[mmpaladino]

I have the type of swifter that screws on the edge of a table or counter and I cannot get it to stay in place. Does anyone have experience with the the ones that sit on a table? Do they stay in place and are they easy to use? Suggestions please.

 

[MMWRay]

I prefer the edge of the table type. Use a different table.

 

[Jessica-Jean]

I prefer the edge of the table type. Use a different table.

or the back of a wooden chair, or a board temporarily held in place by something weighty.

I have and heartily dislike one that sits on the top of a table.

My cheap-looking one has served me well for about forty years.
Looks like this

What I like most about it, is that it can be used vertically. That means I don't need a lot of clear space to use it. (clear horizontal surfaces don't exist in this house)

 

[janallynbob]

I had the same problem with mine, I used a part of a cut up yoga mat, at the top and bottom, it seems to work, but it is a pain, but it works, so I will follow this thread, I'm sure that someone has a better idea than I, however I use an old yoga mat for lots of stuff, gotta laugh,

Janallyn

 

[Jessica-Jean]

SOME tables cannot accept a clamp, or not the puny clamp of the swifts I've seen.
Rounded edge. Wooden 'skirt'. Just too thick.

Since I don't want to damage whatever I'm clamping it to, I always use something between clamp and clamped. Pieces of cardboard from a cereal box work. Now that there are so many soft plastic or silicone items around, pieces from potholders or shelf-liners do the trick.

 

[BirchPoint]

Shelf liner or those silicone or foam things a person uses to help open jars

 

[judyaa]

I drape the skein over the office chair and turn as I roll up the yarn. Slow, but it works for me.

 

[GrumpyGramma]

I have an umbrella swift from Knit Picks. I mostly use it on a TV tray type of table made of wood; the top is probably an inch thick. The clamp needs to be pushed as far as it will go before tightening the screw. If your table top is too thin it might not clamp down tight enough. I think mine wouldn't work my counter because the overhang isn't deep enough. I'd try the cardboard or grippy silicone things fix before buying a new one.

 

[gardenpoet]

I use pieces of that spongy shelf liner to protect top and bottom of my table. Same stuff I use on the bottoms of felted slippers.

 

[altogirl]

I love my Amish swift. I put it on the footstool in front of my rocking chair. Works like a charm. I don't use a ball winder, I prefer to wind by hand. It's relaxing to me.

https://www.amazon.com/Stanwood-Needlecraft-Tabletop-Wooden-2-5-6-Feet/dp/B0067MMCD8.

 

[ckmc]

I have the one that sits on the table top and it works great. I've had zero problems with it. I have no where in my house to use or store an umbrella swift. My Amish swift easily comes apart and stores in a relatively small space.

 

[Jessica-Jean]

I have the one that sits on the table top and it works great. I've had zero problems with it. I have no where in my house to use or store an umbrella swift. My Amish swift easily comes apart and stores in a relatively small space.

Umm ... It's called 'umbrella' for a reason. I can't speak about the all wood ones, but my wires and plastic strips one fits in a 2" diameter mailing tube about 18" long.
It takes so little space, I'm forced to keep it out in plain view, or risk it disappearing. It had been 'missing ' for a couple of years, after a major mix-up of my wool room for replacement of old, galvanized steel plumbing. Now, it's ALWAYS in view and easily reached ... by me.

 

[flpat]

I have that same swift. I bought it recently because I was watching a video by Pink and she was telling what she liked about hers. Since I was in the market, I went right away and ordered it. Think it ran under $15. I love it and it never wobbles. The instructions were very clear as to the size table it needed, luckily my craft table in the sunroom was perfect. I have it mounted and my ball winder and am always ready to go. It umbrella folds up out of my way when I don't need it but is still mounted. One of the things she especially liked was that it had a little handle on the top for when you need to wind from a ball to a skein...I never thought I would use that part, but when I had to frog my shawl it sure came in handy.

 

[Jessica-Jean]

I have that same swift. I bought it recently because I was watching a video by Pink and she was telling what she liked about hers. Since I was in the market, I went right away and ordered it. Think it ran under $15. I love it and it never wobbles. The instructions were very clear as to the size table it needed, luckily my craft table in the sunroom was perfect. I have it mounted and my ball winder and am always ready to go. It umbrella folds up out of my way when I don't need it but is still mounted. One of the things she especially liked was that it had a little handle on the top for when you need to wind from a ball to a skein...I never thought I would use that part, but when I had to frog my shawl it sure came in handy.

I haven't used that little handle ... yet. The day may come.

 

[KateLyn11]

My big wood umbrella swift lives in an old yoga mat carrying case. It can sit on a shelf or get hung in a closet when not in use, so size being an issue for storage has always left me puzzled. If I need only short storage it can hang on a dining room chair for a few days.

 

[Jessica-Jean]

My big wood umbrella swift lives in an old yoga mat carrying case. It can sit on a shelf or get hung in a closet when not in use, so size being an issue for storage has always left me puzzled. If I need only short storage it can hang on a dining room chair for a few days.

There are a few chairs around my dining room table ... somewhere beneath the many items that have accumulated with the phrase 'for the moment' said when placed. Only one chair isn't so festooned, my darling's. Only two things reside upon it - one of his terry bathrobes and a sweater he puts on when chilled.
Good thing we don't have visitors!

 

[jemima]

We are lucky in the UK our yarn is already wound I have not seen hanks of yarn in shops for ages.Trouble is at the moment all yarn shops are closed.

 

[yarnfrog]

I too have an amish swift and love it. I've never had any problems.

 

[mousepotato]

Find yourself a small piece of shelf liner and put on top of the place you want to clamp your swift. Clamp the swift down over the shelf liner.

 

[kbsalazar]

I've yet to see a tabletop one that didn't tip over. I know the clamp types are all not the same. My cheapo imported one - plastic slats/umbrella construction - has worked well enough for decades. It's clamp though is not wide enough for every tabletop or counter. Tables have to have square edges, not majorly rounded or undercut, and have to be thin enough for its jaws. I also pad the spot where I attach it with a scrap of a spongy plastic no-skid protective shelf liner (which I also used to put under the toddler to keep her from sliding off her high chair). That keeps it from moving around. I've also found that some wooden or heavy plastic chair seats can be better (thinner) platforms for support than some tables, and when I travel with my swift to teach classes - I use those instead.

By contrast to my el-cheapo aluminum swift, I have a pal who splurged on a high-end wooden one. She can't make hers stay upright for love, nor money. The wooden screw that tensions and closes the jaws doesn't have the "oomph" to tighten the thing enough for practical use.

Hope this helps, -k.