Yarn is spun under tension, and typically it is wound off into hanks, i.e. long donuts of wool and not the pull-fr0m-the-center balls of my childhood.
Hanking it I think means one less step for the mill to pay for but the main reason is, it’s a prettier way to show off the yarn and if it’s a multi-color you can see more of what you’re going to get.
But then it has to be wound into a ball.
Some shops will do it for you if they’re not busy right then, with a warning that that makes the purchase non-returnable.
Many knitters have swifts, ie umbrella-type thingummies for stretching the hank onto and having it twirl around while a ball is being wound, either by hand or by ball winder like the shops.
Then there are those silly purists who, even though they have a swift and a winder, think nothing beats the artistry of the perfectly hand wound ball even if it takes more time. (*cough* *cough* I don’t know ANYONE like THAT… Oh wait. I do.)
But a hank being wound without being held in tension can get snarled up, especially towards the end; I’ve been known to put two kitchen chairs back to back, drape the hanks over the both of them, and wind from there. I have also been known, if no one’s looking, to stand on one of those chairs while doing so so I don’t have to lean over so far, but don’t tell anyone, except that I’m sure the neighbors have done a what the heck? from their side of the window.
So. Tell me. How is it that having knit all these many many many years it never occurred to me before tonight that the perfect way and length for putting just enough tension to hold a hank of, say, Rios, while sitting comfortably no less–
–is to drape it from the middle of the leg to the underside of my toes while my left leg is crossing my right knee. Need to hold it a little more firmly? Stretch your foot a bit.
It was right there all along.
How did I never see this???