I just had a customer who purchased her very first art batt to spin. She’s in for a treat. Art batts are such a joy to spin because it’s possible to combine so many fabulous fibers into one preparation and enjoy each one as you spin. That got me thinking though about the many different ways of preparing an art batt to spin.
I blogged about this topic a long time ago, but some things are better seen than talked about. Rather than reinventing the spinning wheel (okay, that was kind of lame, wasn’t it?), I thought I would find a few YouTube videos to demonstrate some of the different ways to get an art batt ready to spin.
Method #1 – The easiest way to handle a batt is just to tear off a section the width that you like to spin. I usually tear off about one quarter to one third of one of my 2 ounce batts lengthwise and start spinning. This method works very well for batts that are layered so they are more or less the same throughout or when you are looking for a more random and varying look to the yarn. Here’s a video from Noreen, a fellow Etsian, showing her way of dividing batts into quarters to spin:
If you are spinning a gradient batt, you can tear off right where the color changes in order to spin one color (more or less) at a time. You are likely to get a little bit of the next color because the colors should overlap a little bit in order to keep the batt from falling apart when it comes off the drum carder. That’s okay, though. In fact, it makes for a better blend of colors in your yarn.
Method #2 – The “W” Method
If you are new to art batts or just prefer to be able to spin something that is more in the form of a long roving or top, this method works really well with just a little extra preparation. The end result will be similar to method #1, but if you are spinning a gradient batt, it has the added advantage of giving you a section where the colors can blend nicely, sort of like the section where two different colors of dye meld together with a hand-painted roving. This is a good method if you feel like your joins aren’t perfect yet because there will be fewer of them. Lori Warren demonstrated this method very well in the video below.
Method #3 – Turning the Art Batt into a Rolag
This method was new to me. I just discovered it in the process of looking for videos. If you want to create a true woollen yarn and if you enjoy working with rolags and/or would like to use the long-draw method to spin your art batt, this might be a great method for you. This is from Grace Shalom Hopkins who makes some beautiful videos on different aspects of carding and spinning.
Method #4 – Pulling the Batt into Roving
This method is far more time consuming than any of the others, but it has its uses. If you get a batt with a lot of variability but you want to make a more consistent yarn from it, this might be worth the time.
I searched and searched for a YouTube video to demonstrate this, but I can’t find one, so I’ll try to describe it as well as possible. I learned this method from an Interweave video by Deb Manz who is the go-to lady for color theory in the fiber arts world. Anyway, the idea here is to turn your batt into a long roving.
Lay the batt on a flat surface, and put your hands near the middle of the batt about 6 inches apart from each other and gently pull. Stop as soon as you feel the fibers move. Move down the batt doing the same thing. Tug gently on the batt but not so hard that it comes apart. When you get to one end, go back to the middle and work your way back to the other end.
Continue working this way back and forth down the length of the batt until it is the width of roving and much, much longer than the original batt. As you go, the batt will get longer and thinner a little at a time. The goal is to eventually turn it into roving while keeping the colors from both sides of the batt in the same region. It’s sort of like the opposite of what you want when you are spinning a gradient. If it breaks in the process, don’t worry about it. Just keep going with the pieces that you have, and it will be fine. At the end, you can roll up your batt-turned-roving into a ball or balls ready to spin from.
I don’t use this method often because it’s a lot of work, and frankly I really like a more random and unexpected look to the yarn I spin from my art batts, but every once in a while it comes in handy.
Several Methods Together
Last but not least, here’s a fabulous video from Katie Weston of Hilltop Cloud where she shows several different methods. The first is a variation on the rolag method shown by Grace Shalom Hopkins. The second is what I listed as method #1 where you just pull a length off the batt and then use a short draw, much like spinning. The third method is pulling off a hank and then spinning from the fold. The fourth method is what I called method #2, where you turn the whole batt into a length of roving. She shows how to pull it thinner while turning it into a braid as well.
And Now for Something Completely Different…
This has nothing to do with art batts, but I found it while looking for videos. If you want to try spinning but don’t have a wheel or even a spindle, you might give this a shot. I thought it was a hoot!