A Swift in the Making

What is a swift? A swift is a tool used to hold a skein of yarn while it is being wound off. It has an adjustable diameter so that it can hold skeins of many sizes, and rotates around a central rod. They are generally made out of wood or metal, however other materials may also be used. In the 18th and 19th centuries, swifts were sometimes made of whale ivory and they are now sought-after antiques. Swifts are not used very much in the textile industry, but are used more by knitters and crocheters who buy their yarn in skein form. The swift allows for easy balling, without the yarn getting tangled and knotted.

*

I will tell you, that I, like anyone else, enjoy sponsoring people and their businesses. I have seen swifts made out of plastic, cheap wood and you tell me you tell me you want $50 or $70 or even $80 for something as simple as a swift? I know I can make it by myself and maybe on my own. Before I started my head spinning I decided to google this and I found my response to making my Own Swift HERE . This guy's swift idea is great, I went for version 2 with some enhancements of my own. I could not find my chisel so in way for me to get this edged in the wood I used my saw and a screw driver.

This is the end result, I was very happy because I was able to make these indentations in the wood, because this is were these arms cross to make an X, you will see in another post.

Sand before staining the wood, once the wood is dry and before you varnish you sand the project lightly again.

Then you varnish once, after it is dry, you can lightly sand the project once more, then you varnish second time. You may or may not do it a third time. I chose a satin finish, it looks very nice. If I was going to make this again, I would pick a Stain and Polyurethane mix, or I would pick the Gel Stain which has the polyurethane in it as well. , thus avoiding one step. You could stain and varnish in one step , I would recommend it very much so, less mess and faster results.

As you can see Crafty Andy has been busy making himself a swift. There will be some pictures and maybe some video later on. Thanks for stopping by.