I can't begin to tell you how much I love this ball winder - winding has become one of my favorite parts of knitting! Unlike smaller winders, the action is smooth, steady, and simply entrancing to watch. Thread your yarn through the tensioner (similar to a sewing machine), then through either of the arms. Secure it to the cone, wind one or two rounds to get started. Then, you're off! If you plan to strand two yarns together and have a second swift, you can ply them into one ball by threading each through a separate arm. On smaller ball winders I have actually had to wind the large Fleece Artist skeins into two or three separate balls - at some point, the ball would literally jump off the cone. On the Jumbo Ball Winder, this is never a problem - in fact, you could wind a single ball twice as large as their 250g skeins! Anyway, I love this ball winder - you will, too.