Using a drop spindle. Creating your own drop spindle is simple and easy. When you’ve mastered the spindle, you’ll have mastered all the different steps for spinning (drawing out the fibers, twisting the fibers into yarn, and winding up and storing spun yarn). The best drop spindle to begin with is the top whorl drop spindle with a hook at the top. This one is sturdy enough to be dropped on the floor as you’re getting accustomed to spinning. The spinning wheel is more difficult to master than the drop spindle, because it requires pedals to work the speed of the wheel and has more parts than a drop spindle. However, once you’ve gotten the hang of spinning on a wheel, you can spin more quickly than with a drop spindle. A spinning wheel works by rotating the bobbin using the drive band. While you treadle, the wheel turns and the flyer and the bobbin rotate. You twist the fibers in your hand and these are wound around the bobbin. You have to change the speed of bobbin in order to get the yarn on the bobbin automatically. Different types of spinning wheels can facilitate the wrapping of the yarn around the bobbin in different ways.
Roving is a continuous rope of fibers that have already been carded and are ready to spin. Carding is when you prepare cleaned but unprocessed wool by hand carding or with a drum carder. A drum carder is a mechanical device, either hand cranked or electric, that cards fibers for spinning. The device you use to hand card is typically a large paddle set with 1⁄4 inch (0. 6 cm) curved metal tines. A niddy-noddy is a double-headed tool used in skeining spun yarn. Skeining basically means to wind the thread off the spindle. A skein is a length of yarn or thread that has been loosely coiled and knotted. When you’re spinning you’re looking to create skeins of thread.
The flywheel is the piece that rotates when you treadle, which causes the rest of the pieces to move. Not all wheels look the same (or look like the typical “fairytale” wheel), but all spinning wheels have some type of wheel. The drive band wraps around the flywheel and the flyer whorl (which is the pulley attached to the flyer and driven by the drive band. There are different sized grooves on the flyer whorl that determine how fast the wheel will spin) and the flyer (a U-shaped piece of wood that has hooks lining up one or both arms; these hooks store the yarn on the bobbin). The drive band rotates the flyer which puts the twist into the fiber. The tension knob adjusts the tension of the drive band by lowering and raising the mother-of-all (which is the bar that mounts the flyer, bobbin, and tension knob). The bobbin is what operates on the spindle along with the flyer, storing the yarn. It can operate with or separately from the drive band. The orifice is the opening at the end of the spindle where the yarn goes through and connects to the flyer’s hooks. The treadle is the pedal that operates the wheel and is used by your feet. This determines the speed of the spinning wheel.
The Saxony is the typical fairy tale type of wheel with wheel on one end, flyer on the other, sloping frame, and typically three legs. This spinning wheel tends to be more expensive. Castle wheels have the flyer positioned above the wheel. They normally have three to four legs, but tend to be more compact than the other types of wheels. They are good for someone who has less working space. In terms of more traditional wheels, this one is the cheapest. Norwegian wheels are similar to the Saxony. They typically have three to four legs, a large wheel, and are usually quite ornate. They are also typically within the same price range as the Saxony Modern wheels can often have an odd appearance as they are typically hybrids of other types of spinning wheels. They often have better engineering than the other kinds and some can even fold up! As for price, it depends on the wheel, but they typically run less than the previous wheels. Electric spinners are nice because you don’t have to worry about the treadle or the wheel (they don’t have them). They can be placed on a table and used manually and are easy to carry and store. These also tend to run more cheaply than the typical, full length spinning wheel. Spindle wheels don’t have a flyer and bobbin. Instead, a pointed spike both twists and accumulates the spun yarn. These are also less expensive than the typical spinning wheels.
The speed of your wheel (what “gear” the treadle is in, essentially) determines how quickly the twist develops in your yarn. Fine fibers like Merino wool and angora or short fibers like cotton require faster speeds. More coarse fibers like Romney or Border Leicester need a slower speed. It’s best to find a spinning wheel that has a range of speeds so that it can be more versatile. On single drive wheels the drive band goes around the wheel one time. Then it goes around the drive pulley on the flyer or the bobbin. Double drive wheels also use one drive band but it goes around the wheel twice. The single drive is easier for beginners to use, because it has a separate break system. When you have to change the speed of the bobbin it’s easier to do on the single drive wheel (because it breaks). On the double drive wheel, you actually have to speed up. Bobbin capacity depends on the manufacturer. There are no one-size-fits-all bobbins. The best way to compare bobbin capacity is to calculate the volume of the bobbin available to wind on the yarn. Many manufacturers have a selection of different bobbin sizes.
Think about what you’re planning to do with the finished yarn. Are you making socks? Weaving? Knitting? Making outerwear? Different kinds of fleece have different softness levels, which you’ll need to look into when you’re choosing the fleece to spin with. Watch for certain faults in the fleece that will inhibit your spinning. Avoid buying fleece with a break in it. If you give a lock of fleece a sharp tug and it breaks (typically in the middle), this will cause pilling in the roving and make for weak yarn. Fleece that has vegetable matter in it makes for difficult carding and cleaning (if you like combing the fleece and have the time, you can get this, but otherwise it’s best not to). Check that the crimp of your fleece is even. Spread out the fleece and check at least three different areas (haunch, shoulder, mid-side, for example). You want to make sure that one area isn’t coarser and hairier than another area. Wheel-to-flyer ratio determines what type of yarn can be spun. A wheel that has a ratio for medium or bulky yarns will be used for spinning wool, so the size of your yarn will depend on your wheel.
Use a large bathtub or basin. You can divide into sections to make it easier to wash it well, and so that you don’t crowd the fleece. Some handspinners like to leave the grease in (called “spinning in the grease”) and wait to clean the fiber when setting the twist into the yarn. However, leaving in the grease can make it difficult to dye and can ruin the carding cloth on a drum carder.
Don’t completely strip the oils out of the fleece. Removing too much of the natural oils can make it as difficult to spin (which is why some handspinners spin with the oils and wash later). You also want to make sure that you aren’t using so much detergent that you have to wash the fleece ten times to get all the suds out. Washing too much and too vigorously can turn the fleece into felt, which you want to avoid.
Do not allow running water to run directly on the fleece.
Soak the fleece in hot water with about one-half cup of white vinegar for 30 minutes, for the last rinse. Mohair, merino, rambouillet, and other finer wools tend to need multiple washes.
If you’re using carding paddles (which are a good, easy way to go), take a piece of the clean, dry fleece and drape pieces of it it one direction. With the other paddle, you’ll gently swipe across the fibers, aligning them in the same direction. When the fleece is fluffy and aligned, put the piece aside. No matter what type of carding you’re doing, the same basic principle is the same. You are trying to align the fibers one way, whether you’re doing it with a metal dog comb, with paddles, or with a drum card. One of things people tend to do wrong is over-card their fleece. Your goal is to make the fleece look presentable, fluffy, and aligned. You don’t need to beat the fibers into submission. Make sure that the wool is completely dry. Fleece is amazing in its ability to retain water, and wet fleece isn’t going to card properly.
A one-foot long wooden dowel. Although size isn’t that important, a recommended diameter size is 3/8 of an inch. This will act as the main shaft for the spindle. A hook, or wire that can be bent into a hook. You’ll make sure to hook your yarn through here. Two heavy CDs to act as the whorl. Rubber grommets that match the diameter of your dowel. You can get these at any farm store or auto part store. So if the diameter of your dowel is 3/8 of an inch, the inside hole (bore diameter) should be 3/8 of an inch, the panel hole should be 5/8 of an inch to match the hole in the CDs, and the outside diameter should be about 7/8 of an inch. Get a serrated knife, or small saw and scissors to cut the dowel.
Repeat this process in the same direction until the leader begins to take in the twist. You’ll leave a fluff of fiber at the end so you can join on more fiber. It’s a good idea to practice making the spindle rotate, so that you get a feel for the direction you’ll be spinning the drop spindle to make the yarn.
This is called a single. You’ll want to leave enough yarn unwound so that you can slip it back on the book with a couple of inches to spare. If you find that the yarn is pulling apart or too slack, spin your spindle again to store more of the twist.
To test the join, give the spindle another twist and bring your right hand back to where the left hand holds the yarn. Move your left hand back about three inches, as you pull and draft out more fibers of wool and allow the spindle to turn a few times. Release the yarn with your right hand and left the twist move up into the fibers as you did previously. Now, gently pull more fibers from the fiber mass by pulling back with your left hand, and allowing the twist to run into the drafted fibers.
If your fiber is in a long, continuous narrow strip, this is the form of fiber processing called roving. If it’s in a wide, rolled-up bundle that unrolls into a wide rectangle, that is the form of fiber processing called a batt. Pick a strip about 12 inches (30. 5 cm) long and approximately thickness of your thumb (this doesn’t have to be exact). Hold the strip of fiber in one hand (doesn’t matter which). Pull a few fibers from one end of your strip with your other hand. Drafting things the fiber down the the desired thickness for your spun yarn. The spinning process will twist the fibers, which also thin them down. As you get better at drafting and spinning, you’ll find it easier to judge the size of your drafts.
Pull the leader through the orifice on your spinning wheel. Once you do this you’re ready to begin the actual spinning! If you’re just starting to spin, it’s a good idea to practice spinning just with the leader so you get a feel for how the spinning wheel works, how to start spinning the wheel just with the treadles.
Make sure you let the wheel take up the fiber as you draft more fiber.
Make sure that your drafting hand is between the fiber hand and orifice of your spinning wheel. You don’t, however, have to keep your hands close to the orifice as you spin. Always make sure to spin the wheel in a clockwise manner.
Take care that you don’t allow the twist to travel to the fiber in your fiber hand. Your non-dominant hand should be closest to the wheel and the dominant hand closer to you.
This is when you might use the implement known as the “niddy-noddy. " Wrap the yarn from the bobbin onto the niddy. This will create a large loop in a small amount of space, which you’ll then tie in sections and remove by sliding it off one shoulder of the niddy.
This can also happen because the bobbin is too full, which causes the yarn to spill over the edges of the bobbin and tangle around the shaft. Empty the bobbin as you would normally and start fresh.
Try using a piece of tape to see if you can pull up the loose end. This solution works about half the time. Otherwise, pick the most likely end and pull enough yarn for a new leader so you can start again.
Spindle gets away from you. If your spindle gets away from you and the twists runs up into the fiber mass, stop your spindle and untwist your fiber mass. Then, start the drafting again. This is a very common occurrence for beginners. If you have thick and thin spots in your yarn (known as slubs), you can do something like keep them and have a novelty yarn (good for knitting scarves). Otherwise you can remove the slubs by pinching the yarn with your hands on either side of the slub and untwisting until the fibers draft out a little. Over-twisted yarn is a common beginner’s problem. You can tell your yarn is over-twisted if you have a thick strand that feels very hard and dense. The strand can kink back on itself when you relax your tension. To fix this, loosen some of the extra twist by drafting out more fibers.
