What Is Spinning Yarn? From Fleece to Skein
Spinning is how loose fiber becomes yarn. You draw fibers out and twist them together, and the twist holds them in one long thread. You can do it with a weighted stick, a wheel you work with your feet, or a small electric spinner. Ashford’s Learn to Spin booklet starts on wool, and says silk, linen, cotton and many animal fibers can also be spun on its wheels.
From fleece to yarn
Here is the whole road, start to finish. You can join it partway, because some fiber comes ready to spin.
- Fleece. A fleece is the entire coat of wool off a sheep.
- Washing. Spinners check a fleece for dirt, burrs and hay. Joy of Handspinning’s washing guide says it is sometimes necessary to clean it, or scour it, before spinning, since leftover grease can make dyeing harder. Some spinners spin with the grease still in and clean the yarn afterward.
- Preparing. Carders are a pair of brushes that smooth and straighten the fibers. Joy of Handspinning’s guide to preparations names what comes next: a rolag is a small roll made on hand carders, and a batt is a large, soft rectangle of wool from a drum carder, a carder built around a turning drum. Combing removes the short fibers and keeps the long ones, and gives you top. Sliver is a ready-to-spin strip of fiber, and roving is much the same, a little smaller.
- Drafting. Drafting means pulling out fibers so that only a certain amount takes the twist. Ashford’s booklet says not to draft longer than the staple, which is the length of a lock or a single fiber.
- Twisting. In Ashford’s method you pinch, draw the fibers back, then relax the pinch and slide your fingers along so the twist follows. A fine yarn needs more twist than a thick one to make it strong.
- Plying. One spun strand is called a single. Ashford recommends plying two singles together for a strong, balanced yarn. Plying runs in the opposite direction to the spinning.
- Making a skein. You wind the yarn onto a niddy noddy, a double-headed tool for the job, tie it in four places, slip it off and twist it into a skein, the finished coil. Ashford’s hint for a first try: “Uneven yarn is OK.”
Your yarn is then ready for knitting, weaving and fiber art.
Why people still spin by hand
For thousands of years people spun with a spindle. The wheel came later, possibly invented in the Islamic world by 1030, and it raised what one spinner could make. Today, spinning by hand is a choice, and spinners give their own reasons.
- Yarn you can’t find. Sarazen AnYin, a master handspinner, writes that “you can produce yarns that you simply can not buy.” Wikipedia lists the same draw: control over the yarn’s qualities, and for some, self-sufficiency.
- Calm. “I find spinning to be grounding, especially when the world is moving very quickly,” says Janelle on the Sheepspot podcast.
- Carrying something on. Lexi LaMar grew up raising sheep and took her wheel to Purdue for “a nice stress-relieving, calming hobby.”
There’s more on this in who spins and weaves and why people love fiber crafts.
Spindle, wheel or e-spinner
All three draft, twist and wind on. What changes is what does the turning.
| Tool | What does the turning | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Drop spindle | Your hand, setting the spindle spinning | Starting without a wheel |
| Spinning wheel | Your feet, on a pedal | Keeping both hands on the fiber |
| E-spinner | A small motor | Spinning in more than one place |
Drop spindle. This is a stick with a weighted whorl, the whorl being the weight that helps it spin. Ashford’s one-page instructions have you set it turning, draft, slide your fingers so the twist follows, and wind on when the spindle reaches the floor. Kromski’s manual offers a gentler way: rest the spindle under your arm or between your knees while you draft, which it calls easier for beginners. Kromski also says it takes practice, and recommends help from a fellow spindler or online.
Spinning wheel. The treadle is the foot pedal that turns the large wheel. The drive band is the cord that carries that power to the flyer, the U-shaped part that twists the yarn. The yarn then runs through the orifice, a small opening, and onto the bobbin, a spool. With your feet doing the turning, Ashford’s lesson gives each hand its own job: the front hand pinches, and the back hand holds the fiber. It has you practice treadling alone first.
E-spinner. Ashford’s e-Spinner 3 has a motor, a speed dial and an on/off foot switch, with a flyer and bobbin like a wheel’s. It weighs 2 kg (4.4 lb), comes with a padded carry bag, and takes an optional 12 volt cord for a car, caravan, RV or boat. That makes it a good fit if your spinning needs to travel.
Spin Off looks at the first choice in Learning How to Spin Yarn: Spindle vs Wheel.
FAQ
Do I need a whole fleece to start?
No. Ashford’s first lesson uses about 50 g (1.5 oz) of wool sliver, plus lengths of yarn for practice.
Do I need a wheel?
No. Bette Hochberg’s Handspinner’s Handbook, excerpted in Mother Earth News, says a handspindle is enough to start.
Your next step
Ready to try? Start with how to start spinning yarn, or find the wheel that suits the yarn you want to make. If you’re still choosing a craft, read spinning or weaving: where to start. And if a word trips you up, the spinning and weaving glossary has it.