DIY Bobbin Holder

What this is:

This bobbin holder allows you to easily do colorwork and amigurumi projects without your yarn getting tangled. I first saw one of these while working on my family's stockings. I loved doing that project but I got a little irritated with the amount of untangling I was doing.

A few weeks ago, while at the Estes Park Wool Market, I found a big bin of these great wooden bobbins. So it finally felt like it was time to tackle this project.

My family's stockings — Pattern: Waistcoat Stocking by Carmen Jacob
Colorwork charts by me 🙂

Here's a list of the types of knit and crochet projects this could help with:

Any project that uses a small to moderate amount of yarn
Amigurumi
Fair Isle
Intarasia
Tapestry
C2C
Motifs

I enjoy the tactile aspect of working with yarn. So for me, winding bobbins is so fun! And it always makes me hum a silly song my daughter sings called, "Wind the Bobbin Up". So, get yourself a really pretty yarn, learn the lyrics and get excited!

Difficulty:

I am 100% serious. Full confession, I know next to nothing about woodworking. But look at that thing! Sure doesn't seem that way, right? That's because this is a super simple project. This would be a great first woodworking project. The supplies are cheap and it can be a little crooked and still be fully functional. Mine certainly has some flaws -- but as long as they aren't glaring, most people are not going to notice.

I'd say as long as you've used a drill before, you can do this project.

Supplies:

Drill, ¼" drill bit
Pencil
Ruler
Utility knife
Dowel rods, ¼" QTY 6 -- $2.99 for 12pk
Wooden plaque, 7"x 9" -- $2.99 (My store had a variety of 7"x9" shapes so just go check it out and pick your favorite one)
Wood stain -- $5.98
Wood glue -- $3.20
Wood bobbins, ¼" center hole x 4" length -- $1/ea
- Start with at least four BUT I'd buy as many as you can because then you can store more colors. Your LYS may have these too!

Total cost: $19.16

You may already have some of these items! I only spent $9.98 to make mine 🙂

Step-by-step Instructions:

Measuring

Using your ruler, lightly make a grid (shown in red below) with your pencil.
Working along the top and bottom borders of the center grid, mark each of the spaces indicated. Be sure to keep your ruler straight!
Look it over. Does it look close to even? It doesn't need to be perfect but the markings should appear to be evenly spaced.

Drilling and Cutting

Drill the marked spaces to a depth of about ⅜". Go slow and hold that drill straight up and down. To check to see how far down you are: insert a dowel rod, mark where it's level and measure the depth. Again, do not get discouraged if it's not exactly perfect.
Cut the dowel rods to 5 ¼" length.

Staining and Gluing

Stain: the plaque, the dowel rods, and the bobbins.
- Follow the directions of your preferred stain
- Wait for everything to be thoroughly dried before you proceed
Working one at a time: place a dab of wood glue into a drilled hole, insert the dowel rod, and wipe away excess glue with a clean cloth. Repeat for each space.

Wind those bobbins!

And sit back and admire your awesome new toy! I hope that this has been helpful to you all! As always, comment below if you've got any questions!