Winding a Bobbin (When You Don't Have a Bobbin Winder)

There are only so many toys and gadgets I can justify buying for my fiber crafts before I start to feel guilty.  Of course I can rationalize any purchase...I need everything I have, right?  Well, as my weaving has grown and become a little more involved, I have enjoyed using boat shuttles over stick shuttles for some projects.  With boat shuttles come bobbins.  With bobbins comes the need to wind them.  Now, if you are using a thick yarn or thread, this is no big deal to do by hand.  However, if you are using a fine yarn or thread, this can be a laborious process by hand.  The need for a bobbin winder starts to grow.  However, I can save the expense of a bobbin winder for another gadget, because if you have a drill or hand-held electric mixer, you have a bobbin winder.  

(I use a drill, so for this post I will detail how to use one as a bobbin winder.  I hope, should you be lacking in the drill department but flush in the hand-held electric mixer department, you will easily be able to translate the idea.)

Materials:
Drill
Double Pointed Knitting Needle (a wooden pencil works, too)
Bobbin
Thread 

1. It is my believe that ever crafter could benefit from keeping some power tools handy.  In my case, a drill has doubled as a bobbin winder with great success.  To convert your drill from a hole-making, screw-driving device to a bobbin winder, you will need to make sure to remove any drill bit that may be in your drill.  This can be done by loosening the front of your drill, which releases the drill bit by opening the little teeth that hold it in place.  
2.  Now replace that drill bit with a double pointed knitting needle.  The largest double point I had handy was a US 10.5.  I simple place one end of the needle into the drill bit, about an inch in, and secure it by tightening the front end of the drill so the little teeth held the needle in place.  You want to make sure it is snug and will stay put when you're winding your bobbin, but don't make it so tight you crack your needle.  A wooden pencil would be a happy alternative here if you do not have a double point handy.  
3.  I did not have the perfect size knitting needle.  My bobbins easily slip on the needle, but they also easily slip around, spin and slip off the needle.  You cannot wind a bobbin if it is moving around.  Easy fix, though!  That is why it is not too important the size of your needle and why swapping the needle for a pencil works.  I simply wedged a piece of thick yarn into the hole of the bobbin to make the bobbin fit snuggly on the needle.  I did this by doubling up on some worsted weight yarn, threading this a little ways into the hole, then wedging the bobbing, yarn and all, onto the needle in the drill.  (Shown in photograph- it's the purple stuff sticking out of the bobbin.)  You could also find a rubber band and wrap it around the needle itself to create a sort of plunger for your bobbin.  I hope you get the idea.  A loose bobbin won't work, you need to secure it so it doesn't spin around freely on the needle. 
4.  You're ready to go!  With one hand, hold the drill (in a way that is comfortable and you are able to press the button).  With your other hand, pull some thread from your skein or spool and wrap it a few times around your bobbin by hand to secure it in place. Slowly start the drill so that you ensure your bobbin is on the needle well and that your thread is behaving properly.  Move your thread hand a little bit away from the drill, but keep a hold of your thread.  You will want to "feed" your thread on to the bobbin.  Once you feel confident everything is as it should be, let loose and put the petal to the metal.  Maintaining a good distance with your thread hand from your bobbin and ensuring even tension, move your thread hand back and forth as you power the drill so that the fiber winds across the whole bobbin.  In a manner of moments, you will have a nice, even-tensioned bobbin.

*Notes:  Your drill battery will run out fairly fast.  Drills are not really intended for high-speed continuous use, I don't think.  To remedy this issue, it is handy to have a second battery for your drill charged and ready to go...just in case.  Also, it does not really matter if you use the drill set to forward or reverse, but whichever direction you choose, you should keep it the same for the whole bobbin.  (Otherwise you will start to unwind your wound bobbin, and that is not at all what we want.)  Lastly, do not use a double pointed needle that is particularly expensive or very special to you, your drill may leave little marks on it.  It will still be functional as a needle, but I would hate for something you care about to be damaged in this process.  Pencils really do work fine.