Tuesday, May 1, 2012

New Craft: Drop-spindle Spinning

Recently I've picked up a new craft - spinning yarn using a drop spindle. After learning what a drop spindle is from a blog I follow, last Christmas I asked for and received a kit to start spinning.  There's a lot to learn - both in technique and in terminology - but it's been so interesting to tackle a new project.

I started with a top-whorl spindle, some commercially-prepared roving (dyed wool that has been combed into a long thick strand, ready for spinning), and this YouTube video.

Since then I have been learning a lot, and my mom has joined this adventure too, so we've had a lot of fun learning together.  I'll share more later about what else I'm working on with spinning, but for now here are some photos of my first skein of yarn!

If you're thinking of endeavoring into this craft, feel free to ask any questions and perhaps I'll be able to offer some advice from the little knowledge I've gained so far.

 More photos below...

A new section of yarn on the spindle.  I filled the spindle once,
wound that yarn into a skein (using the back of a kitchen chair
to wind around), then began this new section of yarn.
Later I will join them together to make one longer skein.


The finished skein - for now.  The light green ties keep it
from getting tangled.


This yarn still needs to be finished, meaning bathed in hot water
and hung to release the extra twist.  You can see a couple curly
sections, which need to be smoothed out.  An update on the finishing
process will be coming soon, once I figure it all out!

1 comment:

Liz said...

You are getting good!