Thumb Yarn Winder - how to wind mini yarn balls

Small-size crochet projects leave me with small quantities of yarn that I like to wind into mini yarn balls. 

Now, I filmed a video how to do it, but sadly blogger doesn't let me post it here because it is too large, so I'll try explaining how to do this the best I can. 

 

I am right-handed so I hold the yarn with my left hand and wind it with the right.

 

1) Take the tail of the yarn and hold it firmly with your thumb and index finger.

2) Turn /wind yarn around the bottom of your thumb nail several times to make the base. 

3-4) Next wind it sideways several times (from the right up, to the left down), and then change direction (from down right to left up). If you have enough yarn left, repeat this several times. It will start to look like a mini yarn cake. Do not let go of the tail while you are winding it on.

 

5) When you have a fair amount of it wound on, carefully remove it from your thumb. 

6) Insert thumb into the hole, and wind yarn over your thumb, but rotate / roll ball with each turn. Do this until there is no yarn left. Take thumb out and push the other tail in the hole.

 

7) When it is done, just pull the other (bottom) tail a bit so that it is ready for work.  That bottom tail gets out easily, so you won't have any problems starting a new project with these minis. 

 

 

These mini yarn balls are difficult to store, so here I have shared some ideas how to store them. 

 

Wishing you a happy weekend!