woman spinning fiber on a spinning wheel

Learning how to spin fiber into yarn

Are you a beginner or aspiring spinner and want to learn how to spin fiber into yarn? In this blog post I will show you my step-by-step approach to learning how to spin.

2-ply handspun yarn on a spinning wheel

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There is also a corresponding video on my YouTube channel:


Spinning wheel or drop spindle?

The first question that comes to mind when you think about spinning is whether you should get a spinning wheel or a drop spindle.

Personally, I learned how to use a drop spindle first and participated in a course a couple of years ago. Purchasing a drop spindle is a lot more affordable compared to a spinning wheel. You can get a wooden drop spindle for under 10 Euro or dollar.

If you are unsure if you will enjoy spinning, you can start by trying it out with a drop spindle. I don’t think it is necessary though and I also don’t think using a drop spindle is easier compared to spinning on a wheel.

Which spinning wheel should I get?

If you want to learn how to spin on a wheel, you should definitely do some research. For example, you could participate in a spinning course where you can try out different types of wheels first.

Some online stores also have the option to rent a spinning wheel for a small monthly fee. If you like the wheel, you can purchase it. And if you don’t like it, you can simply give it back. This is what I did and I got my spinning wheel here: Das Wollschaf

I have read several times that you shouldn’t buy a used spinning wheel if you are a beginner spinner. But I have also seen a number of people learning how to spin on a used wheel so it is definitely possible. You have to decide for yourself.

The wheel that I have is the Ashford Joy 2 with a double treadle. It is very small and portable which is wonderful. Ashford wheels are a bit more of an investment but there are other companies that make a little more affordable wheels that also have great reviews.

Ashford Joy 2 spinning wheel

Learning how to spin: Step-by-step approach

Let’s say you have just gotten a new spinning wheel. Now what?

Step 1: Get to know your wheel

I recommend that you get to know the wheel and all of it’s part first. Spinning wheels usually come with an instruction manual which you should have a look at. In addition, there are different videos on Youtube for different types of wheels that show you exactly how to put the wheel together and how to use it.

Step 2: Treadling

The first thing you should learn is how to treadle in a continuous motion without attaching any fiber quite yet. Practice going both clockwise and counter-clockwise. Also try stopping and then starting the treadling again.

Step 3: Drafting & Spinning

The next step is attaching the fiber and spinning your very first yarn.

First of all, let me say, don’t expect your yarn to be perfect by any means. We all have to start somewhere. Perfection is not the goal here.

Getting started is easiest when you use a leader to which you can attach the fiber to. This video by Rehash Fiber explains it really well:

Your next task is treadling in a slow and steady motion and let your fingers get used to feeling the fiber between them and learn how to draft. Drafting means gently pulling and thereby thinning the fiber so that it is ready to be twisted into yarn. You have to make sure to always twist in the same direction, so you should decide upfront if you want to spin clockwise or counter-clockwise.

There are a lot of different beautiful fibers out there. But I strongly recommend that you start with a fiber that is suitable for beginners. Corriedale and Blue-faced Leister are two examples of great beginner fibers.

six skeins of handspun yarn on a wooden table

Pictured above are my first spinning attempts. The purple yarn on the left is the first yarn that I spun on my wheel. It is a 100% Corriedale fiber. And as you can see, the yarn is very inconsistent all throughout because I wasn’t really able to control the thickness. But that’s totally fine.

In the beginning, I also purchased a fiber starter kit that contains a total of six undyed fibers from different sheep breeds. This is a great way to learn which kind of fibers you like best.

natural fibers starter kit from Das Wollschaf
spinning fiber starter kit from Das Wollschaf

Step 4: Plying

The next step is learning how to ply yarn.

To do so, I recommend that you try out a 2-ply first because it is the simplest plying option. For a 2-ply, you should split your fiber in half before your start spinning it. You will spin one half of the fiber onto one bobbin and the other half onto a second bobbin. And then you can ply them together onto a third bobbin.

2-ply handspun yarn on a spinning wheel

My spinning wheel already comes with an in-built Lazy Kate which means that I can put my to bobbins on there and ply them together. If your spinning wheel doesn’t have an option like this, you can either purchase a Lazy Kate or build one yourself.

wooden lazy kate from Kromki
Lazy Kate by Kromski, picture from https://das-wollschaf.de/

If you ply your singles you have to make sure that you ply in the opposite direction compared to in which direction you have spun the singles. So, if you spun the singles clockwise, you will ply them counter-clockwise.

Step 5: Finishing

The next step is finishing the yarn. So far, I have always done it in the same way although you can do this in a number of different ways.

If the yarn is plied, I let it sit for a day, then I take it off the bobbin and put in a bath of lukewarm water. I let it sit in the water bath for at least 30 minutes (or longer, this is not crucial) before taking it out. Then I thwack it – which means basically smacking it on a hard surface in order to set the twist – and hang it up to dry.

Jillian Eve explains the whole process really well in this video:


Book Recommendation:

There is one book that I can highly recommend to you if you want to know more about different finishing techniques, different ways to spin, ply and whatever you can think of when it comes to spinning. It is called Yarnitecture by Jillian Moreno. It even comes with some knitting patterns that are specifically designed for hand spun yarn.

book yarnitecture by jillian moreno on a wooden table

If you are comfortable spinning singles and plying them as a 2-ply later on, you can move on to the next step.

Step 6: Ply Bracelet

Something that I found very helpful early on is learning how to do a ply bracelet. This basically comes in handy when you are plying and one bobbin runs out of yarn faster then the other one. You can then create a ply bracelet and ply the leftover yarn with itself.

Here is a video from Rehash Fiber that shows you exactly how to do it:

Step 6: Chain Ply

The next thing that I learned is how to do a 3-ply. At first I thought I needed 4 different bobbins to do a 3-ply – three for the singles and one to ply on – but this is actually not the case. You can create a 3-ply yarn by doing a chain ply which means that you need only two bobbins to do it.

This is a video by Textile Indie which explains the technique really well:

A 3-ply creates a denser, more robust yarn which is great for knitting socks, for example. It is not a good choice if you aim to create an airy, woolen spun yarn.

colorful combed top fiber in a braid laying on a wooden table next to a white pitcher filled with some dried blue hydrangeas

In fact, the spinning project that I am currently working on is a 3-ply sock yarn. I got the beautiful combed top on the picture above from Frau Wöllfchen. It is a 100% Southdown wool and is specifically created to spin yarn for socks with. You get two braids with 75g each. You can purchase Frau Wöllfchens fibers either directly from her online store or through the Making Stories website. The colorway I got is called “Melancholie” which is German for melancholy.

colorful handspun 3-ply yarn on a wooden table next to some blue hydrangeas

Step 7: Fiber Preparation

Another very interesting topic to learn about is how different preparations of the fiber beforehand can create completely different looking yarns when you are using braids that contain different colors.

colorful combed top from John Arbon Textiles, colorway Pig Snout
colorful combed top from John Arbon Textiles divided into four parts

By dividing the fiber into different parts you can, for example, create several color repeats and a striping yarn. You could also spin the fibers just as they come and get a more marled effect. There are tons of possibilities.

This is a tutorial for you by Jillian Eve that shows you how to do fractal spinning which I really liked:

This is the skill level that I am currently at. Since I started spinning fibers that only had one color, learning how to prepare and spin multicolored fibers is still quite new for me.

Here is an example of a yarn that I have spun using a fractal spin. It is a combed top from John Arbon Textiles from their Appledore line. The colorway is called Pig Snout.

2-ply handspun yarn on a spinning wheel

Step 8: Spinning woolen and worsted

The next step that I will tackle is to learn how to draft fibers both woolen and worsted spun. In her Yarnitecture book, Jillian Moreno describes the different techniques in detail and I definitely want to give this a try very soon.

If you spin woolen, you will create a more airy, drapy yarn. And if you do worsted spinning, you will get a denser, more robust yarn.

There is still a lot to learn for me but this exactly what I like. Overall, I think spinning is a beautiuful and meditative craft and I can’t wait to knit with my handspun for the very first time. I can highly encourage you to give it a try and see for yourself!

Annika

I am a yarn dyeing artist, writer and educator.
I am also an avid knitter and love to create something with my hands every day.
Read more about me here:
https://www.rosemaryandpinesfiberarts.de/about-the-writer/

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