How to make your own Everlasting Gobstopper Yarn Ball!

Hi, Knitters,

The other day I posted this photo to Instagram and Facebook sharing the hand wound 50 gram balls I made from the skein of Quaere Fibre self-striping sock yarn in the Patchwork colorway. I have done this winding technique with lots of other striping sock yarn skeins. I think they always look like candy in the end, kind of like the Willy Wonka Everlasting Gobstoppers. The Patchwork versions are especially eye-catching due to the beauty and colors of the yarn.

Click here to visit the Quaere Fibre Etsy shop!

I had quite a few people ask if I would share how I wound the balls this way. Of course I will!

Here is my wordless video on winding. I will write out the simple steps below the video.

Click here to see the video on YouTube!

How to create an Everlasting Gobstopper yarn ball:

Note: The yarn in the video is Vesper Sock Yarn in the Rainbow Love colorway.

1.  I usually just drape the yarn over the back of a chair for winding but you could wind it on a ball winder first or place it on your swift to start. For video purposes today I pre-wound the ball on the ball winder so I could keep my range of motion small. I don't usually take this extra step.

2.  Wrap the end and yarn around several fingers until you have a good amount. Remove the yarn and make a sort of figure eight with it and fold it in half to make the start of your ball.

3. Begin wrapping the yarn around this tiny ball in all directions until it is about the size of a walnut or quarter.

4. Now start paying attention to the spot where the color changes in the yarn. Each time the yarn changes stop winding at that spot.

5. *Place your thumb on the color change spot and turn the ball to start winding in a different direction. Wind each stripe of color in the same direction/spot until you reach the next color. Then repeat from *

Keep working in this way until all of the yarn is wound! If you want two 50g balls for socks you'll have to weigh as you go. Also, make sure you wind the yarn in different directions, side to side, up and down, and diagonally. This will help the ball end up more even.

Here is the finished result!! I wound the 100g skein in one ball this time.

The yarn is Vesper from KnitterlyThings, one of my longtime favorites.

Click here for the Knitterly Things shop!

Enjoy!

I'd love to see your Everlasting Gobstoppers if you make some.

best, susie
p.s. #everlastinggobstopper    maybe? let me know. i'm in if you are.