Happy Friday!

Lately, I have had a lot of people reach out with questions about learning how to spin, which makes me so happy. I started spinning about 16 or 17 years ago now, and I love it so much. It’s such a joy to share it. In fact, I’m in the process of teaching our son, Joseph, to spin.

Today I thought I would share some tips and resources for getting started, so if you are a fairly new spinner or you have been thinking about becoming one, this is for you.

Here are twelve tips to help you on your spinning journey.

Tip #1 – Patience

The first and most important tip is to be patient with yourself. We makers tend to expect perfection of ourselves from the get-go, but spinning doesn’t work that way. It takes time to get good at it. Not only are there things to know, but there is also muscle memory. Once you develop the skills, though, it’s just so relaxing and fun and meditative.

Tip #2 – The Right Fiber to Start

Some fibers are easier to spin than others. When you first start spinning, you’ll want to look for sheep’s wool with a longer staple-length. The staple-length is the length of each individual strand of wool, and you want to start with something that has a staple-length of at least 3 or 4 inches.

There are dozens of great breeds for new spinners, but my favorites are Polwarth, BFL, and Shetland. That’s because they have a nice long staple length AND they are still nice and soft. I have undyed Polwarth available for new spinners in my shop.

Some other great breeds to start with include Romney, Cheviot, and Corriedale. All of these are easy to find and easy to spin. They are not as soft as Polwarth or BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester), or Shetland, but that’s okay. You’re just practicing here. Don’t forget to save your very first skein no matter what it looks like. Later when you are spinning exactly what you want with ease, it will be fun to see what your first uneven, over-twisted, slubby skein looked like.

Here’s Joseph’s very first skein on my spinning wheel from this week:

Tip #3 – Fibers to Save for Later

I don’t really recommend starting with merino, alpaca, or silk. I don’t even recommend starting with fiber blends that include these. Merino is the finest of all wool, but it has a shorter staple length than most, which makes it challenging for new spinners because the fiber tends to pull out your hands before you get enough twist in it as a new spinner. Cormo and Rambouillet fall in the same category.

Alpaca is just different to spin and takes a little experience first because it needs less twist to maintain its loft and softness, but it needs enough to hold together. Silk has a long staple-length, but it’s very slippery. We’ll talk about these later, but it’s really best to start with one simple type of wool with a longer staple-length as mentioned above. You’ll progress to these other lovely fibers in short order.

Tip #4 – What Fiber Preparation to Start With

When you are first starting out, you may feel a little overwhelmed by all the different forms fiber can come in. These are known as fiber preparations. There is roving, top, art batts, rolags, silk hankies, and a whole fleece that may come washed or raw.

I recommend getting what is known as top to begin with. The fibers are parallel and even in length, and it’s clean, so you can focus on just making yarn without any other distractions.

Similar to top is roving. These terms are used interchangeably a lot of the time, but they are actually different. Top is combed so all the fiber is lined up, and the short bits are left out in the process. Roving is carded, which is more like brushing than combing. All the fiber remains in the roving (short and long fibers alike), and the fibers go in somewhat different directions. A lot of the time, people refer to top as roving, but I don’t see the opposite mistake made as often.

Top is more “refined” than roving, but roving would be my second recommendation for your first efforts at learning to spin.

Traditionally, top is used to make worsted yarn, which is used for fine woolens like suits. Roving is used to make woolen yarn, which is loftier and has more air and is suited for things like sweaters because the air acts as an insulator. However, you can make semi-worsted and semi-woolen, and really you don’t even need to worry about these things yet. Just put it in the back of your mind to look up later.

For your very first attempts at spinning, I recommend getting some undyed wool. Once you have spun a few bobbins of undyed wool, you can start getting hand-dyed or commercially dyed top. First though, I want you to feel comfortable going through a lot of practice wool without worrying about “wasting” it, and you won’t if it’s a unique braid of hand-dyed top.

Tip #5 – Fiber Preps to Save for Later

Once you have spun a few bobbins or filled your spindle a bunch of times and you feel more comfortable, feel free to start spinning dyed top, but stick with wool that has a long staple-length as we discussed above for a little while longer.

I don’t recommend starting with a raw fleece, rolags, or art batts either. This may seem odd since I have a lot of art batts in my shop, but they are a combination of different fibers, the base fiber is usually merino, and they are carded. You’ll get there, but first get comfortable with some top made from wool with a longer staple-length first.

Tip #6 – Choosing Tools for Spinning

Most people start spinning on a spindle. There are lots of good reasons to do this. The first is economics. You can get a nice little drop spindle for $10 to $20 and get started spinning and see if you like it before committing to a spinning wheel, which is a substantial investment.

The other reason to start with a spindle is that you can see what you’re doing more clearly. Yarn is just twisted fiber. It is the twist that makes it yarn. When you are spinning with a spindle, the actions that make the yarn are very clear. It’s a little harder to see what’s going on with a spinning wheel.

If you are in the process of choosing a spindle, it’s good to know that lighter spindles are better for fine yarn and heavier spindles are good for thicker yarn. Less than one ounce is great for lace-weight yarn. A spindle that weighs between one and two ounces is good for medium-weight yarn and also a good weight for your first spindle. A spindle that weighs more than two ounces is great for heavier weight yarn.

Some people only spin on spindles forever. There are amazingly beautiful spindles of all different sorts with different designs from all over the world. Others (like me) mostly see a spindle as a starting point and move onto a spinning wheel when they can.

This is very much a personal decision, but I prefer spinning on a wheel because it is easier to make a enough yarn for a project fairly quickly. Moreover, for me it is a much more pleasant and smooth experience. You don’t have to start and stop so often, your feet take on some of the work, and it’s much easier to get more creative with yarn on a spinning wheel than a spindle.

Tip #7 – Choosing a Spinning Wheel

If you decide you want to invest in a spinning wheel, there are many things to consider. Your budget and the types of yarn you want to make are probably the most important factors. How pretty the wheel is also factors in for sure. Whether it is foldable may or may not matter for you.

I find that spinners tend to be very loyal to the makers of their spinning wheels. When you go on one of the great spinning groups on Facebook or Ravelry, there is always someone asking for recommendations on buying a spinning wheel. I almost never see people say that they wished they had gotten a different brand. That tells me that people just love their wheels and that all the major brands of modern spinning wheels are good quality.

The ones that come to mind as being good reputable wheels are Lendrum, Ashford, Louet, Schacht, Kromski, Majacraft, and Spinolution. They all have different pros and cons, but they are all excellent quality. Even in these times of mass production, I believe that most spinning wheels are made substantially by hand, which I love.

I have an upright Lendrum that I have been using for the past 15 years now, and it is fabulous. I can make any type of yarn I like with it–anything from very fine, even yarn to really wild and thick art yarn. It also has the advantage of being foldable, so it’s easier to take it places. I also like that it has a slider instead of pegs for moving the yarn along to fill the bobbin evenly.

The question of what types of yarn you might want to make is very important. If you really hate art yarn and you only foresee making fine, even yarn, then you will have a somewhat broader selection to choose from.

On the other hand, if you think art yarn or just really heavy-weight yarn of any sort might be in your future, I would recommend choosing a wheel with a nice big orifice (the hole the yarn goes through before it gets to the bobbin) so the thickness of the yarn you want to make isn’t limited by the size of the orifice.

The older style spinning wheels did not tend to accommodate art yarns whereas the newer ones do. By art yarn, I simply mean yarn with complex structures that go beyond simple 2-ply or 3-ply yarn. As an aside, there’s a great website called www.thisyarn.com that has some wonderful project ideas and patterns for art yarn if this is new to you.

My main point is this: If you are going to invest in a spinning wheel, make sure it can do everything you might possibly want it to do.

If you can try it out in person before choosing, that’s definitely a great thing. It’s a very personal choice. Different people just like the feel of different spinning wheels.

If you happen to have found an old spinning wheel at a flea market or you got your grandmother’s from her attic, I recommend taking it to someone who knows spinning wheels to check it out and see if it needs anything before you start.

Tip #8 – A Word about E-Spinners

Another type of tool to spin on is an e-spinner. I have never used one, but I think they would be great if you have trouble with your knees or hips. They also take up less space and are very portable. If you want to spin from a comfy arm chair, an e-spinner may be a good option too. I find I need a fairly upright chair to spin well with my spinning wheel.

In terms of production, the people who spun the most yardage for the Spin Together competition the last two years have been those who use e-spinners. If you decide to go this route, I hear great things about Heavenly Handspinning, HansenCrafts, and Ashford e-spinners. I’m sure there are many more available, but I have spoken to a lot of spinners from Spin Together, and those three were recommended a lot.

There are also little Nano spinners that may be a great way to start for not much money, but they are not in the same ballpark in terms of quality or production. They certainly are cute though.

Tip #9 – Resources for Learning to Spin

The very best way to learn to spin is by sitting down with someone and doing it in person. If that is a possibility for you, I highly recommend it.

Given the times that we live in, however, it may not be possible. If you can’t meet with someone in person, I have a few online resources to recommend.

The first is Jillian Eve on youtube. She has delightful, clear videos for everything to do with spinning.

Here is her intro to spinning on a spindle for the first time:

Here’s her video on spinning on a spinning wheel for the first time:

She has many more tutorials for your next steps.

Another great resource is the School of Sweet Georgia. It’s a subscription-based school with fabulous classes for spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, and all things fiber arts. There are several courses on spinning included.

Last but not least, Long-Thread Media, the new owner of Spin-Off Magazine, has both a subscription and individual online workshops available for spinning.

Tip #10 – Don’t Forget to Ply

Once you have some yarn spun, you’ll want to start using it. When I was a newer spinner, I mostly used singles yarn or unplied yarn. I learned over time, however, that plied yarn is not only stronger, but it stays nice and smooth longer instead of pilling. Unless there’s a great reason not to, I recommend plying your handspun most of the time.

Tip #11 – Next Steps

Let’s say you get to the point where you feel comfortable spinning wool with a longer staple-length, and you’re ready to take on the next challenge.

Here is what I would recommend as your “spinning curriculum” to get to the point where you can spin anything and everything you find:

1. The next thing I would recommend is some merino top. It’s a little more challenging because of the shorter staple-length, but it’s lovely and soft. It’s also really easy to find both dyed and undyed, and it is nice and soft next to the skin.
2. After you feel comfortable with merino top, find some blends of top with 20% or 30% alpaca or silk. These are more challenging fibers to spin on their own, but you should be ready for the blends now.
3. At this point (finally), you are ready for art batts. Art batts are glorious fun to spin. They are blends of different fiber types. Mine usually have merino as a base and some combination of bamboo, alpaca, silk, camel down, and locks. They have lots of texture, but I use only soft fibers.
4. Right around this point is a good time to try your hand at alpaca by itself. Alpaca and other camalid fibers should be spun with a little less twist to maintain their loft, but you still need enough twist to hold together well.
5. The next step is to try spinning just silk if you would like. Tussah silk is easier than Mulberry silk. It’s less slippery and less fine, so it’s a good first silk. Silk is challenging because it is so slippery, but it’s also very strong and light and, well, silky. Bamboo is similar in texture to silk and similar to spin. In both cases, part of the challenge comes from the fact that, unlike wool, it does not have little microscopic “Velcro” bits to hold it together.
6. After this, you can take on the world. Try some angora rabbit wool or baby camel down. Try some cotton. Spin some kid mohair locks or Teeswater locks. The world is your oyster at this point, and it’s just a matter of more practice and learning new, fun techniques.

Tip #12 – A Word about Fiber Softness

When you are looking at different wool breeds and trying to figure out if it is something you want to try, it’s good to know what is soft enough to wear against your skin and what isn’t. The diameter of fiber is what mostly determines how soft it will be. It’s measured in microns, and the lower the micron count, the softer the fiber. Anything below a micron count of 25 or so is nice and soft next to the skin. Anything below 30 is reasonably soft next to the skin. Anything above that is better suited to outerwear and other purposes. To give you an idea, the range of merino is typically between 14 and 23. Polwarth is between 21 and 24. BFL and alpaca are between 23 and 26. Mulberry silk, angora, and cashmere are all in the teens.

There is a use for every fiber, but the higher micron fibers are better suited to coats and slippers than they are to scarves and shawls. Here’s a great list on Wild Fibres of different breeds and their micron counts.

The most important thing is to just have fun spinning fiber that brings you joy.

Eight Days of Easter Kits

Before I leave you for the day, I wanted to let you know that I have just four more Eight Days of Easter kits available. I’m going to start dyeing them up next week.

I’ll also have a new yarn base to show you sometime in the next couple weeks. I can hardly wait to tell you about it, but it will have to wait until next time.

Until then, happy fiber artistry!