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A Drop Spindle Is the Perfect Traveling Companion. As I write this, I’m getting ready to travel to Tinkuy, an international gathering of weavers in Peru.
If you want to try weaving with vicuña fiber you can try mixing it with a less expensive, but equally luxurious fiber in the warp such as guanaco or qiviut.
Facilitating the connection between shepherds and spinners was the inspiration behind My Local Wool, a website that helps fiber farms sell their wool directly to fiber artists and helps makers find resources for local fiber.
Traveling the country to fiber events is my favorite way to try to spinning tools, fall in love with new fibers, and meet other wool-obsessed folk.
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what spinning tool would you need?
Spin Off Winter 2019 included an article chronicling Sarah Wroot’s adventures in weaving handspun singles, fulling cloth with a wooden mallet, and more as she re-created an eighteenth-century textile.
After completing my first handspun vest, I wanted to use up the last bits of vest yarn in a pair of socks. Here's how I planned the pair.
Trial and error taught me a lot about dyeing yarn when I made my first handspun vest, and about plying when I made my first handspun socks. These lessons helped me on my second handspun vest, and then textured knitting stitches disguised less-than-perfect
I hit the jackpot in Christmas 1997 or 1998: my mother gave me a lace flyer for my spinning wheel, and my fiber dealer friends sent me a few ounces of superfine merino top—the perfect fiber for spinning laceweight yarn!
My handspinning journey took some interesting turns after I moved to Kansas in 2000 and began teaching at a small university. Since the university’s art department offered textile classes, I now had access to new some new toys and expert advice.
I spun semiworsted to create a 2-ply bulky yarn, checking twist carefully—there’s a sweet spot for alpaca where yarn holds together without feeling stiff or harsh.
