Suture dispensers for retaining armed sutures are disclosed. The dispenser disclosed is comprised of two flat panels of material that each have a central opening. A needle park is provided so that the needle is visible in and accessible though the central openings. In preferred embodiments, the needle park is made of a thin sheet of clear material. Several alternate needle park designs are also disclosed. The two panels are preferably locked together using edge locks in the form of corresponding slits and tabs formed on the panels themselves. In addition to being inexpensive, easy to manufacture and easy to fill, the disclosed dispensers is much thinner than current designs and thus requires less storage and shipping space. Methods of loading dispensers are also disclosed. By winding the suture material in a flat spiral around a set of winding pins, the disclosed dispensers can be easily and accurately filled, yet the resulting coiled suture can be withdrawn via the central openings without twisting or kinking the suture material. In certain embodiments pressure on the central portion of the panels permits winding a spiral without the need for a central winding core. In other embodiments, pins are used to both align the panels and provide a winding guide for the suture material. a suture winding apparatus is also disclosed. The winding apparatus has upper and lower plates and a base member. A pair of opposed arcuate members extends downwardly from the lower plate.