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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Thank you for this! I think Michael’s sent me all their crap skeins because I also had a yarn winder in my order, but I needed to open it up and fix the gears before I could wind them!
Thank you for the great tip on fixing he ball winder! It worked great.
Thank you! This was exactly what I needed!
Mine never worked right off the bat and this was such an easy fix. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for posting this information! I have the exact same winder and I spent over an hour trying to figure out why it had suddenly stopped working. Such a simple fix. Thank you for saving my sanity! LOL
A very big thank you, this was exactly what I was expecting and yes it absolutely fixed it!!!🫶🙌
This was so helpful! Thank you!
I have a problem with the yarn jumping off the ball and winding around the bobbin. It winds well for a half inch or so ball, maybe an inch, then I can feel it slip. It like misses and speeds up as I wind and it is winding around the bobbin. I am thinking it is me. As usually at a retreat I do not have this prolem.i get so frustrated that I put yarn on my knees and wind by hand. Ugh!!!!!!!!
Thank you thank you!! I thought my yarn is too slippery or I have broken my winder.
OMG this is amazing. What a difference. Thank you soooo much
Thank you so much!!! I thought I was going crazy!