If you are reading this post, you may very well have spent some time in one of my rambling, mash-up workshops. I tend to talk more about Anthropology, Archaeology and the History of Women’s Work than the practical aspects of turning wool (and other fibers) into yarn.
So, here is the handout I should have made for you. It is long, feel free to bookmark it for future references.
Fairy tales are not always about love, as we have been told, but about spinning yarn. Rumpelstiltskin, Tom-tit-tot, Sleeping Beauty, Arachne, Ananzi Tales, Friga's distaff all share a theme: The Best Spinner has the Power.
This workshop focuses on the history and culture of this ancient and universal craft. Participants shall also learn:
Selecting wool by breed for specific purposes
Like all animals, different sheep breeds produce different types of wool. Sheep wool is measured in microns and the lower the micron the finer the individual hairs. Coarse wools such as Churro, and Karakul are great for rugs and wall hangings. Extra fine wools, such as Merino and Rambouillet are soft enough to be worn against the skin. There are dozens of breeds and textures in between these two extremes. Useful links:
Selecting wool for hand-spinning works best if you can touch the wool before you buy it. Shopping with a shepherd who raises fleeces specifically for hand-spinners is also a safe bet.
Wool can be purchased in several forms.
Roving: machine combed clean wool, the fibers are parallel and uniform. Commercial roving often contains chemical used in the processing.
Locks: washed wool that has not been combed or carded
Batts: washed wool that has been commercially processed into a wooly blanket
Raw: Fresh off the sheep
Purchasing spinning equipment doesn’t need to be complicated.
Minimal tools: a spindle and a flicker.
Beyond that you can go crazy: Carders, combs, drum carder, niddy-noddy, swift, reel, ball winder, spinning wheels, electric wheels. There is no end of fun things to buy.
Dallas Handweavers & Spinners also have rentable tools and equipment
Open Studio Times at Oil and Cotton
Sign up for some studio time to try out different equipment before you go shopping. There are a lot of woodworkers out there who love making fancy fiber tools, some are great, some are terrible. Try before you buy!
Shop with a small and/or local business as much as possible. The owner and staff are always knowledgeable and helpful. These are some of my favorites.
Nistock Farms (not local but they have the most gorgeous fleeces)
Española Valley Fiber Arts (local-ish)
The Woolery (Kentucky)
Fancy Fibers (local!)
Sorting and washing wool- a whole, fresh (aka raw) fleece
Skirting the fleece means pick out all the bad stuff and sorting the rest by length and texture. The barn-bits can go into your compost pile!
You can wash with cold water and a small amount of soap, or hot water and lots of soap! It depends on how much dirt and/or lanolin is in the fleece. I start but testing a few locks to see what it needs. I rarely wash more than a double handful at a time.
It is essential to handle the wool gently and rinse the soap in the same temperature to prevent felting.
I use a salad spinner to whirl out a much water as possible before spreading the wool to dry.
Preparing the wool fibers by carding & combing
Carding: The tool consists of two paddles with a leather fabric pierces with thousands of sharp teeth will turn crimp locks into a lovely rolag. A good pair of Carders work with all kinds of fibers. Lois Swales makes lovely videos for people who are looking for useful and historical techniques.
Combing is lots of fun but I am not going to even try to write a description. But here is a link to the irrepressible Sue Mac Farland at one of my favorite sites.
How to Spin wool into Yarn
There are lots of instructional videos available as resources. In my experience, these are good tools for reviewing techniques but spinning is best learned in person. I have found that I learn something new every time I meet with other to practice spinning.
Below is an outline of the steps and information for spinning. Which I wil address in future posts as well as workshops.
Spinning with a hand spindle to make a single-ply yarn
Z twist vs S twist
Drafting
Plying two strands of yarn
Setting the twist with a soak in cold water
Treasure your first skeins
you will never make yarn
quite so wild ever again!
Question please? Your section discussing micron. I always was told that the lower the micron number, the finer the wool?