#spinning wool

[things-from-strings]

❤️🔥🧡🔥💛🔥🧡🔥❤️

[wyndecraeft]

My kid's class is on their Middle Ages history unit right now, so naturally I volunteered to give a short talk and demonstration on medieval spinning and weaving. (In full garb of course...one thing about me, I don't do stuff halfway lol).

If this novelist thing doesn't pan out maybe I can fall back on the equally lucrative career of reenactor lol.

[foragersfleece]

Today’s studio colors turned quietly purple.

I spent part of the afternoon at the blending board working on a new rolag colorway I’m calling Lavender Mist. Soft purples drifting through white wool until the colors felt like fog moving across a field of violets.

The blend is Texel, Rambouillet, BFL, and Merino — airy, springy fiber that drafts slowly and evenly. Exactly the kind of preparation that makes you want to sit down with a wheel and spin without rushing.

Also, a small studio surprise this week:

Raspberry Lemonade disappeared from the shop again.

I’ll be making another batch soon.

For now, the studio is quietly full of purple.

[livingadagio]

Once again it's time for another competition between my little bitty 0.6 oz drop spindle VS my need to spin an entire 1 oz bundle of wool onto it so I only have to ply one single.

WHO WILL WIN THIS TIME?!?

[whatthefibre]

Finished plying some some wool in a 2-ply. I'm fine with the result but still working on consistency. Now it's soaking in the sink

[seasaltconcepts]

New fibre to spin!

When in Rome... (cough, Bath, cough)

I got myself some fibre when I was down south on holiday 😍 We were there when the Bath Spring Fair was on, and I managed to find some hand dyed fibre to spin up! Merino, Natural Flax, Tussah Silk, & Linen - such a gorgeous combo ❤️🙌

Just need to work out what to make with it...

[spindleanddye]

Check out my new (to me) spinning wheel!!

Louet S40 aka The Hatbox wheel.

These wheels are relatively rare and not in production anymore. I so badly wanted one for it's extreme portability and elegent engineering. I actually drove 7 hours to pick this baby up 🫠 worth it though, it was a great price and in perfect condition!!

It's called the hat box because it easily disassembles (by simply removing the flyer, which is very easy) and goes together into the wooden carrying case (pictured above with my hand for scale, and fyi I have small hands lol).

[wanderingjunkdrawer]

Hiya, saw the spindle post you reblogged and figured you'd be a good person to ask. I've got some raw wool I want to process and I've never tried spinning. I want to get a spindle to try it out with, but figuring out what's suitable is tricky.

In particular, I have access to a lathe to be able to make my own, but I cannot use wood on it, only plastics and various metals such as steel or aluminum. I know weight makes a big impact on the result, but I have no experiential knowledge of spinning to be able to go oh, I want it to feel like this spindle, so I'll make it to these dimensions, you know?

So my question is, what kind of spindle would you recommend to a beginner, and what kind of weight variations affect their performance, what's the heaviest, the lightest, and what kind of thread can they make?

I know this will likely have a really complex answer so don't feel like you have to go out of your way to help me if you don't fancy it, but if you have any info at all that would be very helpful. I'll send you pics of the spindle i end up making if you like?

In essence your question is: where do I begin? When I teach hand spinning 101, I recommend a Greensleeves Bare-bones top whorl drop spindle.

Greensleeves has been producer of fine hand spindles for decades & their Bare Bones has always been a very reasonable $15. These are sturdy, mid-weight tools that serve both novice & experienced hand spinners.

That's the short answer. Now -

Spinning

Spindle weight (measured in grams)

Rate of rotation for specific thread size

all depend on the properties of the fiber being spun. There are even variations within one fiber category that need to be accommodated when spinning (since you have a fleece I'll focus primarily on wool). Wool processing, itself, is a bit of an art so you'll want to set that aside as a separate learned skill. Wool characteristics that Spinner's need to consider:

staple length

crimp

grease

fiber preparation type: sliver, roving, rolag, cloud, flicked lock, finger teased in-the-grease lock.

All of these aspects can effect choice of spindle. For example: short staple (length of individual strands) / little crimp (the repeating tension pattern within the wool that looks like a zig-zag or ruffled wave) will need a fast spinning, stable torque from a spindle. The shorter the staple the more delicate the process & the more support the fiber requires in its initial stages of processing. [Supported spindles - like a tahkli - are fast spinning, high tension producing tools that require the bottom point to rest within a guide or bowl.] And - in wool - the longer the staple the heavier the drop spindle to produce the spin needed to twist everything together

Either way - these things are learned skills that require time to develop. In learning to spin you will be teaching your brain & body to work together differently than they have ever work before. That process takes will, repetition, focus, and sleep. Now back to the beginning - where to start?

My recommendation:

1 - Do not make your own spindle (You do that later if you choose.) Buy a Bare Bones to learn on.

2 - Buy a prepared braid of roving. Lord knows, they're everywhere - we can chat about what kind if you like but most online dye-ists have lovely ready-to-spin braids.

3 - learn to use the tool - that Bare Bones is a precision instrument. If you're a research-learner that needs to understand process, then find Abby Franquemont's book

There's also YouTube ofc - but if you have a Craft Guild in your area, having a mentor to get you started is nice.

In short - learn to spin first so that all else may follow. Spinning is like 'learning to ride a bike' - there are many steps in the initial learning as you find balance, but once your brain & body master the skills they are always with you.