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Getting Started with Spinning

continued from page 4

by Allena Jackson

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/spin/resources/spinning_guilds/default.asp  - 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!

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