Stanwood NeedlecraftWooden Umbrella Swift - Medium

I like the construction. It’s made of wood, which I prefer, not plastic, and it has a nice, sturdy feel. It’s easy to assemble, and easy to use. The wooden staves are smoothly finished so yarn will not snag, and they move and spin freely on the spindle. It’s a good quality item.

I am new to fiber craft and this was an item recommended by texts and other crafts women. It arrived well packaged, in perfect condition, right on time and with instructions. There were others, less expensive, but this one had excellent reviews. Mercifully, this swift came assembled. It is easy to set up and worked very well on my first attempt, even with no experience. I've used it now to make half a dozen "cakes". They became more compact with each skein, probably because I maintained a steady winding speed with the ball winder. I've been winding 3.5 oz. skeins of wool which does not require the "umbrella" structure to be fully extended. It is stable, does not squeak or wobble. The wood is unfinished, sanded smooth and all the moving parts turn swiftly and smoothly. It is an efficient, labor saving and an utterly brilliant little contraption! You deserve this!

Ordered this yarn winder and was a bit of a worried that it would not work like it should, but spent the money and took the chance. The winder arrived today and I was not at all disappointed. The construction quality is excellent, smooth surfaces and fluid movement. I have a good number of hanks of merino wool and alpaca that needed to be wound and it took far too long to do it my hand, but this winder working in conjuction with my Boyle ball winder makes quick work of the job. Winding by hand took about 20 minutes, with the Swift Winder and the Boyle it now takes about two minutes to wind a full hank of speciality yarn. I have also rewound the partial skiens I have remaining from a project back into neat center pull balls, so no more partial skiens rolling about! I was a bit confused as to the sizing of the various winders offered, so opted for the 'medium'. The umbrella expansion style allows the winder to easily accept the standard hank or skien of yarn without any problem, and there is still room to expand further if needed.I must also say that I was impressed with this Seller. When I ordered this winder I opted for the next day shipping for an additional fee. The following day I received an email saying that the item was back-ordered and would not ship 'next day' but would ship as soon as it was available. The next day shipping fee was immediately refuned without my even having to ask. The winder arrived the following day via FedEx at no additional cost. You cannot ask for more than that from anyone, but it certainly impressed me as to the quality of the Seller and their desire to have a satisfied customer base. Rest assured that I will again turn to this Seller for any additional products I might purchase.If you are in the market for a winder I would highly recommend this one based on the quality and the Seller's professionalism. If you add a Boyle (or similar) automated ball winder you will think you have gone to yarn heaven!

The swift was very easy to set up. My biggest problem was that the tables I have in my home all have rounded edges. You do need to have a straight edge for the swift to work. So, what I did was take my thick, heavy cutting board, and attaced the swift to that. It worked out great.The product it self worked flawlessly. It was fun to wind the twisted skeins of yarn into a yarn ball. Had five skeins made into balls in no time at all.My only concern is that the arms are tied together with heavy string. Hopefully, they will hold up for a long time.The price was right - Fifty something dollars. (This maybe "Prime Membership" pricing. Don't know.Would highly recommend this product!!!

It’s a lot easier then trying to do it with one person having it rolled around their arms wall the other cranks the yarn winder.

I wish the main post had better lubrication or smoother feel. It still does its job and is reliable. Reasonable value for the cost

I didn’t think I needed this until I needed this. I have nothing to compare it to but can say after seeing the ease and quality to which it works, I wish I’d splurged on standwood for my yarn winder as well. No regrets on this purchase.

I posted pics if you want to see more: This is my first swift and I really like it. Its well built. Its smooth. It folds down compactly. It turns smoothly for the most part, 99% smoothly. From what I have read and been told it will get smoother and smoother as you use it. I emailed the company for advice and Ryan said to add a little wax so that is what I will do. It DOES turn smoothly just to be clear- i just prefer looser-ish balls of yarn. There is only 1 yarn shop so far that does them how i LOVE but i buy my yarn from all over so they dont wind my yarn. If you are having trouble just give it a second and as you get the momentum going it rolls along nicely. The other thing i noticed was the opening to put it on the table- if you have a lot of ikea furniture (THICK) you may need to file the opening down a touch for it to fit or just find another smaller surface to attach it. As far as the size you may need..so far this has done the trick. I grabbed the longest skein i had and figured it would be too big in its circumference and it fit. This is a great buy.Update- i updated from 4 stars to 5 because i added the wax as suggested by the company and i found a happy medium on my winding speed. Not too fast, not too slow..just wind it comfortably and the swift will keep up nicely to give you a great yarn cake.

Great product!

This looks good. I bought it as a present so I am not equiped to rate it really. Delivery delay because of flooding but kept well informed.

Well made and easy to use

The Stanwood wool winder is a beautifully crafted piece of knitting equipment and very simple to operate. Thoroughly recommend this product

Gorgeous and easy to use, even for a beginner. Well-made and sturdy. Arrived in Canada via DHL on time and in perfect condition.