Choose Your Tools! - Spinning Yarn For Beginners

It can be very confusing to know where to start when you want to spin yarn. Do you have to start with a spindle before using a spinning wheel? Are there less expensive ways to get started? What about accessibility needs? What fiber is best for beginners? In this video I'm going to explain different tools for spinning yarn so you can determine where you want to begin in a way that is best for your budget and spinning goals.

Let's make yarn!

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[venite_makes_things]

Thank you for this! Especially the caution at the end. I’ve been radicalised through YouTube from a acrylic crocheter to a natural dyes non-superwash knitter and now I have my first spindle. It’s extremely dangerous and I’d advise fellow crafters not to watch fiber vlogs without supervision. ;)

[tracysmith]

Just after graduating High School I went to an introduction to "spinning" class. I started spinning in 1972 on a drop spindle using my poodle dogs' clippings. The carders were my hair brushes for my poodle. My first wheel was an Ashford traditional. It came to me in parts and unfinished. I sanded it down, stained it, and assembled it all by myself. We have been pals ever since. I even taught my granddaughter how to spin on my Buddy and with my original drop spindle.
While living on the Navajo reservation I learned how to spin with a Navajo spindle and used that yarn to weave a small Navajo type rug.
You never know where your spinning will take you. Enjoy life.

[lunarpurl]

The rabbit hole is deep and you fall in so fast!
Very shortly after I got my first spindle and a tiny handful of wool to start practicing with, three alpaca fleeces fell into my possession which sparked a whole other interest in fiber prep I didn’t know I needed. And now I’m working to convince my in-laws that the animals they want living on their land shouldn’t be horses and cows but sheep and alpacas.
Also trying to figure out if there’s any way I can quit my job and just become a herder and crafter as a profession. 😂

[heatherbill]

I’ve been spindle spinning for about a year and finally ordered an e-spinner. I’m grateful that you mentioned the physicality of operating a treadle. I went with an e-spinner because I have a chronic hamstring issue and did not want that to suck the joy out of my spinning. You don’t find many people discussing injuries or disabilities when it comes to choosing a spinning wheel. 💗

[anonknitter]

"The rabbit hole is deep" ...truer words were never spoken 🙃

[MsLadyhorse]

I started with a crochet hook and my sheepdog's fur. I'd brush a handful of fur off the dog, hook the end of the handful, twiddle the hook a few times around, draft, wrap, and repeat. That first bit of string 20 years ago became a pair of fingerless gloves that I still have and use. Life interfered, and I didn't really spin again until I got sick in 2015 and left a retail job. I built my first wheel from scrap wood, a bicycle wheel drive wheel, lawnmower wheel whorl, a rope spool, and a piece of copper pipe. I was given an alpaca fleece to play with, and went back to the hook and twiddle for a while, made a whorl from a chunk of firewood, figured out the drop without dropping it, and hello rabbit hole!! I found a CPW in June, and I now have at least 1000 yards of Targhee, a few hundred yards of merino/silk blend, and 5 churro fleeces to scour, because I learned to shear my neighbor's sheep this year.

[nataliehowe]

This is hilarious about the merino! I ordered a simple Etsy drop spindle beginners kit. I loved it and decided to order some lovely merino roving I had seen. It came yesterday, and immediately I was like “Wait. This is hard! Why won’t it pull into nice strands like the other stuff?” The roving is gorgeous so I will wait until my spinning improves, but I definitely have to agree with you.

[JelMain]

I found a pair of carders made all the difference opening roving up into really floofy rolags to spin from. It's easier to thicken from floof than draw out thinner from something thick.

The full process is:

Sheep
Raw fleece - cruddy
Scoured fleece - cleaner
Combed locks
Drum-carded batt
Dized into the rolls above
Combed into rolags
Spun into single strand wool
Plied into multi-ply wool
Knitted, woven, crocheted into something useful
Worn out
Felted into something else...

Not all steps are followed religiously, but it'll give you an idea.

[elliotteinhorn]

I really like how you emphasize that one doesn‘t need to spent much money and respect that some people justify can’t.
Btw I failed spinning with a spindle but it’s quite easy for me to use a spinning wheel although it‘s been expensive to get one. Sadly wheels aren’t easily accessible here, especially used ones.

[minecraftingmum]

My first spindle was a Turkish spindle that I got from Ashford and the first wool I spun was merino and alpaca, because I liked the colour. I had a choice between Merino and corriedale, but the corriedale was more expensive, and I wanted to work with merino, so that's what decided it for me. I like the Turkish spindle because it makes a centre pull ball that I can then ply from. My spinning wheel was found second hand, and dates from the 1960s. I don't remember what it originally cost, but it was measured in pounds, shillings and pence, which makes it pre 1963/4 I think. I also got a top whorl spindle, simply because I wanted the tigers eye stone whorl and I use chopsticks as spindle sticks. They're very smooth, so I use a bit of tape to stop my hitches slipping.
First yarns are 'art yarns', lumpy, bumpy, thick and thin, but often still usable. Keep a sample of these first yarns so you can see how well you are progressing.

[klutzygurl]

I really struggled with top whorl drop spindles, and still do haha. I switched to a wheel that I bought new and things got much easier. It made more sense for me to draft horizontally as opposed to vertically for reasons unknown to me. I have fallen down the spindle rabbit hole again and have fallen in love with cross arm Turkish style spindles. Great info! People should create with the tools and fibers that interest them!! 😀

[jemts]

I started learning to spin this summer, using a support spindle I made out of a paintbrush handle and clay discs (fired in my pottery class), and spun in a crappy clay bowl I made. My first fibre was natural flax (made 2 skeins). Also got some ram wool fibre from a local farm, and already have a skein. So excited to try plying with it!

[KhalfaniGabaski]

I love the way you speak; it sounds very soft and mindful, perfect for a beginner in spinning. I hope that one day I can learn to spin and be reminded of your kind guidance in making yarn

[nz-nz]

Oh you’re not joking about how deep the rabbit hole
Also, this “hobby” (aka addiction) is BULKY (compare a pound of paper to a pound of wool fleece).
Storage can take over your house.
I have converted a small bedroom as my craft room, however, my drum carder is in another room and my e-spinner sits at the end of my breakfast bar so I can get a few spins in whenever 🤣🤣
The advantage of wool though is that it’s not heavy, so I have put lots of simple shelves high up in my craft room. As long as the boxes are well labeled (with date and wool sample showing) you can easily see at a glance what you have.
I don’t store anything in plastic because of sweating and not being able to “breath”. I like cardboard boxes 🤷‍♀️ (touch wood, I don’t have a moth problem).
Another great storage option are those cube wall units. If you get the inners with a finger hole then you can pass the end of your yarn through the hole and you can instantly see what’s in the container.

[bunhelsingslegacy]

Who has coordinating accessories and craft supplies? Well, when everything you own is purple.... :)

I tried a wheel about twenty years ago and its owner said I did better than expected for a beginner but am kind of mystified by drop spindles... good thing I haven't quite started on spinning yet, though I've got bags of bunny fluff to try to incorporate when I do! (I know it's on the short side, was figuring I'd have to blend it with something longer for strength). I will be watching more of your videos to see if I might figure out drop spindles since I really don't have room for a wheel right now anyway!

[chubbychelbo]

So I just decided like 3 days ago that I need to start spinning. I'm in my mid-late 30s and I'm on a journey of discovery if you will and this feels like a very fluid next step so here I am. And this was incredibly helpful and concise. Thank you so so very much sis!

[michellelamb]

My spinning journey had been a bit circuitous...

I started by taking a spinning workshop in 2017 at NY sheep and wool. I liked it but was not ready to commit to the price tag of a new wheel. I bought a spindle and some fiber (merino... though we were also cautioned against it at the time). The spindle lay mostly unused until 2020 when I had a sort of epiphany related to the drafting. After watching some YouTube videos including yours, I realized I needed a fiber with a longer staple length. I went out the next day to my LYS and bought a braid of BFL and I have never looked back! I now have 2 more spindles and an EEW 6.0 which I love. I'm working on spinning some alpaca and I have 2 bags of sheep fleece waiting for me to scour... so I agree, the rabbit hole is very deep indeed.

Thanks for making all these videos, it has been incredibly helpful in progressing my spinning confidence and consistency!

[TheAndreasf]

Starting with combed top is a clutch tip. My first spin was with a Finnsheep batt and I got pretty frustrated (and the yarn was not good lol), but now for my third spin I'm using a finnsheep combed top and it's SO much smoother and more fun.

[kathybrownell]

I had been spinning for several years before encountering BFL. I'm in love with this fiber, drafts like a dream and makes the most gorgeous yarn. The sheep are cute too.

[Bellbebell]

So wonderful to think of all the new people coming to the channel and to the hobby!