Swift (Textiles)

A swift is a tool used to hold a hank of yarn steady while it is wound off into a ball or onto another spool, uncoiling the loosely twisted hank into a form usable for knitting or crochet. Its arms open to an adjustable diameter so it can hold hanks of different sizes, and the whole frame rotates around a central rod as the yarn is drawn off, letting the hank unwind smoothly without tangling or knotting. Developed in the United States and generally made of wood or metal, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries swifts were sometimes carved from whale ivory and surviving examples from that period are now sought after as antiques. Swifts see little use in industrial textile production today, where yarn does not usually arrive in hank form, but remain a common accessory among hand knitters and crocheters who buy yarn as hanks.