I did it! I solved the case of my wonky yarn cakes! I imagine others may have the same issue with their ball winders, so I thought I would put together a post on how to fix your yarn ball winder. You can see from the before-and-after images below that something was definitely off!
If your yarn winder isn’t winding correctly, keeps slipping, or is making crooked or uneven yarn cakes, the gears inside the winder may have slipped out of alignment. Luckily, this was a quick fix once I figured out what was causing the problem.
The particular brand I purchased is the Knit Picks Yarn Ball Winder, but I imagine many of them are built the same way. This ball winder is a little workhorse for me and, for the most part, does a great job winding yarn into nice little cakes. The first time I noticed the cakes not winding properly, I called Knit Picks, and they were very good about sending me a new ball winder. But then when it started happening again, I figured it must be something in the internal mechanism that needed adjustment, so I took the winder apart to see.
Keep reading to see how to fix your yarn ball winder.
Why Is My Yarn Winder Not Winding Correctly?
In my case, the problem was caused by the larger plastic gear slipping out of position and sitting on top of the smaller gear instead of meshing with it. Once I repositioned the gears so the teeth fit together properly, the winder worked normally again.
How to Fix Your Yarn Ball Winder
To fix your broken ball winder, you will first need to twist off the cone-shaped bobbin from the main base of the winder.
Next, use a Phillips-head tool to remove the screw from the plate beneath where the bobbin was removed, then remove the plate and set it aside.
Ahhh … here was the issue! You see how in the photo below the larger plastic gear is sitting on top of the small gear? This is why the winder wasn’t winding properly. The gears should mesh so that the teeth fit together properly.
To fix this, gently push the larger gear back away from the smaller one and down until the teeth mesh. It should now look like this.
Now screw the top plate back on and replace the bobbin. All that is left is trying it out. Grab a hank or skein of yarn and wind it up. Perfect!
Have you had this problem? I would love to know if this helped fix it. Let me know in the comments below.
Now that you have your yarn cakes made, read my clever yarn hack for keeping them wound neatly and from turning into a tangled mess while in use or in storage!
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You’re awesome! Thanks so much for posting this VERY HELPFUL article!!
You are absolutely a lifesaver! Thank you!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I literally *just* got my Knit Picks winder in the mail last night and already overused it and caused this exact problem. I was so worried I’d have to buy a new one!
Thank you so much! This worked for me after I used chunky yarn my yarn winder messed up & I wasn’t sure what it was. This was super helpful & easy! Thank you again!
Oh you just saved my sanity. I have this exact same wool winder and on my third skein it decided to go wonky. It is working perfectly now Thank you so much! Now all I have to do is untangle this skein. Haha
Thank you SO MUCH for this! Found it today, 4 years later but still a lifesaver!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Me and my flying saucer balls thank you for this fix.
Wow! Was skeptical but It actually works .
Here I thought the issue was with the yarn, until I tried a standard worsted weight. You are a genius!!! Please add my name to the long list of fiber artists grateful to you for your post! Now I can cake up my yarn again without a 4 hour mess of entangled yarn.
Thank you Thank you Thank you many times over!!!