Spinning

My homespun and crock pot dyed yarn.

Back in June I took a four week spinning class, no not at the gym, but at a yarn store.  The class taught both drop spindle and wheel spinning and the history and techniques for turning fiber into yarn. 

I've always wanted to learn to spin, especially given my fondness for high-end, natural yarns, and my personal proclivity for self-sufficiency skills, but was afraid it would be a difficult and expensive hobby to pick up.  I found out in the class that it was not really either of those things. 

The class started with how to prepare a wool fleece for spinning and an introduction to the drop spindle, probably the earliest form of spinning.  Maybe because it was my first attempt, or simply the primitive nature of the method, but the yarn I spun on the drop spindle was somewhat bulky and uneven.  Still, it was distinguishable as yarn, so not too bad.  The class lent us the tools we would need and gave us enough fiber to practice what we had learned over the week.  I ended up using all of the first week's fiber in one day!  You might say I enjoyed it. 

From there we progressed to the spinning wheel.  The shop sells wheels, so we were able to test a variety of modern wheels to determine which we liked best.  I ended up borrowing an Ashford wheel for the next three weeks.  Once the basics of pedaling the wheel and feeding the fiber were mastered, spinning was a pretty easy and relaxing activity.  Despite the contraption required and all the adjustments and parts to fidget with in order to get the wheel working right, I found wheel spinning to be far easier than spinning on the drop spindle.  I guess that's why the wheel was invented and became so popular. . .

After learning to spin single strands in the second week, we learned how to ply multiple strands together to make yarn in the third.  Since I kept using up my weekly allotment of fiber, I purchased more to keep practicing.  Having now made a few skeins of homespun yarn, I decided to try another new craft, and dye the yarn. 

I had read on line about dying yarn in a crock pot using food-grade dyes, and thought my homespun yarn would be a perfect opportunity to try this out.  It turned out to be a no-fuss way to color yarn, and I ended up dying two separate batches in different colors.

In the first three classes we were spinning wool, but in the final class we tested a variety of different types of fiber, both natural and synthetic to learn their unique characteristics and traits.  We created small sample skeins of the fibers we tried to keep as a record and reference.

I really enjoyed the class, and am pleased to add a new skill to my repertoire.  Once I'm finished with my Almanac project and have saved the money to buy my own wheel, I'd like to do a "Sheep to Shawl" type project. My research indicates that spinning your own yarn is not particularly thrifty. The fiber needed frequently costs about as much as some of the more inexpensive yarns; and once you factor in the extra time it would take to spin, it really doesn't seem cost effective.  As with most craft things, the cost to make it yourself can't compete with the cost of mass-produced items.  Of course, spinning my own yarn means I can create custom articles perfectly tailored to their recipients that have value far beyond anything mass produced, plus I have the enjoyment of the creative process and the pride of being able say "I made that".