You are going to need two bobbins before you can ply them. I've even used empty pill bottles to wind my yarn onto. Empty toilet paper rolls work great for this, but basically and cylinder you can wrap your yarn around will work. Plying takes 2 different singles and spins them together to make one length of yarn.īefore you can start plying you are going to need to wind your single onto something else, which is called a bobbin. The yarn you have currently spun on your spindle is called singles, which will twist up on themselves if there isn't any tension applied to them. This step is not totally necessary but it makes sure that your yarn doesn't twist up on itself. That's okay! You just need to keep trying! Getting perfectly even hand-spun yarn takes a lot of time and practice, so don't worry if it isn't perfect! Remember, your yarn is going to be uneven and lumpy at first.
Pinch them together and spin the spindle clockwise until the 2 pieces of wool are attached. Then take another bit of pre-drafted wool and attach the end of that to the "fluffy" part of the wool on the spindle. To attach more wool, take the wool already on the spindle and fan out the un-spun bit at the end. When you run out of wool you are going to need to attach more. You are also going to need to leave enough yarn unwound so you can bring it back up to the hook and wrap the yarn around the hook a few times before you can start spinning again. This can be a little bit tricky when you first wind on a new bit of yarn, but after it gets a lot easier. At this point you will need to take the yarn you have spun and wind it around the spindle under the worl. Then you repeat that process until you cant lift your arm any higher to keep spinning. Keep spinning your spindle clockwise until you feel the twist travel up to where the yarn is pinched in your left hand. You should see the twist travel up the yarn. Pinch the un-spun wool with your left hand about 1 or 2 inches away from where your right hand is pinching the wool. With your left hand gently pull on the un-spun yarn until it is at your desired thickness.
To continue spinning, take your right hand and pinch the yarn right under where your left hand was. Whenever you are not spinning hold the spindle between your knees to stop you yarn from unwinding. Pinch the wool together with your left hand and spin your spindle clockwise. To start your spinning take the end of your wool and hook it around the spindles hook. Some people like to use a leader yarn to attach the wool to the spindle, but I've found just hooking the wool on the hook to work out just fine. There is even instructions on how to make a spinning wheel out of PVC pipes and an old bicycle wheel. The photos are beautiful and clear, the instructions are well written, and it was full of great DIY projects perfect for someone who wants to get into making yarn. These books all contained a lot of the same information, but out of these I thing Spinning and Dying Yarn by Ashley Martineau was my favorite. The Spinner's Book of Fleece by Beth SmithĪnd Spinning and Dying Yarn by Ashley Martineau The books I got areĪ Complete Guide to Spinning Yarn by Brenda Gibson
If you can, going to the craft section of your local library is a great way to find books on all kinds of hobby's. These are books I got at my local library. Since I knew nothing about making yarn, I gathered a lot of info from other sources to help me figure out what I was doing.