I rooted around in the attic to find this- an umbrella swift. It dates back to weaving and college days. The strings holding it all together are rotting so they needed to be replaced and then I found that 2 of the slats were missing. I went back up to the attic and found one of the slats. By the time the other one shows up, I will be thinking- hmmm, I remember I was looking for this- now what did I need it for.
Anyway, I have resurrected this because I realized I could use it as a way of winding yarn off a cone and making a large number of threads all the same length… i.e. doll hair!

Well, it works well enough even with one slat missing. This is the yarn I bought at Pasa Yarn. I have no idea how much I need but I got tired of winding. Next time I will find a place to set the swift upright.

Here is Miss gourd head, showing off her soon to be hair. After I wound it out, I tied it off and washed it. It had a grimey and oily feel to it. Much better now. I need to make a wig cap and then cut the yarn. Oh yeah… and make the wig.