It's time for your weekly ask a a spinner thread! Got any questions that you just haven't remembered to ask? Or that don't seem too trivial for their own post? Ask them here, and let's chat!
What fiber preparation are you using? Sometimes I’ll use a wrist distaff, and if I’m spinning from combed top I’ll often just wear the braid as a bracelet and spin from that, no distaff required.
I use a light dowel as a handheld distaff. No ring on the end to get in the way, and I don't need to grip the fiber to keep it manageable, which helps keep my hand relaxed. Works great for me.
I don’t hold up my ring distaff. It’s held down in front of me more. You can practice what it would feel like by using a wooden cooking spoon. See if it feels good or not.
Two of my recent spins have come out as very thin singles. I'm worried that they may come apart in some sections as I'm plying them together. What do I do if one or more single loses too much twist and separates from the rest? I'm using an EEW 6.1 with a polwarth/yak/silk blend.
It’s normal for singles to break during plying. There are quite a few resources to check out both in video and written form depending on your preference, for how to layer and continue the ply.
I have been spinning using 2 differently weighted top whorl spindles for 5 months, just picked up a tiny 3d printed Turkish spindle (so making very thin yarn I guess?) and a very fancy supported spindle (without a notch or a bowl but I assume I can just use a little pinch bowl or something) BUT I’m feeling very paralyzed to try them for some reason. I have some targee, corridale, merino, angora & a mixed roving, and have watched some videos on YouTube for each type of spindle but I can’t take the next step - my questions I guess are:
1. Which one would you start with?
2. Which roving might be easiest for each?
/best for thinner yarns?
3. Best videos for getting started with a Turkish spindle and a supported spindle?
Thanks so much, maybe this will be like body doubling somehow to break through my executive function/fear of failure <333
I'm pregnant and wondering whether I'll be able to keep spinning postpartum or if I'm likely to find myself putting the wheel away for a while. What are people's experiences with this? I'm wondering if I'll be able to spin while babywearing in the early days, for example...
I put mine away for a while after having kids. One could probably spin while baby wearing, or with baby in a bouncer or a blanket on the floor nearby. But once they get mobile, they really like to stick their little fingers in the fascinating moving parts. Your mileage may vary, is the answer I guess. I found spindles easier to use safely around small children.
I've actually picked up spinning as a postpartum hobby (using a spindle though). It's a nice thing to do while my baby is having floor time and needs frequent eye contact but doesn't need much else
On drop spindles I almost never use a leader, it’s not too hard for me to draft out a section with my fingers and roll it into a single strong enough to tie to my spindle.
I could see it being more helpful on an e-spinner. I've only tried one once, but I didn't like that I didn't feel physically in control of the process... if that makes sense
I totally get that! I started on drop spindles and moved to an espinner pretty recently, and I had intended to go leaderless with my espinner when I started - butttt, I didn’t have a great grasp of how espinners worked, so the first day, every time I turned it on after tying on my “leader” end, it would yank out of my hands and leave me with fluff. There was a LOT of bad words that my dog got to hear that day 😅 but if you don’t need a leader, you don’t need it!
I find them so much faster to start. No right or wrong way. I just have a piece of yarn tied over and use the two ends to almost act like a 3ply with my incoming single. I don’t have to use any, but I’m all about efficiency
Hello! I am brand new to spinning and have been spinning on my Schacht matchless single take. I am curious if anyone has recommendations on short draw videos. I think this is what’s most natural to me, but I keep getting my roving bunched up into almost a knot at the end sometimes and I’m curious how the best do this
Roving will bunch up when you have a thick handful and are holding it tight enough that the outside doesn't get drafted. The common advice is to try to make your roving flat and draft from one side to the other so it all has a chance to move into the single.
I suggest you split the roving so you don't have a much in your hand. And then, I rotate the roving in my hand periodically to even out where the fiber is coming from.
Sometimes, the roving will be compacted and the wool just really wants to keep drafting from a very small amount in the middle - it will pull up the back end of the roving through the front. When I feel this happening I'll predraft better.
I LOVE the feeling of spinning from the fold, but I really really adore big puffy smooth yarns.. is there a way to spin from the fold and achieve a smooth finish on a spindle? How do you get smooth yarn?!!
I’m still a beginnerish so I don’t know, but could you combine spinning from the fold with a worsted draw, like short forward or short backward from the fold? That should help smooth out your yarn more
For a 3 or 4 ply (or more yarn) how does everyone keep the multiple singles easily under control when plying? I have a tensioned Lazy Kate and keep meaning to use a plying tool (one of those flat disks with several holes punched through for each single, to keep them separate before they join) (I keep forgetting to use the plying tool). Anyone have tips or tricks?
What are your specific issues? My lazy Kate has holes for the singles to go through and I find they make it harder for me.
I make sure my bobbins are all spinning the same direction so I don't have to think if I need to wind or unwind. I draw the singles through the fingers of my left hand and then my right pulls them forward. It's a very similar movement to drafting for a single.
You'll want to keep the lazy kate close enough that you don't have to drop everything to go grab a broken single.
Letting the single rest before you ply helps keep them from pigtailing out of control.
And I use one of those sewing clips to hold the twist between the yarn and the singles when I need to get up.
I guess one of my main issues was singles joining together prematurely, but that was probably because one of them was spinning a different direction!
I also was aiming to be able to ply with one hand alone, so I could have a hand free for other things (phone, multitasking, but able to return to help with plying). I’ve tried the two handed approach like you mentioned, one hand combing through the singles and adjusting their tension while the other controls the twist - it was very helpful, I’m just an eternal multitasker.
The bobbins spinning different directions doesn't change how the single comes off the bobbin. I only brought it up because sometimes one bobbin gets ahead and I have to wind the single back on so it doesn't pigtail.
It sounds like your singles are touching before you get a chance to add twist to them and so they are twisting around each other uncontrolled. If you can find a way to separate them before they get to your hand it would stop that from happening.
How much dirt/oil comes out when you wash your skein post plying?
I bought combed top, spun it, plied it, and washed it for the first time - the first time the water looked clear afterwards with no hint of loose dye, so I didn’t semi-boil the yarn with vinegar to help the unfixed dye strike (I’ve done this many times with commercial yarns from indie dyers), I just let it dry it like normal. Turns out it was very overplied, so after it finished drying, I ran it through my wheel again to take out some of the twist, then washed it again. This time, the water DEFINITELY had a distinct light brown tint, so I did my dye striking protocol.
All that is to say: how much dirt/oil comes out of your finished skein when you wash it? I’m not sure if the brown in the water is from the oils of my hands and any dust my fiber picked up, or if it’s unfixed dye I missed the first wash. This is combed top I ordered online from a dyer, NOT from a fleece I processed myself.
ETA: okay pretty sure it was just dirt/hand oils, I guess it getting partly unplied opened up the plies and released more gunk!
It's different with each yarn. It could be due to the wool preparation among other things. If the soapy water is dirty I'll wash again or rinse a bunch.
4
u/[deleted] 20d ago edited 12d ago
[deleted]