It’s been great to see so many people discover the joy of spinning yarn on a drop spindle. A lot of questions come up along the way, including ones on how to deal with problems that come up. Here are some issues that new spinners run into as they work with the top-whorl drop spindle,… Continue reading Drop spindle troubleshooting
Category: Spinning
Spinning tutorials
What’s the best fiber for beginning spinners?
With so many wonderful fibers available to handspinners now, a frequent question I get is: what wool or fiber is best for a beginner? As a new spinner, your first goal is to spin a consistent single; that is, a single with few variations in diameter and the amount of twist throughout its length. To… Continue reading What’s the best fiber for beginning spinners?
Drop spindle #4: Making a skein and setting the twist
This is video #4 in a series of four videos on how to spin with a drop spindle. In this video, I show you how to make a skein with your plied yarn, and we discuss how to ‘set the twist’ in the yarn and why that’s important. There are also resources for further learning… Continue reading Drop spindle #4: Making a skein and setting the twist
Drop spindle #3: How to make your own lazy Kate, and how to ply two singles together
This is video #3 in a series of four videos on how to spin with a drop spindle. In this video, I’ll show you how to make your own lazy kate, and how to use the drop spindle to ply your singles together. We cover how to set up for plying, step-by-step explanations and demonstration… Continue reading Drop spindle #3: How to make your own lazy Kate, and how to ply two singles together
Drop spindle video #2: preparing to ply
This is video #2 in a series of four videos on how to spin with a drop spindle. In this video, we cover preparation for plying spun singles together by winding the singles onto bobbins. Key points to remember: Don’t add or take away twist as you wind the bobbin
How to spin with a drop spindle: Video tutorial #1
Here’s video #1 in a series of four videos on how to spin with a top-whorl drop spindle. In this video we cover the basics, step by step: how to get started without a leader how to work with two different types of wool preparations, a detailed explanation and demonstration of the spin/park/pinch/draft method Key… Continue reading How to spin with a drop spindle: Video tutorial #1