Full Spindle? 5 Ways to Unwind Your Singles

As we spin happily along with fiber in one hand and spindle in the other, eventually, we get to the point where we need to stop and wind off the cop of singles. If you plan to ply your singles, there are different ways to either ply directly off the spindle or rewind the singles to prepare for plying. Which method is best? As usual, it depends! Here are five common methods and some of the pros and cons to help you choose.

Spindle Kate

Pro: No rewinding necessary
Con: You need to sit or stand in one place while plying
Likely used when: Plying on a wheel or suspended (drop) spindle

To ply right off the spindle, most spinners use some type of box, basket, or stand that allows the spindles to rotate as the singles are unwound. Some spindlemakers design lazy kates that do just that (for example, Golding Fiber Tools has two types of lazy kates), but you can also adapt a basket or rig something out of recycled materials.

Kate adapted Karen Williams’s simple spindle kate design for her supported spindles.

Karen Williams shared her simple spindle kate design, which allows drop spindles to hang from inexpensive fishing swivels—genius! I like using an adapted design for some of my supported spindles. Often, my supported spindles have turnings or shapes that make