If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
spinning
I've recently taken up knitting again after a few year break, and was
perhpas thinking of spinning my own yarn, but I have never done this before, and frankly, I don't really know much about spinning. Would anyone know of a great website or book that could teach me more about this? While I have found some websites that were helpful, I am still clueless. Can I spin by hand? I don't want to be fully commited and spend lots of money of equipment like a wheel, I just want to try it out. Also, this may sound stupid, but what kind of materials would you spin? I don't have a sheep in my backyard that I can go get wool from LOL. Can I buy wool that is meant for spinning? I have heard of less conventional materials such as dog hair for instance. This site for example, http://www.mdnpd.com/pd/, talked about that and had tutorials about spinning. Thanks for any help. |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 16:04:58 GMT, Bibe wrote:
I've recently taken up knitting again after a few year break, and was perhpas thinking of spinning my own yarn, but I have never done this before, and frankly, I don't really know much about spinning. Would anyone know of a great website or book that could teach me more about this? While I have found some websites that were helpful, I am still clueless. Can I spin by hand? I don't want to be fully commited and spend lots of money of equipment like a wheel, I just want to try it out. Also, this may sound stupid, but what kind of materials would you spin? I don't have a sheep in my backyard that I can go get wool from LOL. Can I buy wool that is meant for spinning? I have heard of less conventional materials such as dog hair for instance. This site for example, http://www.mdnpd.com/pd/, talked about that and had tutorials about spinning. Thanks for any help. Bibe, you've come to the right place! I'm a newbie spinner myself, and first, there are NO dumb questions. YES, you can get fleece, rovings, rollags and slivers of wool and other spinnable material at lots of places! Since I'm a newbie, I'm going to let some of the more experienced spinners jjump in here and really give you the 'dirt'.... ITMT (in the meantime) I'd suggest you get yourself a copy of Spin-Off magazine (published by Interweave Press) and really look at all THEIR sources for all your spinning needs. I have 4 really good books on spinning, and will gladly list them and their ISBN #'s if someone else doesn't. Hugs, Noreen -- STRIP * tease * to email me. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
There was a post here recently called from Sheep to yarn. I asked about it
because my MIL has some sheep in her backyard and I was wondering if it was worth it to take the woll from her in it's raw form. Most of the steps should pertain to you. I copied it and put it in a document form. I hope that no one - in particular Monica -minds this repost: Very basic steps from sheep to yarn. I repeat, basic. You need to read up on the web or in any of the multitude of spinning books available now to get detailed idea. Especially as they usually have pictures to help. g : 1 - Skirt the fleece; usually necessary if you're not buying fleece from someone who's in the business of selling to spinners. If buying from someone who is in the business, their fleeces should already be skirted. They also usually offer you the choice of raw, unwashed fleeces (cheaper), or washed fleece. Skirting means to remove all the yucky wool around the edges that has manure tags stuck in it, any bits that are too short/thin/matted/whatever to work with - that sort of thing. You may need to get VM (vegetable matter; i.e., sprigs of hay, burrs, etc.), out of the fleece, too. This can be done by shaking it over newspaper or a tarp. If really bad, another method is to lay it on a screened surface of some sort and thrash it with a thin twig, to shake more of the VM out. This also helps remove loose dirt. Sometimes, though, you just have to go through and pick it out by hand. In other words, if you don't want a lot of trouble with VM, don't buy a fleece with a lot of VM in it. With minor VM, teasing, then carding/combing usually gets out the worst, and you simply pick out any leftover bits as you spin. 2 - If you're going to be storing it for a while - say, more than a month or so - it *is* best to wash it, even if it's a nice, clean fleece. If unwashed fleeces are stored too long, the lanolin can harden and be difficult to get out. This also makes it harder to card and spin since the lanolin may not soften up too easily, although warming the fleece helps somewhat with that problem. (not much, if it's too bad.) If the fleece is dirty and has a lot of 'suint' (sweat, etc.), this can make it *really* hard to get clean later. The lanolin will bind any dirt to itself and the wool. Plus, they can be rather smelly. They can even mold! Or the dreaded muths, to steal a term from Elizabeth Zimmerman, could attack. (just imagine an umlaut over the 'u' in 'muth' gg) Storing unwashed fleeces in plastic bags is ok over a short period of time, but not for long-term if they're tightly shut. Remember, muths like the dark. (my spinning teacher said bay leaves were a good natural muth repellent. she also said if you *had* to store fleeces in plastic bags, leave the bags a little open, keep them in a lit place, and give the bags a kick every time you pass by; muths don't like agitation, either.) Boxes of some sort that let fleece breathe a little are best for long-term storage, whether the fleeces are washed or not. Washing involves detergent, a big container, hot water, time to soak - a few to several hours - *no* agitation or sudden temperature changes in the water, rinsing, and laying out to dry so that air can circulate freely around the fleece. Either that, or you keep turning the fleece over repeatedly so it'll all dry. The whole thing will take a while. At this time, you might also dye it before drying, if you don't want the natural color. Or you can wait and dye the finished yarn. If you plan to spin soon and 'in the grease' - i.e., unwashed, usually reserved for really nice clean fleeces - proceed to step 3 instead; washing the yarn after spinning will take care of any dirt. (spinning in the grease *is* nice. the lanolin lubricates the wool helps it slide better when you're drafting as you spin. but it's not utterly necessary to be 'authentic', and some people don't like getting lanolin all over everything; or the smell, even if it's mild. plus some fleeces can be *really* greasy! in which case, wear old clothes. but your hands will get nice and soft...) 3 - Sort the fleece. Neck, belly, and tail area wool usually isn't as good as back and side wool. Separate out the really good stuff from the lesser-quality wool. The not-so-great wool can combined with the same from other fleeces to make lesser quality yarn; combined with middle-quality wool to stretch it; or used for felt. 4 - Card or comb the fleece. 5 - Finally, spin. (which can include plying it or not.) 6 - Wash yarn to set the twist - and to clean it, if you've spun it in the grease. Another good time to dye it, immediately after washing, while it's still wet. 7 - Dry yarn, blocked (under slight tension) or un-blocked, depending on type of yarn and effect you're going for. Voila, you're ready to knit, crochet, whatever. Expense - i.e., equipment, above and beyond buying the fleece. (and the price of fleece is no problem if you've got a relative who'll give you some. g): You need something to card or comb with. This can get expensive. My LeClerc cards I bought back in the early 70's cost $22 the pair, and that's a looong time ago. However, for starting out, a dog flicker brush works just fine, if a little slower, since you'll have to work lock by lock. Or get two of them, and use them the same as you would wool cards. They won't hold nearly the amount of wool at once as real cards will, but they'll work. Carding/combing aligns the strands of wool, gets most of any foreign matter out, and gets rid of tangles and short fibers. Sometimes you won't want to do much of it, other times you will; depends on what kind of yarn you're making and the end effect you want. Some fleeces you can spin straight from the locks. Some just need a bit of teasing - which means you spread the locks of wool apart a bit and fluff them up. But usually, you'll want to card or comb the fleece. Drop spindles - well, you probably saw the other thread today on making a spindle from a dowel and some CD's, with other odds and ends - at least one link was given for finding instructions. That's cheap enough. Or as Helen, I think it was, suggested, a wooden wheel for a child's toy and a dowel. Or a dowel and a flat wooden cabinet knob as the whorl. Dowel and a whorl made from polymer clay. Scads of options, beyond buying one. In an emergency, you can use a crochet hook stuck through a small potato - and yes, I've tried it, it *does* work! LOL. I don't suggest it for learning, though. bg Look at pix on the web and you can figure out what you're going for if you make your spindle. If you buy one, you should be able to find a decent one for about $15-$30, depending on how fancy you get. (and where you buy it.) Add in a big bucket or two to wash your fleece in, unless you have a spare tub available for several hours at a time, and that's about it. You don't *have* to have a niddy-noddy or a swift to wind the yarn off into skeins, although they're nice. Nor a yarn-blocker if you want to dry your yarn under some tension; hang the skeins from a hanger and tie a light weight to the free end. Not counting price of fleece, you should be able to get away with only spending from as low as $12-$15 or so (home-made spindle and flicker brush for carding), to maybe $50-$60. (hand cards and a spindle. not sure about prices on wool combs, I've never bought any; that might bump the initial investment higher.) Books on spinning you can get from your library, even if you have to use inter-library loan. Or check Amazon, half.com, etc.; plenty have been published. Check spinning suppliers online; most of them carry books. Ditto weaving suppliers, as many of them also sell spinning supplies. InterWeave Press is a major spinning/weaving publisher; both books, and their Spin-Off Magazine, and they do have a webpage. And there's plenty of instruction on the web, just google it. Dive on in and have fun! Monica "Noreen's Knit*che" wrote in message . .. On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 16:04:58 GMT, Bibe wrote: I've recently taken up knitting again after a few year break, and was perhpas thinking of spinning my own yarn, but I have never done this before, and frankly, I don't really know much about spinning. Would anyone know of a great website or book that could teach me more about this? While I have found some websites that were helpful, I am still clueless. Can I spin by hand? I don't want to be fully commited and spend lots of money of equipment like a wheel, I just want to try it out. Also, this may sound stupid, but what kind of materials would you spin? I don't have a sheep in my backyard that I can go get wool from LOL. Can I buy wool that is meant for spinning? I have heard of less conventional materials such as dog hair for instance. This site for example, http://www.mdnpd.com/pd/, talked about that and had tutorials about spinning. Thanks for any help. Bibe, you've come to the right place! I'm a newbie spinner myself, and first, there are NO dumb questions. YES, you can get fleece, rovings, rollags and slivers of wool and other spinnable material at lots of places! Since I'm a newbie, I'm going to let some of the more experienced spinners jjump in here and really give you the 'dirt'.... ITMT (in the meantime) I'd suggest you get yourself a copy of Spin-Off magazine (published by Interweave Press) and really look at all THEIR sources for all your spinning needs. I have 4 really good books on spinning, and will gladly list them and their ISBN #'s if someone else doesn't. Hugs, Noreen -- STRIP * tease * to email me. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 17:15:42 GMT, news.sonic.net wrote:
There was a post here recently called from Sheep to yarn. I asked about it because my MIL has some sheep in her backyard and I was wondering if it was worth it to take the woll from her in it's raw form. Most of the steps should pertain to you. I copied it and put it in a document form. I hope that no one - in particular Monica -minds this repost: Kelly, I'm absolutely positive that Monica won't mind one bit! I also wanted to add to Bibe... you'll be hearing from Helen, Cher, Els and Slinky Toy, just to mention a few, regarding this subject, so watch for their replies. I also forgot to tell Bibe, YES, you can spin with your hands, and you can spin with a DropSpindle... you're NOT limited to a wheel at all! JM2C, Noreen Very basic steps from sheep to yarn. I repeat, basic. You need to read up on the web or in any of the multitude of spinning books available now to get detailed idea. Especially as they usually have pictures to help. g : 1 - Skirt the fleece; usually necessary if you're not buying fleece from someone who's in the business of selling to spinners. If buying from someone who is in the business, their fleeces should already be skirted. They also usually offer you the choice of raw, unwashed fleeces (cheaper), or washed fleece. Skirting means to remove all the yucky wool around the edges that has manure tags stuck in it, any bits that are too short/thin/matted/whatever to work with - that sort of thing. You may need to get VM (vegetable matter; i.e., sprigs of hay, burrs, etc.), out of the fleece, too. This can be done by shaking it over newspaper or a tarp. If really bad, another method is to lay it on a screened surface of some sort and thrash it with a thin twig, to shake more of the VM out. This also helps remove loose dirt. Sometimes, though, you just have to go through and pick it out by hand. In other words, if you don't want a lot of trouble with VM, don't buy a fleece with a lot of VM in it. With minor VM, teasing, then carding/combing usually gets out the worst, and you simply pick out any leftover bits as you spin. 2 - If you're going to be storing it for a while - say, more than a month or so - it *is* best to wash it, even if it's a nice, clean fleece. If unwashed fleeces are stored too long, the lanolin can harden and be difficult to get out. This also makes it harder to card and spin since the lanolin may not soften up too easily, although warming the fleece helps somewhat with that problem. (not much, if it's too bad.) If the fleece is dirty and has a lot of 'suint' (sweat, etc.), this can make it *really* hard to get clean later. The lanolin will bind any dirt to itself and the wool. Plus, they can be rather smelly. They can even mold! Or the dreaded muths, to steal a term from Elizabeth Zimmerman, could attack. (just imagine an umlaut over the 'u' in 'muth' gg) Storing unwashed fleeces in plastic bags is ok over a short period of time, but not for long-term if they're tightly shut. Remember, muths like the dark. (my spinning teacher said bay leaves were a good natural muth repellent. she also said if you *had* to store fleeces in plastic bags, leave the bags a little open, keep them in a lit place, and give the bags a kick every time you pass by; muths don't like agitation, either.) Boxes of some sort that let fleece breathe a little are best for long-term storage, whether the fleeces are washed or not. Washing involves detergent, a big container, hot water, time to soak - a few to several hours - *no* agitation or sudden temperature changes in the water, rinsing, and laying out to dry so that air can circulate freely around the fleece. Either that, or you keep turning the fleece over repeatedly so it'll all dry. The whole thing will take a while. At this time, you might also dye it before drying, if you don't want the natural color. Or you can wait and dye the finished yarn. If you plan to spin soon and 'in the grease' - i.e., unwashed, usually reserved for really nice clean fleeces - proceed to step 3 instead; washing the yarn after spinning will take care of any dirt. (spinning in the grease *is* nice. the lanolin lubricates the wool helps it slide better when you're drafting as you spin. but it's not utterly necessary to be 'authentic', and some people don't like getting lanolin all over everything; or the smell, even if it's mild. plus some fleeces can be *really* greasy! in which case, wear old clothes. but your hands will get nice and soft...) 3 - Sort the fleece. Neck, belly, and tail area wool usually isn't as good as back and side wool. Separate out the really good stuff from the lesser-quality wool. The not-so-great wool can combined with the same from other fleeces to make lesser quality yarn; combined with middle-quality wool to stretch it; or used for felt. 4 - Card or comb the fleece. 5 - Finally, spin. (which can include plying it or not.) 6 - Wash yarn to set the twist - and to clean it, if you've spun it in the grease. Another good time to dye it, immediately after washing, while it's still wet. 7 - Dry yarn, blocked (under slight tension) or un-blocked, depending on type of yarn and effect you're going for. Voila, you're ready to knit, crochet, whatever. Expense - i.e., equipment, above and beyond buying the fleece. (and the price of fleece is no problem if you've got a relative who'll give you some. g): You need something to card or comb with. This can get expensive. My LeClerc cards I bought back in the early 70's cost $22 the pair, and that's a looong time ago. However, for starting out, a dog flicker brush works just fine, if a little slower, since you'll have to work lock by lock. Or get two of them, and use them the same as you would wool cards. They won't hold nearly the amount of wool at once as real cards will, but they'll work. Carding/combing aligns the strands of wool, gets most of any foreign matter out, and gets rid of tangles and short fibers. Sometimes you won't want to do much of it, other times you will; depends on what kind of yarn you're making and the end effect you want. Some fleeces you can spin straight from the locks. Some just need a bit of teasing - which means you spread the locks of wool apart a bit and fluff them up. But usually, you'll want to card or comb the fleece. Drop spindles - well, you probably saw the other thread today on making a spindle from a dowel and some CD's, with other odds and ends - at least one link was given for finding instructions. That's cheap enough. Or as Helen, I think it was, suggested, a wooden wheel for a child's toy and a dowel. Or a dowel and a flat wooden cabinet knob as the whorl. Dowel and a whorl made from polymer clay. Scads of options, beyond buying one. In an emergency, you can use a crochet hook stuck through a small potato - and yes, I've tried it, it *does* work! LOL. I don't suggest it for learning, though. bg Look at pix on the web and you can figure out what you're going for if you make your spindle. If you buy one, you should be able to find a decent one for about $15-$30, depending on how fancy you get. (and where you buy it.) Add in a big bucket or two to wash your fleece in, unless you have a spare tub available for several hours at a time, and that's about it. You don't *have* to have a niddy-noddy or a swift to wind the yarn off into skeins, although they're nice. Nor a yarn-blocker if you want to dry your yarn under some tension; hang the skeins from a hanger and tie a light weight to the free end. Not counting price of fleece, you should be able to get away with only spending from as low as $12-$15 or so (home-made spindle and flicker brush for carding), to maybe $50-$60. (hand cards and a spindle. not sure about prices on wool combs, I've never bought any; that might bump the initial investment higher.) Books on spinning you can get from your library, even if you have to use inter-library loan. Or check Amazon, half.com, etc.; plenty have been published. Check spinning suppliers online; most of them carry books. Ditto weaving suppliers, as many of them also sell spinning supplies. InterWeave Press is a major spinning/weaving publisher; both books, and their Spin-Off Magazine, and they do have a webpage. And there's plenty of instruction on the web, just google it. Dive on in and have fun! Monica -- STRIP * tease * to email me. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
On the Interweave (publisher of many excellent mags and books) you can
find pdf-format leaflets that will get you started on the spinning path. If you spend a bit of time with Google you can find directions for making many of your own fiber tools, including a spindle made with a couple of CDs, a rubber grommet and a piece of wooden dowel. There are endless sources of spinning fiber, including wool in its various preparations, cotton, flax (linen), cashmere, and on and on and on. Again, Google is your friend, though I can recommend a couple of vendors if you email me off-list. On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 16:04:58 GMT, Bibe wrote: I've recently taken up knitting again after a few year break, and was perhpas thinking of spinning my own yarn, but I have never done this before, and frankly, I don't really know much about spinning. Would anyone know of a great website or book that could teach me more about this? While I have found some websites that were helpful, I am still clueless. Can I spin by hand? I don't want to be fully commited and spend lots of money of equipment like a wheel, I just want to try it out. Also, this may sound stupid, but what kind of materials would you spin? I don't have a sheep in my backyard that I can go get wool from LOL. Can I buy wool that is meant for spinning? I have heard of less conventional materials such as dog hair for instance. This site for example, http://www.mdnpd.com/pd/, talked about that and had tutorials about spinning. Thanks for any help. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks. This helps to understand the basics of how it would be done. I
have a relative that has a farm, might get in touch with her and see if she can hook me up with some wool . Will probably try to buy a book about this too. I just wanted to know what the process was before diving in and buying all kind of things, but I like the idea of perhaps building my own spindle, and using a dog flicker brush for starters. I had a look at some of the drop spindle techniques, and it's difficult to see how all those strands will get 'together' and form a piece of yarn. Looks like fun tho. news.sonic.net wrote: There was a post here recently called from Sheep to yarn. I asked about it because my MIL has some sheep in her backyard and I was wondering if it was worth it to take the woll from her in it's raw form. Most of the steps should pertain to you. I copied it and put it in a document form. I hope that no one - in particular Monica -minds this repost: Very basic steps from sheep to yarn. I repeat, basic. You need to read up on the web or in any of the multitude of spinning books available now to get detailed idea. Especially as they usually have pictures to help. g : 1 - Skirt the fleece; usually necessary if you're not buying fleece from someone who's in the business of selling to spinners. If buying from someone who is in the business, their fleeces should already be skirted. They also usually offer you the choice of raw, unwashed fleeces (cheaper), or washed fleece. Skirting means to remove all the yucky wool around the edges that has manure tags stuck in it, any bits that are too short/thin/matted/whatever to work with - that sort of thing. You may need to get VM (vegetable matter; i.e., sprigs of hay, burrs, etc.), out of the fleece, too. This can be done by shaking it over newspaper or a tarp. If really bad, another method is to lay it on a screened surface of some sort and thrash it with a thin twig, to shake more of the VM out. This also helps remove loose dirt. Sometimes, though, you just have to go through and pick it out by hand. In other words, if you don't want a lot of trouble with VM, don't buy a fleece with a lot of VM in it. With minor VM, teasing, then carding/combing usually gets out the worst, and you simply pick out any leftover bits as you spin. 2 - If you're going to be storing it for a while - say, more than a month or so - it *is* best to wash it, even if it's a nice, clean fleece. If unwashed fleeces are stored too long, the lanolin can harden and be difficult to get out. This also makes it harder to card and spin since the lanolin may not soften up too easily, although warming the fleece helps somewhat with that problem. (not much, if it's too bad.) If the fleece is dirty and has a lot of 'suint' (sweat, etc.), this can make it *really* hard to get clean later. The lanolin will bind any dirt to itself and the wool. Plus, they can be rather smelly. They can even mold! Or the dreaded muths, to steal a term from Elizabeth Zimmerman, could attack. (just imagine an umlaut over the 'u' in 'muth' gg) Storing unwashed fleeces in plastic bags is ok over a short period of time, but not for long-term if they're tightly shut. Remember, muths like the dark. (my spinning teacher said bay leaves were a good natural muth repellent. she also said if you *had* to store fleeces in plastic bags, leave the bags a little open, keep them in a lit place, and give the bags a kick every time you pass by; muths don't like agitation, either.) Boxes of some sort that let fleece breathe a little are best for long-term storage, whether the fleeces are washed or not. Washing involves detergent, a big container, hot water, time to soak - a few to several hours - *no* agitation or sudden temperature changes in the water, rinsing, and laying out to dry so that air can circulate freely around the fleece. Either that, or you keep turning the fleece over repeatedly so it'll all dry. The whole thing will take a while. At this time, you might also dye it before drying, if you don't want the natural color. Or you can wait and dye the finished yarn. If you plan to spin soon and 'in the grease' - i.e., unwashed, usually reserved for really nice clean fleeces - proceed to step 3 instead; washing the yarn after spinning will take care of any dirt. (spinning in the grease *is* nice. the lanolin lubricates the wool helps it slide better when you're drafting as you spin. but it's not utterly necessary to be 'authentic', and some people don't like getting lanolin all over everything; or the smell, even if it's mild. plus some fleeces can be *really* greasy! in which case, wear old clothes. but your hands will get nice and soft...) 3 - Sort the fleece. Neck, belly, and tail area wool usually isn't as good as back and side wool. Separate out the really good stuff from the lesser-quality wool. The not-so-great wool can combined with the same from other fleeces to make lesser quality yarn; combined with middle-quality wool to stretch it; or used for felt. 4 - Card or comb the fleece. 5 - Finally, spin. (which can include plying it or not.) 6 - Wash yarn to set the twist - and to clean it, if you've spun it in the grease. Another good time to dye it, immediately after washing, while it's still wet. 7 - Dry yarn, blocked (under slight tension) or un-blocked, depending on type of yarn and effect you're going for. Voila, you're ready to knit, crochet, whatever. Expense - i.e., equipment, above and beyond buying the fleece. (and the price of fleece is no problem if you've got a relative who'll give you some. g): You need something to card or comb with. This can get expensive. My LeClerc cards I bought back in the early 70's cost $22 the pair, and that's a looong time ago. However, for starting out, a dog flicker brush works just fine, if a little slower, since you'll have to work lock by lock. Or get two of them, and use them the same as you would wool cards. They won't hold nearly the amount of wool at once as real cards will, but they'll work. Carding/combing aligns the strands of wool, gets most of any foreign matter out, and gets rid of tangles and short fibers. Sometimes you won't want to do much of it, other times you will; depends on what kind of yarn you're making and the end effect you want. Some fleeces you can spin straight from the locks. Some just need a bit of teasing - which means you spread the locks of wool apart a bit and fluff them up. But usually, you'll want to card or comb the fleece. Drop spindles - well, you probably saw the other thread today on making a spindle from a dowel and some CD's, with other odds and ends - at least one link was given for finding instructions. That's cheap enough. Or as Helen, I think it was, suggested, a wooden wheel for a child's toy and a dowel. Or a dowel and a flat wooden cabinet knob as the whorl. Dowel and a whorl made from polymer clay. Scads of options, beyond buying one. In an emergency, you can use a crochet hook stuck through a small potato - and yes, I've tried it, it *does* work! LOL. I don't suggest it for learning, though. bg Look at pix on the web and you can figure out what you're going for if you make your spindle. If you buy one, you should be able to find a decent one for about $15-$30, depending on how fancy you get. (and where you buy it.) Add in a big bucket or two to wash your fleece in, unless you have a spare tub available for several hours at a time, and that's about it. You don't *have* to have a niddy-noddy or a swift to wind the yarn off into skeins, although they're nice. Nor a yarn-blocker if you want to dry your yarn under some tension; hang the skeins from a hanger and tie a light weight to the free end. Not counting price of fleece, you should be able to get away with only spending from as low as $12-$15 or so (home-made spindle and flicker brush for carding), to maybe $50-$60. (hand cards and a spindle. not sure about prices on wool combs, I've never bought any; that might bump the initial investment higher.) Books on spinning you can get from your library, even if you have to use inter-library loan. Or check Amazon, half.com, etc.; plenty have been published. Check spinning suppliers online; most of them carry books. Ditto weaving suppliers, as many of them also sell spinning supplies. InterWeave Press is a major spinning/weaving publisher; both books, and their Spin-Off Magazine, and they do have a webpage. And there's plenty of instruction on the web, just google it. Dive on in and have fun! Monica "Noreen's Knit*che" wrote in message . .. On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 16:04:58 GMT, Bibe wrote: I've recently taken up knitting again after a few year break, and was perhpas thinking of spinning my own yarn, but I have never done this before, and frankly, I don't really know much about spinning. Would anyone know of a great website or book that could teach me more about this? While I have found some websites that were helpful, I am still clueless. Can I spin by hand? I don't want to be fully commited and spend lots of money of equipment like a wheel, I just want to try it out. Also, this may sound stupid, but what kind of materials would you spin? I don't have a sheep in my backyard that I can go get wool from LOL. Can I buy wool that is meant for spinning? I have heard of less conventional materials such as dog hair for instance. This site for example, http://www.mdnpd.com/pd/, talked about that and had tutorials about spinning. Thanks for any help. Bibe, you've come to the right place! I'm a newbie spinner myself, and first, there are NO dumb questions. YES, you can get fleece, rovings, rollags and slivers of wool and other spinnable material at lots of places! Since I'm a newbie, I'm going to let some of the more experienced spinners jjump in here and really give you the 'dirt'.... ITMT (in the meantime) I'd suggest you get yourself a copy of Spin-Off magazine (published by Interweave Press) and really look at all THEIR sources for all your spinning needs. I have 4 really good books on spinning, and will gladly list them and their ISBN #'s if someone else doesn't. Hugs, Noreen -- STRIP * tease * to email me. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 18:23:31 GMT, SlinkyToy
wrote: On the Interweave (publisher of many excellent mags and books) Missing info: On the Interweave website at http://www.interweave.com |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 18:46:21 GMT, SlinkyToy wrote:
On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 18:23:31 GMT, SlinkyToy wrote: On the Interweave (publisher of many excellent mags and books) Missing info: On the Interweave website at http://www.interweave.com I am SO glad I'm NOT the 'only one' ! rotfl... veg, Noreen -- STRIP * tease * to email me. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Oh Gee.....thanks Noreen.....lol....
I can only echoe what others say really, Spinning is my whole life, and those that know of me from other Yahoo type groups know that I love to weave the stuff I spin, hence my yahoo handle of Spin2weaveuk Of course you could buy some fiber tops, and a dowel and a wooden toy car wheel...there is a page somewhere on the net that shows you how to make a drop spindle. You certainly don't have to spin on a wheel...then again you don't have to spin at all, you can pull out a fleece top or fiber to a long thinnish strand of say an inch thick, and knit that without spinning it as well. I sometimes drop spindle spin, especially if I'm away without the camper van, bed and breakfast or something, I take a spindle and a bag, of pre-dyed tops and spin out in the car or wherever... Keep us updated and we will all of us try to help out when and where we can. Cheers......cher Noreen's Knit*che wrote in message ... On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 17:15:42 GMT, news.sonic.net wrote: There was a post here recently called from Sheep to yarn. I asked about it because my MIL has some sheep in her backyard and I was wondering if it was worth it to take the woll from her in it's raw form. Most of the steps should pertain to you. I copied it and put it in a document form. I hope that no one - in particular Monica -minds this repost: Kelly, I'm absolutely positive that Monica won't mind one bit! I also wanted to add to Bibe... you'll be hearing from Helen, Cher, Els and Slinky Toy, just to mention a few, regarding this subject, so watch for their replies. I also forgot to tell Bibe, YES, you can spin with your hands, and you can spin with a DropSpindle... you're NOT limited to a wheel at all! JM2C, Noreen Very basic steps from sheep to yarn. I repeat, basic. You need to read up on the web or in any of the multitude of spinning books available now to get detailed idea. Especially as they usually have pictures to help. g : 1 - Skirt the fleece; usually necessary if you're not buying fleece from someone who's in the business of selling to spinners. If buying from someone who is in the business, their fleeces should already be skirted. They also usually offer you the choice of raw, unwashed fleeces (cheaper), or washed fleece. Skirting means to remove all the yucky wool around the edges that has manure tags stuck in it, any bits that are too short/thin/matted/whatever to work with - that sort of thing. You may need to get VM (vegetable matter; i.e., sprigs of hay, burrs, etc.), out of the fleece, too. This can be done by shaking it over newspaper or a tarp. If really bad, another method is to lay it on a screened surface of some sort and thrash it with a thin twig, to shake more of the VM out. This also helps remove loose dirt. Sometimes, though, you just have to go through and pick it out by hand. In other words, if you don't want a lot of trouble with VM, don't buy a fleece with a lot of VM in it. With minor VM, teasing, then carding/combing usually gets out the worst, and you simply pick out any leftover bits as you spin. 2 - If you're going to be storing it for a while - say, more than a month or so - it *is* best to wash it, even if it's a nice, clean fleece. If unwashed fleeces are stored too long, the lanolin can harden and be difficult to get out. This also makes it harder to card and spin since the lanolin may not soften up too easily, although warming the fleece helps somewhat with that problem. (not much, if it's too bad.) If the fleece is dirty and has a lot of 'suint' (sweat, etc.), this can make it *really* hard to get clean later. The lanolin will bind any dirt to itself and the wool. Plus, they can be rather smelly. They can even mold! Or the dreaded muths, to steal a term from Elizabeth Zimmerman, could attack. (just imagine an umlaut over the 'u' in 'muth' gg) Storing unwashed fleeces in plastic bags is ok over a short period of time, but not for long-term if they're tightly shut. Remember, muths like the dark. (my spinning teacher said bay leaves were a good natural muth repellent. she also said if you *had* to store fleeces in plastic bags, leave the bags a little open, keep them in a lit place, and give the bags a kick every time you pass by; muths don't like agitation, either.) Boxes of some sort that let fleece breathe a little are best for long-term storage, whether the fleeces are washed or not. Washing involves detergent, a big container, hot water, time to soak - a few to several hours - *no* agitation or sudden temperature changes in the water, rinsing, and laying out to dry so that air can circulate freely around the fleece. Either that, or you keep turning the fleece over repeatedly so it'll all dry. The whole thing will take a while. At this time, you might also dye it before drying, if you don't want the natural color. Or you can wait and dye the finished yarn. If you plan to spin soon and 'in the grease' - i.e., unwashed, usually reserved for really nice clean fleeces - proceed to step 3 instead; washing the yarn after spinning will take care of any dirt. (spinning in the grease *is* nice. the lanolin lubricates the wool helps it slide better when you're drafting as you spin. but it's not utterly necessary to be 'authentic', and some people don't like getting lanolin all over everything; or the smell, even if it's mild. plus some fleeces can be *really* greasy! in which case, wear old clothes. but your hands will get nice and soft...) 3 - Sort the fleece. Neck, belly, and tail area wool usually isn't as good as back and side wool. Separate out the really good stuff from the lesser-quality wool. The not-so-great wool can combined with the same from other fleeces to make lesser quality yarn; combined with middle-quality wool to stretch it; or used for felt. 4 - Card or comb the fleece. 5 - Finally, spin. (which can include plying it or not.) 6 - Wash yarn to set the twist - and to clean it, if you've spun it in the grease. Another good time to dye it, immediately after washing, while it's still wet. 7 - Dry yarn, blocked (under slight tension) or un-blocked, depending on type of yarn and effect you're going for. Voila, you're ready to knit, crochet, whatever. Expense - i.e., equipment, above and beyond buying the fleece. (and the price of fleece is no problem if you've got a relative who'll give you some. g): You need something to card or comb with. This can get expensive. My LeClerc cards I bought back in the early 70's cost $22 the pair, and that's a looong time ago. However, for starting out, a dog flicker brush works just fine, if a little slower, since you'll have to work lock by lock. Or get two of them, and use them the same as you would wool cards. They won't hold nearly the amount of wool at once as real cards will, but they'll work. Carding/combing aligns the strands of wool, gets most of any foreign matter out, and gets rid of tangles and short fibers. Sometimes you won't want to do much of it, other times you will; depends on what kind of yarn you're making and the end effect you want. Some fleeces you can spin straight from the locks. Some just need a bit of teasing - which means you spread the locks of wool apart a bit and fluff them up. But usually, you'll want to card or comb the fleece. Drop spindles - well, you probably saw the other thread today on making a spindle from a dowel and some CD's, with other odds and ends - at least one link was given for finding instructions. That's cheap enough. Or as Helen, I think it was, suggested, a wooden wheel for a child's toy and a dowel. Or a dowel and a flat wooden cabinet knob as the whorl. Dowel and a whorl made from polymer clay. Scads of options, beyond buying one. In an emergency, you can use a crochet hook stuck through a small potato - and yes, I've tried it, it *does* work! LOL. I don't suggest it for learning, though. bg Look at pix on the web and you can figure out what you're going for if you make your spindle. If you buy one, you should be able to find a decent one for about $15-$30, depending on how fancy you get. (and where you buy it.) Add in a big bucket or two to wash your fleece in, unless you have a spare tub available for several hours at a time, and that's about it. You don't *have* to have a niddy-noddy or a swift to wind the yarn off into skeins, although they're nice. Nor a yarn-blocker if you want to dry your yarn under some tension; hang the skeins from a hanger and tie a light weight to the free end. Not counting price of fleece, you should be able to get away with only spending from as low as $12-$15 or so (home-made spindle and flicker brush for carding), to maybe $50-$60. (hand cards and a spindle. not sure about prices on wool combs, I've never bought any; that might bump the initial investment higher.) Books on spinning you can get from your library, even if you have to use inter-library loan. Or check Amazon, half.com, etc.; plenty have been published. Check spinning suppliers online; most of them carry books. Ditto weaving suppliers, as many of them also sell spinning supplies. InterWeave Press is a major spinning/weaving publisher; both books, and their Spin-Off Magazine, and they do have a webpage. And there's plenty of instruction on the web, just google it. Dive on in and have fun! Monica -- STRIP * tease * to email me. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.552 / Virus Database: 344 - Release Date: 15/12/03 |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
LOL Kelly, Noreen's right - I don't mind a bit! Frankly, since I don't think I
saved that post, you saved *me* from a lot of retyping. Thanks! ) Bibe, trust us. veg You said: I had a look at some of the drop spindle techniques, and it's difficult to see how all those strands will get 'together' and form a piece of yarn. Looks like fun tho. ....really, it does work! Spinning works the same whether it's done by fingers, drop spindle, spinning wheel, or machine. When you get to the end of one length of yarn you've spun, you leave a tuft of the fiber loose and open--still fluffy and untwisted. This is overlapped with another tuft of your unspun fiber. You draw the two out together (which is called drafting), start spinning again, and voila - your join is made. The twisting of unspun fibers is what holds it all together. Very clever idea of our ancestors, no? You can even experiment with that stuff they put in bottles of aspirin to keep the pills from rattling around - supposedly cotton. g (ghu knows what it really is nowadays; if real cotton, then it's pure lint, not good spinning fiber.) Or if you happen to have some cotton balls in your medicine cabinet, use a couple of them. Both are made of stuff that's really really short, and hard to spin, but you can get a very basic idea of the process by playing a little. Just don't expect much from the results. g Think of it as experimentation. Fluff a couple cotton balls (or wads of ??) up and pull them gently apart to open up a bit so they're not a tight mass - you can't get the fiber to pull out if it's all compacted. Then tease out a length of fairly even thickness from one end a ball, and roll the strand on your leg to twist it. Before it gets too tight at the unspun end, pull out another length, and repeat the rolling process. You'll have to keep these lengths fairly thick, because again, this is *lousy* stuff to spin. Easier if you keep it thick, you'll get less frustrated. And frankly, cotton is a trickier fiber to spin, anyway, experimenting or for real. Wool is much easier, which is why everyone keeps pushing it on beginners. g It's got those little barbs on the fiber, and just naturally wants to stick together. Cotton - or mystery fiber - doesn't. Anyway, when you only have about 1" left of unspun fiber, overlap that onto fiber pulled out from the other ball. Pull them out a bit more, both sections together, then spin, keeping them overlapped. It won't hold together very *well*, since the stuff isn't the greatest material...but you will see that yeah, with longer fibers and some practice, by gosh, it could work! ) That's it - the entire basis of spinning. Once you've got that, all you need is some decent fiber and practice. Go for it! Monica (lordy, don't you just love enabling? bg) CMMPDX2 at aol remove 'eat.spam' to email me --------- "No, that isn't me you saw - I'm not here, I'm incognito!" (Me, Myself & I) Support our Troops!! http://www.wtv-zone.com/kjsb/bataan.html |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Cotton Spinning 1913 weaving vintage FA | Sarah Mc. | Marketplace | 0 | October 29th 04 12:58 AM |
correction...should read antique french spinning wheel not spinning machine | Jacqueline Butt | Yarn | 0 | November 25th 03 01:32 AM |
Converts to spinning | CMM PDX2 | Yarn | 7 | October 30th 03 01:50 AM |
spinning special coming up | Els van Dam | Yarn | 17 | October 12th 03 06:27 PM |
Spinning and Weaving | Neal Rogers | Yarn | 80 | August 22nd 03 10:35 AM |