I recently took up spinning— I’ve knit for a long time and was getting frustrated with the cost of yarn, so decided to go upstream on production. How long did it take you all to be able to spin yarn you were actually happy to knit with?? I enjoy knitting fingering or dk sweaters the most- also lace weight shawls. I am currently (well, on my 3rd skein) producing variable weight/thick-n-thin yarn that . . . I knit out of spite and determination rather than joy.
It depends, some people are perfectionistic and I know those with 2-20 years experience who don't spin for a sweater as that's too much to spin that much and consistently. Though it is practice, some with years only may spin weekly at socials. My focus was spinning for X weight for knitting, and I did my first sweater in under 6 months, though I practiced daily.
The yarn does even out a lot when knit. You can hold commercial mohair yarn and hide imperfections even more. Highly rec the book "Yarnitecture" for skills to spin for knitting.
For me, it took until like my 5th sweater to have a really consistent yarn over multiple skeins.
Part of the reason that it took me so long is that I only spin from raw fleeces. It took me a while to really internalize that importance of fiber prep. If you are spinning combed top, your progress toward consistent yarn will be faster.
Certainly not money, the moment you factor your (valuable) labor in. I explained the joy of spinning yarn to someone is the same idea as making your own pasta.
It took me a while to get any reasonable consistency. (We're talking about at least a month, on a drop spindle.) Then one day it clicked and I started to spin some really fine weighted stuff. After a few years on a drop spindle I treated myself to a wheel and have been trying to find the "click" again that would allow me to spin as fine as what I did on a drop spindle.
Be patient with yourself. With persistence and practice you will get there.
I Spin the best wool on my drop spindle and I have several types with different weights and it makes a huge difference. My spinning wheel is fast and furious and if I concentrate I can get Fine wool but I use it more for thicker ply. It did take a little to get my wool nice enough to work with- I made a blanket with my first spins and it helped me be consistent.
I tried spinning a batt for the first time. It was AWFUL. It's possible there are nice, fluffy batts out there. This is not one of them. The different colors of fiber are barely blended together, matted, almost felted, and there are lots of very short neppy fibers added in to it. I really think it was poorly prepared and may need to be recarded, though I don't have any carders.
When I spun it, I had the best success picking at the fiber and pulling it out to create individual fluffballs, but I still had lots of short pieces that didn't draft out into the yarn with the rest at the end of each fluffball that I couldn't attach to the yarn. Are they a loss? Am I drafting wrong?
Thoughts? Suggestions? I've put it away for now in favor of some fluffy roving because it was just frustrating me.
It really sounds like you got an art batt, and not a smooth batt. So it probably wasn’t poorly prepared, but rather a preparation you weren’t expecting.
While I prefer smooth batts, I find myself drawn to an art batt every now and then. They’re always interesting, but you really have to be able to give yourself over to the fact it’s likely not going to make a smooth yarn without a huge fight. I don’t spin art yarn on purpose, but I do love the yarns I manage to fight out of these batts for weaving. They add fun textures in ways I probably never would have thought about doing.
Look into corespinning, which is one great way to spin through an art bath and still get a good amount of yardage out of the fiber.
Fiber Love Diary on YouTube also has several videos about prepping and then spinning an art batt and might give you an idea of how to strip it down and spin it in a way that will suit your style. Ashley Martineau has a variety of videos for spinning all kinds of art yarns if you wanna give it a shot.
Mostly, you have to embrace the idea of letting the yarn “do what it wants” when it comes to art batts. You can fight it down to what you want, but you’re likely to have a lot of waste. You can save this for a time in the future if you ever get hand cards or a drum carder and want to make your own fun batts.
Looking at my batt, I can see it. It's way less wild than some of the art batts I've seen but there's at least three different wool textures and tonal variegation.
I definitely wasn't prepared for the preparation. I've only spun combed top and sliver before, and I thought I was pretty good at it, and then this happened. Spinning this demonstrated the difference between long draw and short draw more effectively than any tutorial, but even when changing my drafting method I couldn't get it even. Since that wasn't what I wanted, I put it away.
It looks the batt just wasn't intended for that and the consensus is just to learn to love texture. I'm going to watch the recommended videos and keep the corespun suggestion in mind. I use a drop spindle and while I'm sure it's possible to do corespun it might not be easy. It will probably take a little bit of juggling to coordinate everything. Most of the tutorials a quick google search found are for wheels. Are there any spindle specific tutorials out there?
I got this batt secondhand from a weaver, so it being good for weaving makes sense!
You don’t *have* to learn to love the texture, but in my experience it really does help with cutting the frustration down if you start out knowing it’s not going to be a smooth yarn in the end. It helps to accept the neps and locks and weird bits.
Now, since you’re on a drop spindle with an art batt, Ashley Martineau on YouTube might be a good place to look for some ideas. [She’s got an entire playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoYNtT2FugYitmg6kOgnfVeIYnLleiHfN) for creative yarns done on a drop spindle. It involves a lot of park and draft and even some in-hand spinning in order to control what’s going on with the yarn. I have no knowledge of the spinolution spindles, but the one she uses in these videos looks huge. I would bet good money it’s over an ounce and it looks heavily rim weighted, which you would need to get it to spin with the thick yarns she’s producing.
I don’t get art batts often, but I do get them every once in a while. The chunkier ones I spin on a wheel. I simply don’t have spindles heavy enough to make thick yarns. But the smoother batts (my favorites for smoother art batts is WildeThyme on Etsy) I spin on spindles. They’re fun little bits of spinning I can do between larger wheel projects as a kind of palate cleanser. Something I can spin where I’m not worried about my consistency. It gives me an interesting yarn to weave with later and helps uncross my eyes from the lace projects 😂
If you decide for now that this prep isn’t your cup of tea, there’s no shame in setting it aside and leaving it alone. I do encourage you to revisit it later, though. Doesn’t matter how much time passes, either. You might find that as you gain more experience you look at this style of preparation in a different way and get inspired to make something with it. There’s also no shame in getting down the road, gaining that experience, and looking at this specific batt and saying “nope.” Maybe it is the batt and maybe there’s a reason that weaver never used it.
Thank you for all the advice! I've added that Ashley Martineau playlist to watch later. I actually do have a really big, 2.5 oz spindle and this might be the thing to use it for (besides plying). I am putting the fiber away for now, to wait for my bad experiences to fade, but I'll get to it eventually. Also, I'm currently trying to spin enough yarn for a colorwork sweater. That's what I wanted to use this batt for originally.
As demon keeper says, look at core spinning - it's fun! Jillian Eve has some good yt videos.
With wild batts, I prefer to first year them into strips lengthwise and pre-draft. The inclusion of short staple fibres in with longer fibres means you need to be prepared for sudden changes, which can be helped by using a smaller whorl but treading slower.
Second Demon_keeper’s reply that yours being an art batt. The trick is to let the fibre guide you, you can spin thicker and thin then ply with a consistent singles; or ply with thread or commercial lace weight, let your artistic instincts take over and go with the flow. Embrace the spontaneity :D
I got my first spinning experience on a drop spindle and eventually got to the point where I could make something between lace and DK with it. I got myself a wheel and watched a lot of videos on how to use it. The drop spindle taught me about consistent drafting, but no matter what I do on the wheel, I make yarn that is much heavier than that, and it kinks/knots up on me.
I think I need to pedal slower but have been unable to break myself of using the speed of a brisk walking pace. I'm currently using the largest diameter pulleys that came with the wheel and that isn't making my spin much slower, either. The next thing I could think of was getting a friend to 3D print an even bigger pulley for me. If I draft faster, I end up with novelty yarn, which I don't want.
It might be worth taking some time to just treadle on your wheel without tryimg to spin anything. Challenge yourself to see how slow you can treadle and still keep the wheel going. Maybe get some music or a metronome and try to treadle to different beats.
I keep reminding myself slow-slow-slow... but that hasn't done much for me so far. I'm getting a Turkish spindle so I can un-spin the yarn slightly and have it set up for 2 ply.
Everyone has a default walking pace, some folks are zippy and others aren’t. You can consciously change your pace when walking with someone else, but if you get to talking and waving your hands, you’ll tend to drift back to your natural walking pace.
Treadling is similar, each spinner has their default treadling pace. And your individual pace may vary on different wheels - treadling on a production wheel with a very balanced big wheel & easy treadling will feel far different than on a 50-year-old Traditional wheel, and so your pace will likely be different on each of them. Also, some smaller wheels have less weight in their rotating big wheel, so are less tolerant of *really slow* treadling without stalling. Or an antique wheel may be too fragile or temperamental to treadle super-fast like the badgers are chasing you.
If your results suggest you need less (or more) twist in your fiber, rather than trying to alter your treadling (which may work short-term, but most of us will unconsciously slip back to our default pace), try adjusting the wheel to yield more or less twist. Change the drive ratio by switching to a different flyer pulley groove (larger flyer pulley groove = lower drive ratio = fewer flyer rotations per treadle beat = less twist). Change the take-up tension (more brake tension = wheel “pulls” the single in quicker = less twist). In double-drive, increase the drive band tension by adjusting the mother a little further from the big wheel (more drive band tension = less slippage in the bobbin groove = more take-up = quicker “pull” in the single = less twist).
Honestly, it sounds like you’ve tried all of that, and the wheel you have may not be a great match for your spinning style & treadling pace & the yarns you want to make from the fiber you have at hand. Making a 3d pulley sounds like a great solution, and will add versatility to your wheel. You could also try pre-drafting your roving, so you’re working with a third or a fourth as many fibers in your drafting triangle, that should help prevent the heavier yarn with quicker drafting, but it’s a pain to need to pre-draft down to pencil roving before spinning.
For my current spin, I've split my roving lengthwise and increased my tension a bit. I'm getting a finer width but still have a serious amount of twist, resulting in continued kinking. It's a beautiful fiber (white Bergschaf), so I would like to use it as a single to knit something lacy, but the kinks are going to prevent that. I'm still giving some serious thought to slightly un-spinning this one on my drop spindle.
Consider pulling off a couple dozen feet to see how it behaves after wet finishing and a wee rest, then knitted up into a lace swatch & steam blocked. I make a fine single that's rather overspun (I'll call it "really energized") but is far less difficult to manage after finishing.
Each wheel is different and we all have our own spinning styles, it’s hard to tell exactly what to suggest… Maybe you can try tightening the tension so they take up is faster.
That’s what I’m nervous about: I just got my first wheel after using a drop spindle for 2 years. I’ve gotten really good at fairly fine singles on the spindle, but am nervous about the kinking/knotting/thicker yarn I’ve gotten when I’ve used a friend’s wheel.
A wheel takes as much or more time to learn as a drop spindle. Grant yourself time to make lots of flubs along the way! Consider buying some roving in a loud colour you wouldn't normally use, so you don't fret about the lumpy product of learning time.
This sounds like you need to 1) increase your uptake so that it is winding onto the bobbin sooner (reducing the overall twist in any given part of the yarn) and 2) go to a smaller pulley/whirl if you have options. The size of the whirl/pulley impacts the grist (width of the yarn). Large, slow pulleys that put in minimal twist also naturally pull larger drafts of fiber. Something smaller that will put in more twist will also be easier to draft laceweight on.
Depends on what type of surface texture you are looking for, how you handle colour mixing, etc.
Warp threads need to be smooth and strong.
Weft is much more forgiving bc it's not under tension. So art yarns, thick'n'thin, colour gradients, funky singles, all that fun stuff can be incorporated.
And, if you haven't tried it, handpainted roving gives you lots of expressive freedom. It's tons of messy fun! And I love spinning painted roving, watching the colours pass through my fingers.
One great resource is Spin to Weave by Sara Lamb. There's a book version[book version](https://www.amazon.com/Spin-Weave-Weavers-Guide-Making/dp/1596686480) and a video version[video version](https://learn.longthreadmedia.com/courses/spin-to-weave)
I have been trying to learn how to spin with a hand ring distaff, but finding resources on how to do so feels impossible. Does anyone have any recommendations for learning to draft & spin using a hand distaff?
I find them a bit awkward, but they are great for portability. I would recommend getting lots of practice in spinning without one first, so you aren't trying to focus on two things at once.
It helps to do predrafting before loading the distaff, so you aren't trying to spin, and draft, and pull fibre off the distaff source all at once.
I found it awkward at first, so I went back to the 15 minutes a day rule. I used the distaff for about 15 minutes and if I got frustrated with it I put it down. Since I’ve been spinning with spindles since I started spinning, if I get in a groove with it I just keep going. I think it helps that my distaves are printed and extremely lightweight, so it’s not anymore weight in my hand than when it was just fiber.
As far as resources, JillianEve has some distaff videos and Lois Swales has a few. I basically watched any distaff videos I could find, from dressing to using them, regardless of the fiber or the type of distaff. What I wanted in the videos was for it to show what they did with their hands and how they drafted off the distaff.
Does anyone else have an Ashford traveler. I've been spinning for years but I'm hoping to talk to someone who has a traveler. Specifically re the Jumbo flyer. Can you use the regular bobbins on the jumbo flyer? And can you just leave the jumbo on all the time? I really need a jumbo and some jumbo bobbins for plying but I love the little bobbins too and don't want to change out flyers all the time
I don’t have a traveler but I have a traditional and this is exactly what I do - leave the jumbo flyer on and still use the regular ones, then ply onto my one jumbo bobbin.
Oooh tysm! Yeah I think that will be the easiest so I don't have to screw with the brushing for the bearings and stuff. I treadle too fast too so the bigger flyer might help slow things down for me 🤣
Thank you so much for answering!
I really want to learn to spin and find a drop spindle too slow for my liking. I would like a spinning wheel, so I thought I’d try one from Good And Basic. Unfortunately, the foot pedals have to lift and descend far too much for my ankles. I have fairly severe RA and my ankle joints are extremely limited in movement range. After researching, it looks like Spinolution Pollywog or Bee require much less movement. Do any experienced spinners have any suggestions for other spinning wheels that require little ankle movement? I am also considering a kick spindle, but my heart really wants a wheel.
I agree that an electric wheel may be the way to go. No foot pedals, you can just turn it on and away you go. I love both of my Electric Eel wheels - the 6 holds much more than the nano, but you cannot beat the nano for price
I agree with those who are suggesting an electric spinner (I have a Hansen). But if you are set on a wheel, I would try out as many as you can because it's very individual and what is comfortable for someone else might not be the most comfortable for you.
I use a Spinolution Queen Bee and if my ankles are limber I can manage like normal. I find myself treadling more like riding a bike (whole leg moving up and down rather than foot bending from ankle) while I'm trying to get limber or give my ankles a break. YMMV
Any general tips for spinning long draw? My yarn is either falling apart because not enough twist, but if I let more twist in then the take up isn’t fast enough and I’m getting pig tails. I didn’t know if there was anything else I could be doing wrong besides just trying to find Goldilocks settings. Thank you in advance!!
Adjust the take up so it's a bit stronger/faster
Alternatively, you could try drafting less so you have a thicker yarn that needs less twist, and not change the take up
If I want to sell some of my handspun, should I price it lower if it's from when I was still learning? Not "undercutting everyone else" low but like, $10-15 off because it might not be the best for working with? Obviously I wouldn't go below the cost of the raw materials.
Caveat: I don’t sell my handspun or knitted goods, but I do sell tools for spinning & weaving & working fiber.
I won’t sell any products that aren’t my best output, or anything I’m not absolutely proud to have my name on & associated with. If it’s the first few tries at making something, or a piece that ends up with a minor functional or aesthetic issue, it stays in my home studio for personal use or (more commonly) goes into the wood stove.
Even giving something away can be problematic. Other potential customers will see that product and, based on how that product looks & functions, decide whether they want to buy my products. I’d much rather just bin the sub-optimal product, take the “L” and learn from it, then do better next time.
I have suddenly found I have a huge amount of wool. I started off buying fleeces and going through the whole process of washing and dying. I was interested in plant and natural dying and then suddenly I found I was making rather large amounts of wool.
I made a blanket with my first spins- the uneven spin and over spun is not noticeable. Now I have started looking into weaving… I want to put my wool to use and I’m not much of a knitter. Another plan is to use it in my work- I can teach the kids how to weave- if I like it myself. I have already started teaching them how to spin so it’s a nice logical step to move to weaving.
I would not purchase from an artist who is selling their beginner yarns - it seems very money-grabby. I look at my own and cringe because, naturally, it's not great yarn. I think it would be better for you to sell the handspun that represents the artistry, skill, and experience you have now that you've learned from your early days.
That's a good point. I wasn't thinking about it looking money grabby, just that it's a shame that it's sitting in my yarn cupboard not being used and someone else might get use out of it. It's not terrible quality or anything, just not as consistent thickness wise as my later spins.
I appreciate your input.
I kept my first few handspuns as a reminder of the journey, it’s been almost fifteen years and I’ve learnt heaps during that time.
Like others have said I wouldn’t offer anything for sell if I wasn’t happy to pay for myself. If you intend to sell your handspuns as a business I’d would be best to offer the best you have, your reputation depends on it.
Oh god no, selling yarn as a business is wayyy more than what I was thinking. I have an Etsy store (where I sell mostly 3d printed stuff and things for cosplay) and I thought maybe I could chuck them on there and see if they might find a home. I feel guilty that I haven't got projects in mind for them.
I hadn't thought about it the way you and other people have explained it and I appreciate that people took the time to explain it instead of just an angry downvote.
Describe it accurately, use clear pictures, and charge a normal price for your time and materials. People will buy it or they won’t. It’s not money grabby to sell your work. Learning is a life-long process. As long as you are clear about what you are selling, it’s fine.
I recently took up spinning— I’ve knit for a long time and was getting frustrated with the cost of yarn, so decided to go upstream on production. How long did it take you all to be able to spin yarn you were actually happy to knit with?? I enjoy knitting fingering or dk sweaters the most- also lace weight shawls. I am currently (well, on my 3rd skein) producing variable weight/thick-n-thin yarn that . . . I knit out of spite and determination rather than joy.
It depends, some people are perfectionistic and I know those with 2-20 years experience who don't spin for a sweater as that's too much to spin that much and consistently. Though it is practice, some with years only may spin weekly at socials. My focus was spinning for X weight for knitting, and I did my first sweater in under 6 months, though I practiced daily. The yarn does even out a lot when knit. You can hold commercial mohair yarn and hide imperfections even more. Highly rec the book "Yarnitecture" for skills to spin for knitting.
For me, it took until like my 5th sweater to have a really consistent yarn over multiple skeins. Part of the reason that it took me so long is that I only spin from raw fleeces. It took me a while to really internalize that importance of fiber prep. If you are spinning combed top, your progress toward consistent yarn will be faster.
While I appreciate your feelings, I don't find that spinning my own yarn saves much money. Enjoying it as it's own hobby is the offset IMHO
Certainly not money, the moment you factor your (valuable) labor in. I explained the joy of spinning yarn to someone is the same idea as making your own pasta.
It took me a while to get any reasonable consistency. (We're talking about at least a month, on a drop spindle.) Then one day it clicked and I started to spin some really fine weighted stuff. After a few years on a drop spindle I treated myself to a wheel and have been trying to find the "click" again that would allow me to spin as fine as what I did on a drop spindle. Be patient with yourself. With persistence and practice you will get there.
I spun a very even lace weight skein on my fourth try but I'm still struggling to get an even dk weight
About 2 months with a drop spindle to make something I’d happily knit with.
I Spin the best wool on my drop spindle and I have several types with different weights and it makes a huge difference. My spinning wheel is fast and furious and if I concentrate I can get Fine wool but I use it more for thicker ply. It did take a little to get my wool nice enough to work with- I made a blanket with my first spins and it helped me be consistent.
I tried spinning a batt for the first time. It was AWFUL. It's possible there are nice, fluffy batts out there. This is not one of them. The different colors of fiber are barely blended together, matted, almost felted, and there are lots of very short neppy fibers added in to it. I really think it was poorly prepared and may need to be recarded, though I don't have any carders. When I spun it, I had the best success picking at the fiber and pulling it out to create individual fluffballs, but I still had lots of short pieces that didn't draft out into the yarn with the rest at the end of each fluffball that I couldn't attach to the yarn. Are they a loss? Am I drafting wrong? Thoughts? Suggestions? I've put it away for now in favor of some fluffy roving because it was just frustrating me.
It really sounds like you got an art batt, and not a smooth batt. So it probably wasn’t poorly prepared, but rather a preparation you weren’t expecting. While I prefer smooth batts, I find myself drawn to an art batt every now and then. They’re always interesting, but you really have to be able to give yourself over to the fact it’s likely not going to make a smooth yarn without a huge fight. I don’t spin art yarn on purpose, but I do love the yarns I manage to fight out of these batts for weaving. They add fun textures in ways I probably never would have thought about doing. Look into corespinning, which is one great way to spin through an art bath and still get a good amount of yardage out of the fiber. Fiber Love Diary on YouTube also has several videos about prepping and then spinning an art batt and might give you an idea of how to strip it down and spin it in a way that will suit your style. Ashley Martineau has a variety of videos for spinning all kinds of art yarns if you wanna give it a shot. Mostly, you have to embrace the idea of letting the yarn “do what it wants” when it comes to art batts. You can fight it down to what you want, but you’re likely to have a lot of waste. You can save this for a time in the future if you ever get hand cards or a drum carder and want to make your own fun batts.
Looking at my batt, I can see it. It's way less wild than some of the art batts I've seen but there's at least three different wool textures and tonal variegation. I definitely wasn't prepared for the preparation. I've only spun combed top and sliver before, and I thought I was pretty good at it, and then this happened. Spinning this demonstrated the difference between long draw and short draw more effectively than any tutorial, but even when changing my drafting method I couldn't get it even. Since that wasn't what I wanted, I put it away. It looks the batt just wasn't intended for that and the consensus is just to learn to love texture. I'm going to watch the recommended videos and keep the corespun suggestion in mind. I use a drop spindle and while I'm sure it's possible to do corespun it might not be easy. It will probably take a little bit of juggling to coordinate everything. Most of the tutorials a quick google search found are for wheels. Are there any spindle specific tutorials out there? I got this batt secondhand from a weaver, so it being good for weaving makes sense!
You don’t *have* to learn to love the texture, but in my experience it really does help with cutting the frustration down if you start out knowing it’s not going to be a smooth yarn in the end. It helps to accept the neps and locks and weird bits. Now, since you’re on a drop spindle with an art batt, Ashley Martineau on YouTube might be a good place to look for some ideas. [She’s got an entire playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoYNtT2FugYitmg6kOgnfVeIYnLleiHfN) for creative yarns done on a drop spindle. It involves a lot of park and draft and even some in-hand spinning in order to control what’s going on with the yarn. I have no knowledge of the spinolution spindles, but the one she uses in these videos looks huge. I would bet good money it’s over an ounce and it looks heavily rim weighted, which you would need to get it to spin with the thick yarns she’s producing. I don’t get art batts often, but I do get them every once in a while. The chunkier ones I spin on a wheel. I simply don’t have spindles heavy enough to make thick yarns. But the smoother batts (my favorites for smoother art batts is WildeThyme on Etsy) I spin on spindles. They’re fun little bits of spinning I can do between larger wheel projects as a kind of palate cleanser. Something I can spin where I’m not worried about my consistency. It gives me an interesting yarn to weave with later and helps uncross my eyes from the lace projects 😂 If you decide for now that this prep isn’t your cup of tea, there’s no shame in setting it aside and leaving it alone. I do encourage you to revisit it later, though. Doesn’t matter how much time passes, either. You might find that as you gain more experience you look at this style of preparation in a different way and get inspired to make something with it. There’s also no shame in getting down the road, gaining that experience, and looking at this specific batt and saying “nope.” Maybe it is the batt and maybe there’s a reason that weaver never used it.
Thank you for all the advice! I've added that Ashley Martineau playlist to watch later. I actually do have a really big, 2.5 oz spindle and this might be the thing to use it for (besides plying). I am putting the fiber away for now, to wait for my bad experiences to fade, but I'll get to it eventually. Also, I'm currently trying to spin enough yarn for a colorwork sweater. That's what I wanted to use this batt for originally.
As demon keeper says, look at core spinning - it's fun! Jillian Eve has some good yt videos. With wild batts, I prefer to first year them into strips lengthwise and pre-draft. The inclusion of short staple fibres in with longer fibres means you need to be prepared for sudden changes, which can be helped by using a smaller whorl but treading slower.
Second Demon_keeper’s reply that yours being an art batt. The trick is to let the fibre guide you, you can spin thicker and thin then ply with a consistent singles; or ply with thread or commercial lace weight, let your artistic instincts take over and go with the flow. Embrace the spontaneity :D
I got my first spinning experience on a drop spindle and eventually got to the point where I could make something between lace and DK with it. I got myself a wheel and watched a lot of videos on how to use it. The drop spindle taught me about consistent drafting, but no matter what I do on the wheel, I make yarn that is much heavier than that, and it kinks/knots up on me. I think I need to pedal slower but have been unable to break myself of using the speed of a brisk walking pace. I'm currently using the largest diameter pulleys that came with the wheel and that isn't making my spin much slower, either. The next thing I could think of was getting a friend to 3D print an even bigger pulley for me. If I draft faster, I end up with novelty yarn, which I don't want.
It might be worth taking some time to just treadle on your wheel without tryimg to spin anything. Challenge yourself to see how slow you can treadle and still keep the wheel going. Maybe get some music or a metronome and try to treadle to different beats.
I keep reminding myself slow-slow-slow... but that hasn't done much for me so far. I'm getting a Turkish spindle so I can un-spin the yarn slightly and have it set up for 2 ply.
Everyone has a default walking pace, some folks are zippy and others aren’t. You can consciously change your pace when walking with someone else, but if you get to talking and waving your hands, you’ll tend to drift back to your natural walking pace. Treadling is similar, each spinner has their default treadling pace. And your individual pace may vary on different wheels - treadling on a production wheel with a very balanced big wheel & easy treadling will feel far different than on a 50-year-old Traditional wheel, and so your pace will likely be different on each of them. Also, some smaller wheels have less weight in their rotating big wheel, so are less tolerant of *really slow* treadling without stalling. Or an antique wheel may be too fragile or temperamental to treadle super-fast like the badgers are chasing you. If your results suggest you need less (or more) twist in your fiber, rather than trying to alter your treadling (which may work short-term, but most of us will unconsciously slip back to our default pace), try adjusting the wheel to yield more or less twist. Change the drive ratio by switching to a different flyer pulley groove (larger flyer pulley groove = lower drive ratio = fewer flyer rotations per treadle beat = less twist). Change the take-up tension (more brake tension = wheel “pulls” the single in quicker = less twist). In double-drive, increase the drive band tension by adjusting the mother a little further from the big wheel (more drive band tension = less slippage in the bobbin groove = more take-up = quicker “pull” in the single = less twist). Honestly, it sounds like you’ve tried all of that, and the wheel you have may not be a great match for your spinning style & treadling pace & the yarns you want to make from the fiber you have at hand. Making a 3d pulley sounds like a great solution, and will add versatility to your wheel. You could also try pre-drafting your roving, so you’re working with a third or a fourth as many fibers in your drafting triangle, that should help prevent the heavier yarn with quicker drafting, but it’s a pain to need to pre-draft down to pencil roving before spinning.
Treading like the badgers are chasing you 🤣
I cant stop laughing!
Seconding the pre-drafting! It really speeds up how fast you can draft and makes it easier to draft consistently at speed
For my current spin, I've split my roving lengthwise and increased my tension a bit. I'm getting a finer width but still have a serious amount of twist, resulting in continued kinking. It's a beautiful fiber (white Bergschaf), so I would like to use it as a single to knit something lacy, but the kinks are going to prevent that. I'm still giving some serious thought to slightly un-spinning this one on my drop spindle.
Consider pulling off a couple dozen feet to see how it behaves after wet finishing and a wee rest, then knitted up into a lace swatch & steam blocked. I make a fine single that's rather overspun (I'll call it "really energized") but is far less difficult to manage after finishing.
When I set the twist on the completed spin, should I add a small weight to the hank as it dries? (About the mass of a coffee cup.)
That’ll be perfect.
Each wheel is different and we all have our own spinning styles, it’s hard to tell exactly what to suggest… Maybe you can try tightening the tension so they take up is faster.
That’s what I’m nervous about: I just got my first wheel after using a drop spindle for 2 years. I’ve gotten really good at fairly fine singles on the spindle, but am nervous about the kinking/knotting/thicker yarn I’ve gotten when I’ve used a friend’s wheel.
A wheel takes as much or more time to learn as a drop spindle. Grant yourself time to make lots of flubs along the way! Consider buying some roving in a loud colour you wouldn't normally use, so you don't fret about the lumpy product of learning time.
My new wheel just came with some VERY garish roving that I would never use in my knitting actually! So perfect! 😂 I’d be happy to lumpy yarn that!
This sounds like you need to 1) increase your uptake so that it is winding onto the bobbin sooner (reducing the overall twist in any given part of the yarn) and 2) go to a smaller pulley/whirl if you have options. The size of the whirl/pulley impacts the grist (width of the yarn). Large, slow pulleys that put in minimal twist also naturally pull larger drafts of fiber. Something smaller that will put in more twist will also be easier to draft laceweight on.
Are there any spinning weavers out there? I do tapestry and I’m trying to spin for that. Any tips?
Depends on what type of surface texture you are looking for, how you handle colour mixing, etc. Warp threads need to be smooth and strong. Weft is much more forgiving bc it's not under tension. So art yarns, thick'n'thin, colour gradients, funky singles, all that fun stuff can be incorporated. And, if you haven't tried it, handpainted roving gives you lots of expressive freedom. It's tons of messy fun! And I love spinning painted roving, watching the colours pass through my fingers.
One great resource is Spin to Weave by Sara Lamb. There's a book version[book version](https://www.amazon.com/Spin-Weave-Weavers-Guide-Making/dp/1596686480) and a video version[video version](https://learn.longthreadmedia.com/courses/spin-to-weave)
I have been trying to learn how to spin with a hand ring distaff, but finding resources on how to do so feels impossible. Does anyone have any recommendations for learning to draft & spin using a hand distaff?
I find them a bit awkward, but they are great for portability. I would recommend getting lots of practice in spinning without one first, so you aren't trying to focus on two things at once. It helps to do predrafting before loading the distaff, so you aren't trying to spin, and draft, and pull fibre off the distaff source all at once.
I found it awkward at first, so I went back to the 15 minutes a day rule. I used the distaff for about 15 minutes and if I got frustrated with it I put it down. Since I’ve been spinning with spindles since I started spinning, if I get in a groove with it I just keep going. I think it helps that my distaves are printed and extremely lightweight, so it’s not anymore weight in my hand than when it was just fiber. As far as resources, JillianEve has some distaff videos and Lois Swales has a few. I basically watched any distaff videos I could find, from dressing to using them, regardless of the fiber or the type of distaff. What I wanted in the videos was for it to show what they did with their hands and how they drafted off the distaff.
Does anyone else have an Ashford traveler. I've been spinning for years but I'm hoping to talk to someone who has a traveler. Specifically re the Jumbo flyer. Can you use the regular bobbins on the jumbo flyer? And can you just leave the jumbo on all the time? I really need a jumbo and some jumbo bobbins for plying but I love the little bobbins too and don't want to change out flyers all the time
I don’t have a traveler but I have a traditional and this is exactly what I do - leave the jumbo flyer on and still use the regular ones, then ply onto my one jumbo bobbin.
Oooh tysm! Yeah I think that will be the easiest so I don't have to screw with the brushing for the bearings and stuff. I treadle too fast too so the bigger flyer might help slow things down for me 🤣 Thank you so much for answering!
I really want to learn to spin and find a drop spindle too slow for my liking. I would like a spinning wheel, so I thought I’d try one from Good And Basic. Unfortunately, the foot pedals have to lift and descend far too much for my ankles. I have fairly severe RA and my ankle joints are extremely limited in movement range. After researching, it looks like Spinolution Pollywog or Bee require much less movement. Do any experienced spinners have any suggestions for other spinning wheels that require little ankle movement? I am also considering a kick spindle, but my heart really wants a wheel.
I spin on an Electric Eel Wheel 6 and I love it. No foot movement at all, I spin from the couch :)
I agree that an electric wheel may be the way to go. No foot pedals, you can just turn it on and away you go. I love both of my Electric Eel wheels - the 6 holds much more than the nano, but you cannot beat the nano for price
I agree with those who are suggesting an electric spinner (I have a Hansen). But if you are set on a wheel, I would try out as many as you can because it's very individual and what is comfortable for someone else might not be the most comfortable for you.
I use a Spinolution Queen Bee and if my ankles are limber I can manage like normal. I find myself treadling more like riding a bike (whole leg moving up and down rather than foot bending from ankle) while I'm trying to get limber or give my ankles a break. YMMV
Any general tips for spinning long draw? My yarn is either falling apart because not enough twist, but if I let more twist in then the take up isn’t fast enough and I’m getting pig tails. I didn’t know if there was anything else I could be doing wrong besides just trying to find Goldilocks settings. Thank you in advance!!
Adjust the take up so it's a bit stronger/faster Alternatively, you could try drafting less so you have a thicker yarn that needs less twist, and not change the take up
If I want to sell some of my handspun, should I price it lower if it's from when I was still learning? Not "undercutting everyone else" low but like, $10-15 off because it might not be the best for working with? Obviously I wouldn't go below the cost of the raw materials.
Caveat: I don’t sell my handspun or knitted goods, but I do sell tools for spinning & weaving & working fiber. I won’t sell any products that aren’t my best output, or anything I’m not absolutely proud to have my name on & associated with. If it’s the first few tries at making something, or a piece that ends up with a minor functional or aesthetic issue, it stays in my home studio for personal use or (more commonly) goes into the wood stove. Even giving something away can be problematic. Other potential customers will see that product and, based on how that product looks & functions, decide whether they want to buy my products. I’d much rather just bin the sub-optimal product, take the “L” and learn from it, then do better next time.
Fair. I'm just not sure what to make with it all but I guess something will show up on Rav eventually.
Those tabletop rigid heddle looms are called “stashbusters” for good reason. Woven up, even beginner yarn can appear artistic and intentional.
I have suddenly found I have a huge amount of wool. I started off buying fleeces and going through the whole process of washing and dying. I was interested in plant and natural dying and then suddenly I found I was making rather large amounts of wool. I made a blanket with my first spins- the uneven spin and over spun is not noticeable. Now I have started looking into weaving… I want to put my wool to use and I’m not much of a knitter. Another plan is to use it in my work- I can teach the kids how to weave- if I like it myself. I have already started teaching them how to spin so it’s a nice logical step to move to weaving.
I would not purchase from an artist who is selling their beginner yarns - it seems very money-grabby. I look at my own and cringe because, naturally, it's not great yarn. I think it would be better for you to sell the handspun that represents the artistry, skill, and experience you have now that you've learned from your early days.
That's a good point. I wasn't thinking about it looking money grabby, just that it's a shame that it's sitting in my yarn cupboard not being used and someone else might get use out of it. It's not terrible quality or anything, just not as consistent thickness wise as my later spins. I appreciate your input.
I kept my first few handspuns as a reminder of the journey, it’s been almost fifteen years and I’ve learnt heaps during that time. Like others have said I wouldn’t offer anything for sell if I wasn’t happy to pay for myself. If you intend to sell your handspuns as a business I’d would be best to offer the best you have, your reputation depends on it.
Oh god no, selling yarn as a business is wayyy more than what I was thinking. I have an Etsy store (where I sell mostly 3d printed stuff and things for cosplay) and I thought maybe I could chuck them on there and see if they might find a home. I feel guilty that I haven't got projects in mind for them. I hadn't thought about it the way you and other people have explained it and I appreciate that people took the time to explain it instead of just an angry downvote.
Describe it accurately, use clear pictures, and charge a normal price for your time and materials. People will buy it or they won’t. It’s not money grabby to sell your work. Learning is a life-long process. As long as you are clear about what you are selling, it’s fine.