Learn to Spin

Good Resources for Learning About Spinning

This all started because someone in the comments asked me if I knew of any good resources for learning to spin.

Hee hee….rubs hands together gleefully...

First of all, if you are wondering if you should learn to spin, or WHY you should learn to spin, and you have a few extra minutes, read Abby Franquemont’s post on Should Everyone Learn to Spin?

Then, maybe you want to SEE a bit more about spinning, you know, before you jump into the pool. These videos, by the above-mentioned Abby, are a great introduction to the basics. I’m embedding them here because they are just That Good.

Intro to Spinning, Part 1

Intro to Spinning, Part 2

If that was just barely enough to wet your whistle, then here are some more tutorials from Abby:

Drop Spindle Basics

Spinning with a Wheel

Plying

Drop Spindle Plying

Spinning Cotton on a Drop Spindle, Part 1

Spinning Cotton on a Drop Spindle, Part 2

Then the book and video Respect the Spindle are fab. (By Abby, of course.)

More Books

Start Spinning by Maggie Casey (covers spinning on a wheel; Maggie was my teacher!)

Spin Control by Amy King (techniques for how to spin specific yarns for specific purposes)

Color in Spinning by Deb Menz (learn how to blend and spin to make custom colours)

The Intentional Spinner (with DVD) by Judith MacKenzie McCuin (more/different info than the others)

There are more, but those are some of my favourites.

Tools

Spindles can range from inexpensive (Abby makes them from toy wheels, a dowel, glue, and a rubber donut washer or two) to middling ($30) to expensive. (Don’t buy a boat anchor if you are just starting out, OK? 1-2 oz, somewhere in there to start with.)

If you think you might be interested in a spinning wheel, take a class (local yarn shops and fibre festivals!) where they let you borrow a wheel to learn on. Many local yarn shops and guilds have wheels to rent if you want to take one home to try before you buy. And some yarn shops have several wheels in the store for you to test out before making such a big purchase.

Happy twisting!

Sandi