Now pinch all of this
together between your fingers. Hold the spindle upright, and while
allowing the spindle to hang freely from the leader, give it a spin
CLOCKWISE!!! Be sure and continue pinching the join area, it will only
take a bit of pressure. ALWAYS clockwise, if you accidentally spin it the
other way, then the twist will be removed and the fibers will separated
and fall apart. So be sure and always spin the spindle clockwise.
Let the spindle spin for
a few seconds, then stop it and hold it firmly between your knees. This
is called parking. Once it is firmly between your knees, grasp the
roving with your spinning hand, and hold it firmly, being careful to not
pull the fibers apart.
Pull very slowly, and
you will feel the fiber begin to separate a little and slide apart. This
is called drafting, and by this action you will decide how thick or thin
your yarn will be. For now it will be thick in places and thin in others,
don't worry about this.
Once you have drafted
the fiber just a little, hold the fiber up, and relax your pinching
fingers just a little and then slide them up, you will see the twist
follow them up the yarn.
The roving has begun to
spin around the leader in this photo. To review, I grasp the join between
my pointer finger and thumb. I give the spindle a little spin, then I park
the spindle between my legs. Now I can draft the roving just a little,
and then relax my pinch and slide my fingers up the fiber and the twist
follows.
You will need to wrap
your roving around your arm, or hold it away from the leader, or it will
get sucked up and spun into the new yarn. So again,
whatever feels comfortable to you is what will be best.
If we look at the
previous picture again, we see where the brown leader and white roving
combined to make a barber pole section, this is where I made the join. It
is easy to see how the fibers spun together to make yarn, and it is also
easy to see that this is a Z twist yarn because twist on the light and
dark bands go in the same direction as the middle of the Z.
Keep spinning the
spindle, then park it between your knees, and continue to spin yarn. When
the length gets too long, unwind the top of the spindle and rewind the new
length of yarn onto the bottom of the spindle.
Once you have a whole
spindle full, you can ply the yarn, or wind it on a niddy noddy and set
the twist. Once the yarn is on a skein you can give it a dunk in some
warm water, being careful not to agitate the water. Gently remove the
yarn and squeeze out the excess water. Hang to dry and then it will be
ready to use.
Congratulations on your
new hobby! You will need to do more research to learn more about
spinning, and also to find supplies. Here are a few places to learn more,
and purchase what you will need.
http://www.spindleandwheel.com
- Tutorials and lots of information about spinning and fiber arts, also
carries spinning supplies, grommets, ready made spindles and several fiber
choices.
http://www.helloyarn.com
- She carries a wonderful selection and the prices are very good. Spindle
kits and great fibers for beginners!
http://www.freewebs.com/yarnoratale/index.htm
- She carries wonderful fibers and products, and also good service.
http://www.thejoyofspinning.com
- a great site with videos and tutorials explaining many spinning
techniques, also some great products for sale.
http://www.interweave.com/
- A listing of all the known spinning guilds, calling one of these should
get you going in the right direction.
http://www.etsy.com - a
wonderful place to buy hand-dyed fibers, spindles and other supplies.
Check the ratings and keep communication open and your experience should
be great!
http://www.ebay.com -
there are some great buys here, but also some people selling fleeces that
don't spin. If you buy a fleece, ask the person if they are a spinner -
that will help you insure a quality product. Often a breeder will sell
wool that is cotted or matted, not knowing that it is unusable. Once you
are more experienced then you will know what to look for and ask to insure
a quality fleece.
A few helpful hints on
shopping for spinning fibers - look for the following set of terms:
Staple length - pull one
or two fibers out, the length of these is your staple length, it should be
about 4 inches for best results for a beginner.
Vegetable Matter/hay -
some is expected, but if it looks like there is a lot or excessive, then
pass it up!
Tightly crimped or very
crimpy - avoid these at first, as they are a little harder to spin.
Top - this is a word to
describe the processing, it is fine for beginners and experts alike, the
fibers are aligned almost parallel.
Roving - carded fibers
that are combined into long skinny rope like masses of fibery goodness, a
great first fiber.
Batts - these are usually
processed on a drum carder and are usually thin sheets of carded fibers.
To use them, just peel off a small section and go...
Happy Spinning!
