Bella Vita Farm & Fiber

Preparing the Wool

Whether you are a beginning spinner or learning something new, this webpage should help you learn about spinning your own yarn.  To start, you need a fleece, whether you are shearing your own animal or purchasing a fleece, you'll find all the information to get you started.

The main thing to remember when shearing is to avoid second cuts,  (when the shearer goes back to trim off the extra wool he/she missed the first time).  These second cuts get mixed in the fleece and if not removed will eventually appear as "pills" on your finished garment.

What's next?  The fleece should be skirted if you have purchased it from a farm.  Skirting is removing the dung, VM (vegetable matter, i.e., hay) from the fleece and preserving only the best of the wool for handspinning.

Now it's time to wash the fleece, unless you prefer to spin in the grease.  I prefer to wash my fleece before I handle it further.

After the fleece is dry, the next step is to card the fleece to align all the fibers in the same direction.  Carding can be done with hand carders or carded using a drum carder.  You can also comb the fiber or use flicker carders.

Do you want to dye your fiber before spinning or do you prefer to spin it first and dye the yarn?  You can dye with natural dyes or acid dyes, they involve different preparation.  Natural dyes use mordants (chemicals) which can be used prior, during or after dyeing.  Here are some tips on natural dyeing.

Spinning

Now you are preparing to spin.  What's next?  Are you going to use a drop spindle or a spinning wheel?  If you decide on using a drop spindle, you can make your own drop spindle.  Maybe you'd rather use a spinning wheel, but can't decide which one.  Here's some information about how to choose a spinning wheel, parts of a spinning wheel, how the spinning wheel works.  Now you have a spinning wheel but you aren't getting consistent results.  The tension on the drive might need to be adjusted.

Ok, I'm ready to spin and I've decided on spinning on a drop spindle, how do I do it?  You've got the basics, now how do I perfect my craft?  Yarn can be spun worsted or woolen and here's the lowdown on the difference between the two.

Hey, what about those of us who decided on spinning with a wheel?

Now for the good stuff, the techniques of spinning whether you use a drop spindle or a wheel.  How do I add more fiber to make a continuous piece of yarn?  Spinning takes practice, so keep trying...you'll get the hang of it.

PLYING

Now that you've mastered the basics of spinning, we'll talk about plying your yarn.  Now I've spun these singles how do I make a yarn that is plyed?  I've heard of Navajo plying, what's that all about?  When you spin the singles, it usually is done using a S twist and when plying the twist is considered a Z twist.  You can spin singles Z and ply S, either way the goal is to create a balanced yarn.  By plying the twist in the opposite direction of the singles the energy of the yarn is redirected the opposite way, therefore creating a balanced yarn.  You can measure your twist angles to see how much twist you are getting in your yarn.  Some spinners never ply their yarn by learning to spin low twist singles.

After the yarn is spun, the next step is to set the twist.  Finally, I'm ready to make a skein.  For beginners, a niddy noddy is a very good tool to make a skein.  Later you might want to get a skein winder, but you'll still have uses for the niddy noddy for bulkier yarn that is to hard to handle.

What project are you spinning for?  Do you want a good sock yarn?  Are you spinning something to use for weaving, knitting, crochet?  How much fiber will I need for my project?

WHAT FIBER TO USE?

Alpaca fiber
Angora Fiber
Llama
Mohair
Wool

CARING FOR YOUR KNITTED ITEMS

I've knitted a pair of socks that are starting to wear, those darn socks, how do I fix them?

 

 

 

Thanks to the contributors, HJS Studio, I Can Spin and Joy of Handspinning for the informational links on this page.

HJS Studio