Cute Little Filament/Yarn Spool

thingiverse

My wife recently purchased a knitting machine, but she soon discovered that using regular store-bought skeins of yarn was a bit of a hassle. The skeins would flop around, and the yarn would come out knotted up all over the place. I was inspired by Johnmessenger's design (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2863263), which allowed him to use spent filament spools to spool up yarn for his wife. My wife and I tried using my empty spools, but it put too much tension on the yarn, and the knitting machine didn't like that at all. So, I designed a smaller spool that's just the right size for small skeins of yarn. As you can see in the pictures, setting them on the side works perfectly. The yarn whips around the spool with no tension whatsoever. I also placed a small hole in the top section of the spool that makes it easy to slip in the end of the yarn so that it's ready for winding onto the spool. The spool is also perfect for the monthly Makerbox samples that I get in the mail. So, I made a couple of holes in the spool to accommodate the end of both 1.75 and 3mm filament. Just slide one end of the filament into the hole, then wind it onto the spool. When you're done using it, just unscrew the side and release the tension on the filament - it comes off easy and is ready to put back in the bag. Update: The new version has tapered inner holes so that it fits a little better on Johnmessenger's Yarn Spooler. Version 4 of the bottom has an increased 1.75mm hole, by .3mm, to allow for easier installation of filament. I don't have any 3mm filament to test the 3mm hole, so if you find that it could be larger, let me know and I'll adjust the size. Update: I added a shorter bottom section for a thinner spool - it takes less time to print and works nicely for MakerBox samples. If interested in subscribing to Makerbox, here is a link.. https://www.makerbox.me/refer/Wayne-GTJKWHVV