Beginning spinning

#1

Reading all these posts has made me decide that I’d like to try spinning my own yarn. (You guys are such a bad influence!) I’m going to try the drop spindle as it’s so much less expensive than a wheel and it’ll fit in my dorm room.

What would you guys recommend for a spindle - top or bottom whirl? Is there any particular brand that’s especially good? I found this one which is convertable. Good idea or bad idea? What size/weight is recommended for beginners?

Also, what sort of roving should I be looking for and what is a reasonable price to pay? At the same site I was looking at spindles they had some that seemed inexpensive, but I don’t really have a standard of comparison. I know yarn.com sells roving because I’ve seen it in baskets in their store, but I can’t find anything about it on their website.

So, in short (haha), any advice you guys can give on starting out would be much appreciated!

#2

http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7726

Here is a long thread on spindles. There are tons of info on top vs bottom whorl, makers, etc. Somewhere in all that is directions on how to make a cd spindle.

I have found Corriedale is an easy first fiber to work with.

#3

I just started using a drop spindle, made a CD spindle, bought a bottom whorl. HATED the bottom whorl, I think because I really like rolling it on my leg to get the spin. Also, you don’t have to do a half-hitch on a top whorl. In addition, I like my CD spindle over my (exchanged) purchased top whorl because it is lighter and less likely for me to break the yarn. I plan on keeping the purchased spindle so I can use it as I get better and have more control. I bought a bag of mystery roving (as in, no label for the type of wool) at my LYS-8oz for $6. So far it has been really easy to work with and goes so much farther than I thought it would. If you don’t have access to a drill where you are, PM me and I’ll go get the dowels and drill them for you if you want. It is super cheap, to make 3 spindles I paid $5 at Home Depot plus free CD’s (thank you AOL!). I put a ring of glue at the top of my spindle, I had trouble with the CD moving when I wound on the yarn. And that is the sum total of what I know! :roflhard:

#4

I just started a group on yahoo for beginning spinners. Feel free to join!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beginning_spinners/

#5

What type of spindle is best is totally up to the spinner. I prefer a top whorl myself. One of my favorite spindles, believe it or not, is a spindle I made myself from junk CD’s. It is perfectly balanced and long spinning.

There are a wide variety of spindle makers out there. From under $10.00 to over $100.00, it’s all about design, wood it’s made from and such. Spindles are very collectable and made from an unbelievable variety of raw materials. Even moose antlers and ancient prehistoric mammoth teeth! I have one spindle that I treasure that is inlaid with turquoise nuggets.

I would buy a spindle with a medium weight, and a medium size whorl. What wood its made from is up to you. One of my favorite spindles comes from Jeanne and Paul Hubbard a Simple Market Farms. Their spindles are made one by one by Paul and are truly works of art. Jeanne also has a wide variety of different fibers.

http://www.simplemarketfarms.com/index.html

If you need any help, don’t hesitate to write.

#6

anyone know where i can get educated on the different roving fibers so i can know what is what when trying to decided what fibers i want to buy? like what animals give what kind of fibers and what they look like spun. thanks!

#7

Koolbreeze, I know of a video that should cover the different types of fibers, and how to spin them. I haven’t watched it, but it looks good, it’s called “Spin Exotic Fibers” (and Novelty yarns). I watched another video by this company, which I highly recommend (I may even sell it on my site eventually) called “Spinning Wool --Basics and Beyond.” Both are available here.