Spinner's Toolbox: Spin Off Fall 2025

I’ve always loved the term “spinner’s toolbox.” For me, it brings up romantic notions of how we gather knowledge and skills, and then we use them in our own unique way to create beautiful and useful things.

“Spinner’s toolbox” also evokes visions of how we resourceful spinners pack and travel. When I’m teaching around the country, spinners arrive to class laden with “toolboxes”—myself included. We cart in assorted bags, pencil boxes, reused tea tins, and more filled with fiber and yarn, handcards and orifice hooks, and (of course) snacks. The only thing better than finding the perfect receptacle for beloved tools is sharing this good fortune with spinning friends!

Sylvia Smith shows you how to make your fiber scraps into something spinnable.

In this annual tool-centric issue, we’ve gathered the voices of an amazing group of spinners with their best advice for filling your toolbox. Rowena Zuercher processes curbside milkweed bast using thrift-store tools, while Roy Clemes shows us how to get the most out of a finely honed drumcarder. PieceWork editor and Peace Corps volunteer Karen Elting Brock introduces us to some of her Nepalese neighbors and shares a bit about their traditional tools. And you won’t want to miss our Fiber-Prep Tool Guide with tips from three instructors on choosing your next fiber tool.

Take a peek at some of the great articles in the Fall 2025 issue!

Wishing you peace and perfectly filled bobbins,

Kate Larson, editor

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Kate Larson, editor of Spin Off, teaches handspinning around the country and spends as many hours as life allows in the barn with her beloved flock of Border Leicesters.