Still haven’t found a dedicated handspinning community, but I’m hoping this will tempt some of y’all to the dark side 😉
I spun this last year, but haven’t yet found a project worthy of it (open to suggestions!). Fiber is Merino wool, colorway is Tie Dyed Popsicles by the Wooly Witch, spun on my Babe’s Fiber Starter wheel. It’s about 15-16 WPI, so roughly a light fingering weight, and 170g. Planning to leave it a single since plying it might muddy those glorious, glorious colors, and that would be a travesty! 😍
Still a fairly new spinner, all things considered, and mostly self-taught, so I’m open to any constructive criticism and willing to answer any questions y’all might have! Thanks for letting me briefly invade your knitting space! 😁
Wow this is stunning! Can totally see why you’d struggle to knit it up, maybe you should just keep it forever, perhaps prominently displayed on a pegboard arrangement of some kind that future visitors to your home can be impressed by🤔
Highly tempting, but I already worked entirely too hard on it to not turn it into something I can brag about excessively and at length 🤣
Ah yes bragging rights, the only thing that convinces me to finish anything. Relatable.
Wow it looks so even! I watched Bernadette Banner’s video on spooning with a wheel a while ago and that seems hella tricky.
I love her videos!! I was dying all the way through that one, though- she really decided to start on hard mode! I think she addressed this, but most spinners start with a drop spindle, which gives you so much more direct control than a wheel. For another thing, most of us spin wool top which comes with all the fibers nice and aligned in a uniform direction. Wool fibers also tend to be longer and more coarse, which helps them stick together with less twist and makes it much more forgiving when you’re finding the balance between too much and not enough twist. Flax has no chill 🤣
She’s amazing! I love all of her videos!
She did mention that flax is a tougher material to spin and that most people start with wool. When she went all “I deliberately chose a lower quality flax” I immediately thought “that’s definitely a case of self-sabotage.” I get the logic, you don’t want to buy more expensive material when you’re just starting out with something, you might not stick with it, and the end result is probably not going to be that great. At the same time, lower quality materials tend to be tougher to work with, so she really made it extra difficult for herself!
I found it all very enjoyable though! Spinning seems like a really nice and satisfying hobby once one gets the hang of it.
Absolutely! I usually have a podcast up, but sometimes it’s really soothing to sit with just my thoughts and the sounds of the wheel
I could definitely see this. Did you spin this by hand or by wheel? It’s so pretty with all the colours. I’m like absolutely inept with my hands so a part of me is always part fascinated part jealous of anyone who can make things with their hands. My skills end at baking and cooking, haha.
This was on a wheel, but could absolutely be done on a spindle! It definitely takes some practice to get a feel for it, but everyone spins “art yarn” for the first little while 🤣
That is so freaking cool!! Well done!
Thank you!! I’m so obsessed with the way the colors laid out across the side of the cake!! Not sure I’ll ever find the will to actually commit it to a pattern lol
Great job!! I actually tried to make a handspinning community on Lemmy and kept getting an error about following the naming conventions and gave up trying to create it 😖
Oh no! I thought about trying to create one, but I honestly don’t have time to moderate and wouldn’t want to take it away from someone who does. Definitely let me know if you do manage to get it working!!
Have you looked into the Detroit Spinners?
I haven’t, what is that? Google’s only showing me a Motown group lol
Maybe they are working their way back to you.
How dare you. Take my disgruntled upvote!
How expensive is it to get started and how would you get started?
It depends if you can source the wool cheaply. If so, it’s about £40 for a drop spindle and some carding paddles. Otherwise, you’ll have to also factor in the costs of the fibre. Costs add up as you progress, of course… a spinning wheel would be your next big expense
I mainly buy dyed top roving, so I don’t actually do any of the carding myself. I really want a blending board to make my own blends, but life keeps getting in the way. Maybe someday…
I know a lot of spinners actually prefer spindle spinning to wheel spinning! Personally, I went through quite a few different kinds of spindles before deciding I wanted a wheel, but I have a close friend who prefers the more precise control of spindle spinning
The way I started was actually by going to my LYS’s celebration of World Wide Spin in Public day which falls on the third Saturday in September! But all you really need is a drop spindle and some fiber!
(Disclaimer: I am in the US, so this is all based on what’s available here and all monetary values are in USD.)
A basic starter spindle should run you between $15 - $20, but they’re actually really simple to DIY if you prefer. My first spindle looks like someone assembled it in a craft store (which, honestly, they might have), but it gets the job done!
As for fiber, my favorite places are The Spinnery Store (I buy directly from their website, but their fiber is on Etsy under slimchicken) and BlueMoonAlpacas on Etsy, but any combed top roving will do. Corridale wool is my favorite, but most of what you’ll find for cheap will probably be Merino. A lot of it will be in 4 oz braids, but 1 oz is plenty to start.
After that, I’d highly recommend JillianEve’s Drop Spindle for Beginners video on YouTube! She has a wide range of spinning tutorials and guides and does a great job of explaining things!
Hi there - I am still quite newbaz spinning myself. That being said, there is a method zo spin a 3-ply from one single and it would not middy your beautiful colors. It is called navajo plying or chain plying. Have fun with your handspun, it is very well done!
OP, is there anything you do with the raw wool to avoid potential health issues? Maybe a specific way that you wash or treat materials to avoid any diseases that livestock can carry?
Admittedly, I’ve never processed my own wool before, but I do know the combed top roving I generally use is subject to a pretty long cleaning and preparation process. I know that the first thing to go is the natural body oils of the animal as well as any barnyard debris that might carry bacteria. Dyed wool, like what I’ve used here, is also bleached first to remove any natural variation in the color of the wool that might interfere with the dye color. The difference between dyed combed top roving and wool yarn you’d find at the store is one water bath to set the twist. I found this site detailing the process here: Processing Wool to Yarn
If you’re still concerned about it, there are vegan alternatives, such as bamboo or flax fibers out there! I get a lot of my supplies from thespinnerystore.com (not affiliated, just a fan) and they stock a fair few alternative fibers.
Thank you for the detail, we’re excited to figure this out so my wife can get started spinning her own fiber.
Glad I could help! If you’re interested, Worldwide Spin in Public day is the third Saturday in September, so you might check if your LYS is celebrating! They’ll have better suggestions specific to your area and might even have some basic spindles and fiber to get you started!
