Craft: Learning to spin

From Sheep to Yarn

For as long as I can remember my mum has inspired my crafting. Encouraging me to sew, knit, crochet, draw, mould clay etc. summer holidays were an opportunity to try something new, create something! Every year for Christmas I would get some form of craft project or inspiration. Even though I am all grown up she still kindles that fire in me, the embers won't be permitted to wither and fade.

So... Not only has she seen me evolve in my crafts but I have seen her push the boundaries of her own abilities! With her Knitting Nutters (a group of very talented individuals who come round on a Wednesday afternoon to mainly chat and eat cake but also share their experience and craft) she has been inspired to explore those ideas she always swatted away when I was learning to knit. "I shall never knit a sock" - she now has many MANY knitted socks. "Knitting in the round is too hard" - she now detests patterns that say you should knit flat and tries to adapt then to the round... "I shall never do lace knitting" - she has completed a very elegant peacock lace shawl, and is in the middle of creating one for me!

But one thing that she always wanted to do was create her own yarn and create something from her own hand-spun. Spinning was a craft shared among some of her Nutters and they were more than happy to teach and kindle this aspiration. Now we own 2 spinning wheels and most of the cupboards, boxes, shelves, bags and anywhere else you can put it is stocked full of yarn, sheep fleece and other things to spin. We've got a drum carder, a Lazy Kate, a Niddy-Noddy; I wish I were making this up, but no! Watching her create that yarn is amazing, the rhythmic chug of the wheel, the creak of the spinning chair, the swoosh of the yarn as it's gathered onto the bobbin... Well I had to give it a go!

So the day came, Sunday 4th September 2016, this was the day. I'd done my groundwork, observed the spinner in situ, cumulated passive comments and phrases. I was ready! Was I ready?

I started with working the treadle (the pedal) gently pushing the wheel in the clockwise direction and keeping the wheel turning with the treadle... It was harder than I expected (as was most of the experience!) but after 5 minutes I was happy enough.

My mum then passed me some regular yarn and tied it to the lead thread - this the tail of yarn you tie around the bobbin to start spinning you own yarn onto. It's like an anchor for your own yarn - she said it was "to get a feel of how the wheel pulls the yarn in", it went very quickly and was eaten ravenously from between my fingers! I did that a few times and then she threw me in the deep end. "Here's me spinning now you try."

Drafting/Spinning Triangle

You have the drafting/spinning triangle the leading hand at the top and the drafting hand at the bottom. The drafting hand holds the prepared fibres of fleece/other material (silk, cotton etc.) and pulls them apart to the width you want; this process is called drafting. The top hand pinches the fibres to allow the twist to form and then releases as the drafting hand pinches to let the twist travel down the fibres. The leading hand lets the wheel take the now spun yarn onto the bobbin (the thing that holds the spun yarn) on the spinning wheel.

Yes, it sounds like a lot of things to think about at once. No, it is not easy. Yes, the spinning wheel will gobble up your yarn and you will have to fish it back out. But will you give up? NO!

Why is it [spinning] sooooo hard???

It's so incredibly frustrating, I hate not being able to do something so I wasn't just slightly miffed, I was angry. Holding back some lurid words I asked my mum to show me and explain exactly what her hands were doing so I could try again. I got back on the little chair and tried again. Clunkity clunk went the wheel as it disobeyed the treadle. Munch munch much went the wheel as it ate my yarn. But gradually the stop and start of the treadling smoothened, the wheel became satiated and I began to spin!

"Clunkity clunk went the wheel"

"Munch munch much went the wheel"

I picked it up quite quickly but I'm very headstrong so I wasn't going to let it defeat me! After about half an hour or so I was spinning. It's not by any means a smooth yarn. You call all your first yarns "art yarns" they have thick and thin bits, bobbles and nobbles, but it's your yarn and you're very very proud of it. As I am. I sat and span for 2 and a half hours without realising and I returned to it after tea. Once you get past that wall you can relax into it and you let yourself breathe as you spin.

I have yet to ply the yarn (let it spin around itself to make it stronger), it is currently 'relaxing' overnight before I can do that. But I'm excited for the next step.

A new hobby to add to the list!

Thanks for reading,

Naomi