Winding a Skein into a Ball

Remove and save the label for sett suggestions or gauge. Open up the skein. Ideally, you will own an umbrella swift and ball winder and these instructions are assuming you do.  Insure that the skein is not twisted, then place the skein on the swift bringing the swift up to meet the circumference of the skein. Locate the beginning/end of the yarn; this is where the beginning and end were tied together. Cut this loop (last) and the remaining tie-bands off the skein. Caution: This step should not be done prior to placing the skein on the swift.  Wind off a couple of rounds to see if the yarn is going to feed evenly and insert the end into the ball winder and wind into a center pull ball. If the yarn seems like it is tangled, it is probably just a kink in that spot. Resist the temptation of weaving in and out as it misaligns the yarn. Usually, if you will give the yarn a little pop close to the skein, it will loosen the kink and you can proceed to wind into a center-pull ball. If you are using a hand dyed yarn and using more than one skein, lay one skein on top of the other to insure the color is running the same direction. Then, be sure you wind in the same color order.