A Guide to Types of Yarn and How to Spin Them

There’s pleasure in letting fiber slip through your fingers in that old familiar way, creating the yarn you’ve been mastering for years. But the longer you spin the yarn that feels most comfortable, the more difficult you may find it to make a new kind of yarn: a new weight, a new drafting method, a new way of holding your hands. A groove can so easily turn into a rut.

Think of this collection of articles from past issues of Spin Off as not only your lifeline out of your well worn spinning path, but as a lab notebook for the most fun set of experiments you’ve ever tried. Try out these techniques and see what you can spin.Inside you'll find:

• Worsted, Woolen, or Semi-Something - The difference between worsted and woolen yarns comes from how the fibers are prepared for spinning, the drafting technique that is used, and how twist is allowed to enter the fibers.

• Woolen/Worsted R.I.P - Rita decided to stop focusing so much on the terminology and whether she was really achieving true worsted yarn or mastering a woolen draw. When she did, she also developed a richer vocabulary for the wonderful diversity of yarns.

• Drafting Techniques - Jeannine shares techniques for both short draw and long draw spinning.

• The Short Draw Drafting for Worsted Yarn - Follow Carol as she walks through preparing and drating for worsted yarn.

• The Long Draw Drafting for Woolen Yarn - Carol Rhoades demonstrates the long-draw drafting technique to make a woolen yarn.

With the help from these experts, you can continue to build on techniques and methods that work for the yarn you're trying to achieve when spinning. Download this free eBook to get started today.