorrow, I'll revise this review! :)

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Oh, how sorry I am that I purchased this little machine. I really thought I was getting a time and work saver, but alas, it's nothing but a pain. I raise wool producing animals and either spin my own yarn or send fibers to mill. Literally, ALL of my yarn comes in skeins, so having a good ball winder is a must. Sadly, I went for saving money rather than investing in quality and ended up with something that just doesn't do the job for me.

First of all, the machine can tolerate very little tension. I use a wooden swift that has worked well with every ball winder I've ever owned over the past 15 years, and yet this winder cannot pull the yarn off of the swift. It simply stops winding and makes an ungodly scream and ratcheting noise. I have to stand and pull the yarn off the swift while it winds. Not really a time saver in that regard.

Second, because it tolerates no tension, the resulting ball is fluffy, flabby and messy. Knitting from the first ball wound off of the swift is an exercise in frustration because it tangles and knots very easily. I've since learned that I have to wind every ball twice to get it to be firm enough to use. Not really a time saver, either, I'm afraid.

Finally, the winder pooped out after about 6 months. The motor just stopped working a few days ago, which instigated this review. It was definitely not designed to be a work horse for a variety of yarns wound regularly by serious knitters.

An electric winder is a nice idea, but for someone who winds 10-20 balls a week, the hand crank version is a lot longer lasting and does a lot better job. It's been an expensive lesson and I regret the purchase.

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I just got the Boye Yarn Ball Winder by Simplicity and I love it!

I am a "travel" crocheter and knitter and I am always having my yarn skeins fall down the train or plane aisles! It is so frustrating. This machine works great winding my yarn skeins so I do not have to spend so much time untangling. Thank you Simplicity!

I recommend getting comfortable with the machine by starting on a low speed at first. Mine seems to be lasting well.

From,

Happy Customer :)

Honest reviews on Simplicity Boye Electric Yarn Ball Winder

I am writting this on my husbands account. He got this for me as a gift and i was a little worried with all the bad reviews, but i really do like it. It does what its supposed to do. Its not ment for anything more then 4oz of yarn. You might get a bit more on there but i wouldnt. I split up 7oz. into 4 balls. It serves its purpose for me and i dont regret not having it

Edit:

ok i have been using this for a couple days now. Honestly, i really do love it. I dont do hanks of yarn but skiens. And i know the big complaint was that it winds the balls to loose. Well, i have found that if you put just a little bit of tension on the working yarn, it makes a nice, tight, flat ended ball! Dont put so much that you make the machine grind and squeek, but just hold the yarn between your thumb and first finger and put slight pressure on the yarn as its going. if the machine stops or grinds you put to much tension on it.

This really is a nice machine. and i hopefully will get alot of use out if it.

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My dear friend knew that I was receiving a yarn swift for Christmas and purchased the Boye electric ball winder to go with it. I did not think this was going to work well, but it did a good job. I still had to babysit the yarn to make sure the ball was not wound too tight. I am not sure how long this will last. It is all or mostly plastic and it will be interesting to see how long it will hold up.

I will try to let the ball winder work faster next time to see how tightly it winds at a faster speed. Then I will amend this review.

I would recommend this if you can get it on sale.