HOW TO...use a nostepinne

I'm a big fan of nostepinnes, I like them for their simplicity and portability, and since all my yarn comes in skeins i thought it might be nice to do a tutorial about how to go from a skein to a ball of yarn using one. so with a little sunshine and a helping hand to take some of the pictures, here you have it, my first ever tutorial.

all you need is a skein of yarn and a nostepinne (though anything from a loo roll tube to wooden spoon handle works just fine)

open up the skein and place it over something like a chair or your knees, though if you can find a willing victim  volunteer to hold it open they work best.

untie both the ends so the skein so it will reel off freely.

wrap one end of the yarn around the nostepinne about half way along (if your right handed its easiest to do this from right to left). I tend to wrap the yarn over itself as it stops it from slipping off when your not holding it.

wind the yarn around the nostepinne until its covered about an inch...

then begin to wrap over that yarn, from the bottom right up to the top left turning the nostepinne slightly as you go so each new wrap sits next to the one before.

continue to do this until you run out of yarn, then tuck the last few inches under one of the previous wraps to prevent the ball from unwinding.

wriggle the nostepinne out from the ball, and there you go, one nice, tidy ball of yarn ready to knit.

Happy knitting everyone!!!