My Electric Yarn Ball Winder Guide – Best Available & Which To Avoid

A yarn baller machine is usually hand operated. What if you don’t enjoy winding yarn by hand or it makes your hands sore? Try and electric yarn winder. They do all the hard work for you and in much less time!

My Quick Recommendations

• My Top Pick – Ashford Electric Ball Winder

Editor’s note: Unfortunately there is a serious lack of choice as some electric winders are not available. The good news is that my top pick above is in stock! There is also a brand new maple wood Diva Power Jumbo version available that I’ve just updated my readers about below.

Having an electric yarn ball winder is a tool that solves the problem of yarn tangles and is such a time saver. An electric yarn winder and swift revolutionizes your crocheting life. Here are the best ones on the market and the ones to avoid.

I reviewed, fact checked and updated this post on Aug 7, 2024.

Table Of Contents

• Best Electric Yarn Winder
• Ashford Electric Ball Winder
• Diva Power Winder – Jumbo Design
• Hague Electric Yarn Winder
• Q&A

What Is The Best Electric Yarn Winder?

By far the Ashford Electric Ball Winder is the best electric yarn ball winder for sale. It’s smooth, made of quality materials, and sturdy. To make your life easier, here are some great yarn winders. Read on for more information, and the rest of my reviews of the best brands.

Ashford Electric Ball Winder

These are lovely ball winders! Makes a great choice for any craft room. Wind those pesky skeins and hanks into neat cakes. (A way yarn is stored, it’s a cylinder with flat sides on the bottom and top.) It’s best to use a yarn swift with your yarn placed on it. This allows for smooth winding from the swift to the Ashford electronic yarn winder. Here are more details.

Pros

• Easy set up on any work surface
• Capacity – Can wind up to (17½ozs) 500gm of wool yarn or any balls of fiber
• Wind balls both clockwise and anti-clockwise
• Soft start allows you to control the yarn as it winds onto the cone
• Instant stop when you need it
• Includes a foot switch for better control of your yarn
• Mounted on rubber feet, one clamp included
• 12v mains power cord included
• Manufactured from beautiful native New Zealand Silver Beech hardwood with a lacquered finish
• Sturdy yarn guide and other components
• Great customer ratings
• Some great crocheting technologies
• Sturdy table clamp fixes to any table edge
• Reasonable shipping to the United States

Cons

• Expensive
• Sometimes unavailable or out of stock
• Can’t take it outside if there’s no electricity

Overall, this sturdy, powered compact yarn winder is a worthwhile purchase if you do serious winding. You can choose an option for a 12volt car cord. There is also a manual yarn winder manufactured by this company. Want to see an unboxing of this motorized wooden yarn winder? Skip to the 8.30 timestamp of this great video.

Diva Power Yarn Ball Winder – Jumbo Design

The Fiber Artist Supply Co range offers solidly built and top quality tools. This model replaces the previous motorized version of the Maple Jumbo Ball Winder.

Th runs off of 110-240v wall power. The capacity of yarn it can handle is up to a pound of fingering weight yarn and 12 oz of medium weight yarn.

Pros

• Large yarn capacity (one of the largest on the market)
• If you have problems with your order, customer service helps
• These options sit on a tabletop
• Smooth operation with minimum sound
• Has rubber feet on the bottom to hold it in place
• Arrives in a box fully assembled with easy to understand instructions

Cons

• Can’t adjust the direction
• Only ships to the US and you’ll need to wait for delivery up to 6 weeks from placing your order

Standard Maple Electric Wool Winder

Editor’s note: This was an excellent option but it’s been discontinued. The new Diva model replaces this version.

Replacement parts like a spool are available for these ball winders.

These ball winders had a simple plug & play operation and run off of 100-240v wall power. This winder could handle most commercially available skeins. Speed was adjustable. The direction is not. The small, brushed DC motor on these ball winders gives great results.

The power supply/speed control was a separate unit containing a speed control knob. Also LED readout with a number correlated with the electric wool winder’s speed. The speed control is a separate unit allowing the user to position the speed control anywhere comfortable.

The Simplicity Boye

If you’ve done any searching, you would’ve come across a model made by Boye – The Simplicity Boye Electric Yarn Winder. Boye is a well-known knitting and crochet tools and notions company. Suits nearly any work surface. It winded any yarn hank into neat center pull cakes.

What’s Included?

• 85% Plastic / 15% Steel
• Uses 120v a/c power

Buying a new one of these models is highly unlikely, as it doesn’t seem readily available. You’re more likely to find a second-hand model. However, I don’t think you should bother. 

Although it sped up winding yarn cakes by hand, it needed to be constantly monitored. Many customers found the motor wasn’t powerful enough and sometimes stopped working altogether. The Boye electric yarn ball winder price varies depending on where you buy.

How To Use The Boye Electric Yarn Ball Winder

Here’s a great review and demonstration by Good Knit Kisses.

Hague Knitting PDB 250G Electric Bobbin Winder

The PDB 250g winder- electric will wind up to 250 gm/about 9 oz of yarn cakes, depending on the type of yarn used. No more sore arm muscles!

This automatic yarn winding machine works with nearly any weight yarn. These yarn winders by Hague knitting are perfect for speedily organizing scrap yarn. A great feature is a spare bobbin is also supplied to wind yarn. There’s no auto switch off on this motorized yarn winder.

Switch the yarn winder off once the bobbin is full. These types of yarn winders have an even flow when winding a yarn cake. A UK-based company but this electric skein winder ships internationally. The winder will be the correct voltage for the country it’s being sent to.

However, you may have to fit a suitable plug for these items in some countries. If you have trouble using the bobbin winder product, contact their customer service with your email address. Certainly makes your shopping experience easier!

Cone Yarn Winder – Winding Machine For Cones

Hand knitters can work from cones. It is more common for machine knitters for their projects.

A cone yarn winder provides consistent, even wraps to ensure the perfect ball of yarn. As it winds outward and increases in height, you can expect each wrap to sit side-by-side without overlapping onto any previous sections. Achieve perfection every time with this nifty tool!

Here’s an example of a cone yarn winder from EEW Cone Winder

This is currently in production. Here’s another heavy duty version by Sunny Choi of HongKongKnitBox. If you are a serious user of cones, this is a good option. An investment to be sure and you’d need a good amount of room to set it up.

FAQs About Electric Yarn Winders

How Do You Make An Electric Ball Winder?

For a more complicated, efficient setup, try this one by Mr. Innovative.

For a simpler approach, have a go at this one by Boston Woolworks.

Where To Buy An Electric Yarn Ball Winder?

Your best bet is Etsy or Amazon. Some people sell them secondhand, and you sometimes find them in craft stores. They’re difficult to track, as a business or brand that makes them is rare.

Conclusion

I’m yet to find an electric yarn winder supplier to suit someone on a budget. That was why the Boye Electric Yarn Winder was popular. I’ll update my post if I find something economical but works well. Have an electric yarn ball winder you recommend? Get in touch here or tell me in the comments.

(Note: I’ve never come across an electric yarn swift. Nor does Knit Picks sell electric yarn winders, only hand-operated ones.)

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