Spindle spinning

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It wasn’t actually too long after I got into knitting that I also took up spinning. There’s something immensely satisfying about knitting with handspun yarn, it’s so much more “alive” than most mil…

Want to try spinning? Drop spindles are a great way to start!

The Natural lighting is beautiful. This makes me want to spin wool. ©Michael Morbeck

rio grande wheel

In 1794, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. Perhaps no other historical fact has been so ingrained into my mind as this. Year after year, I would learn about the infamous cotton gin and it’s epic impact on America as we know it. The all-mighty cotton gin makes it seems that life, or proper living,...

By Benjamin Krudwig

Spinner Drop spindle spinning Wishing I could read Russian

A Fred Blystone Pic taken at Colonial Williamsburg Please understand that I am in no way claiming to be any sort of an expert in the textile arts, and what you are about to read is not meant as a tutorial. This posting, though informational about the crafts involved, is mainly meant to show how spinning and weaving and all that goes with it was a part of family life as well as community life of the 18th century. If you are an accomplished spinner or weaver, this post should still hold an…

There’s quite a lot of technical language that you encounter when delving into the world of spinning instructions, and you’ll find yourself in an especially confusing place if you’…

The fleece I washed the other day was dry tonight, so I started experimenting with how to process it for spinning. The Icelandic sheep's fleece has a longer overcoat, called the tog, and shorter, finer undercoat, called the thel. I'm thinking that I want to take advantage of these two different kinds of fiber. I'd like to use the longer tog for my warp thread, and the shorter thel for the weft. But how to separate it out? Here's the experiment. First, I pulled at the butt end of the lock…

aulas da D.Ilídia blogged at Noussnouss

When you unite the spindle stick and removable whorl, you'll have to ponder where the whorl will fit best. Many spindle sticks have their tapered ends at the bottom. This is where the whorl will slide on. I suggest using a tiny hair rubber band to fix below the whorl to 'encourage' the whorl to stay in place. Whorls with tapered holes should be firmly jammed onto the bottom taper, but can still loosen in spinning mode. When they loosen they act rather like a curved ball, spinning out in a…

Colonial hygiene habits that shine a light on just how much has changed throughout the centuries