How to Spin Yarn

Wool Roving & Top are the most processed wools on the market, and the most popular form of wool to spin. This wool has been cleaned, combed, carded, and often dyed. All the wool fibers are going in one direction. This often results in a smooth, silky, shiny yarn. This is a great wool to start with if you are a beginner, but is often the most expensive because of the amount of processing it has gone thru.

 

How to Spin Yarn with Wool Batts

Wool Batts are cleaned and carded clouds of wool. The fibers are fluffed up and easy to spin, but are not all going in the same general direction. This often results in a fluffy, bumpy, fuzzy yarn.

 

How to Spin Yarn with Wool Locks

This is my FAVORITE type of wool to spin because of the incredible texture that it makes! Wool Locks look like they were just sheared off the sheep, but they have been washed and dyed. Spinning wool locks often results in a curly, shaggy, bumpy, crazy, fabulous textured yarn.

 

How to Ply Yarns

Plying yarns simply means you are twisting the yarns together. Most commercial yarns are plied. Plying yarns makes the yarn thicker. In this tutorial you can watch how to ply, and tricks on plying art yarn into super-coils, beehives, and boucle!

 

How to Ply Beads into Yarn

Plying beads into yarn is easy!! You can ply anything into yarn: feathers, sequins, wool locks, and more!!

 

How to Take Yarn Off the Wheel & Make a Skein

Once you are done spinning your yarn, here is how you can take it off the wheel and measure the yards you've spun. In order to "set the twist" of the yarn simply soak it in warm water (sometimes I will wash it with soap) and wring the water out of it then hang it to dry.

 

How to Spin Yarn on a Drop Spindle

A drop spindle is a easy and economical way for you to begin spinning. Instead of pedaling a wheel you are simply twisting the spindle in a clockwise direction to twist the fibers together. Drop spindles are portable, lightweight, and perfect for making small batches of yarn.