Probably the most complicated part of winding a ball of yarn using a yarn swift is figuring out exactly how to place the yarn on the swift. First, you'll need to unwrap the skein from the wound position you purchased it in and untie any places where the skein was tied together.
Make sure that both ends of the yarn are free from the skein and there are no twists in the skein before you begin.
Raise the knob-like part of the swift that's at the bottom of the pole and the arms will spread out like an umbrella (thus the common name for these devices -- the umbrella swift). Slide the yarn onto the swift and then adjust as needed.
The arms need to be spread out enough so that they will hold the yarn skein in place when the yarn is placed on the middle part of the arms, what you might envision as the middle of the V formed by the arms.
Once you have the arms in a good position for the particular skein you're winding, use the bolt on the knob to hold the swift in place.
