Any spinners on Mumsnet? (the yarn sort, not the exercise classes)

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

I have an Ashford Traditional wheel but I also drop spindle and have recently been learning to do it medieval style with a distaff and tiny whorl.
Anyone else?

I have a drop spindle, and can twirl a bit of fibre, but very painfully, slowly and unevenly and I haven’t found any motivation to practice or improve. Tips welcome!

I found when I switched to doing it medieval style with a distaff I improved because you can do it sitting down in front of the TV so I practised more!
Respect The Spindle is an excellent book (though it's normal long suspension style, no distaffs).

I have got a couple of spinning wheels, a folding one and a traditional one but I am embarrassed to say that I have never found the time to learn to spin properly.

I had to have them at the time. Must learn properly this winter. I have got a few books incl. Respect the Spindle.

There are some really good interweave online videos you can subscribe to.

Glad you clarified that this was about yarn. I was all excited to come on and talk about the political kind of spinning

I have a traditional Welsh spinning wheel that I have not used yet. I bought it from MIL. She gave me a dirty stinky fleece with it that I need to wash before I use it and I just don't have the energy to deal with the fleece at the moment.

Falaffels - 'I'm a spin doctor, ask me anything'?

You would believe the number of times I have seen 'spinning' in a thread title and got momentarily excited till the truth dawned. Also the first time I saw a poster about spinning classes in a local church hall.

Claire - stinky fleeces are still on my to do list. So far I have just used nice clean combed tops from World of Wool.
Though I did learn to card years ago.

Spinning teacher here, I could do an AMA but eugh, there are enough of those!

I highly recommend Ashford instructional videos on You Tube; if you can get past the delightfully weird kiwi accent the content is fantastic.

For a technical yet fool proof guide there is Mabel Ross' book Essentials of Handspinning www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk/essentials-of-handspinning.html

Greasy fleece is the devils work to clean and prep but there is a sense of satisfaction once you finally make something from it. Make sure it's the right quality wool before you start though otherwise it's a lot of time and effort for something that might not be soft enough for what you want. Information on sheep breeds is available from the Wool Marketing Board britishwoollearning.com/pdf/sheepbreeds_factsheets.pdf
if you want a good quality fibre for garments then look at Wensleydale or Blue Faced Leicester from the UK or Merino from other countries as a starting point (although there are many, and blends, and colours, and don't forget Camel Down!).

Check for your local Guild of Spinners Weavers and Dyers at www.wsd.org.uk/ they might have groups/classes near you that you can join to pick up informal tips or get instruction.

Just been to the world of wool website. As an absolute beginner, what would be the right product for me? Quite fancy ready dyed or some thing a bit different?

Oh and my top tip for using a wheel is to make sure that it is set up correctly. Especially hand me down wheels can have been mucked about with over the years to look pretty rather than work. Get your wheel checked out if it doesn't seem to be doing what you think it should.

The most common mistake I see is the tension ratcheted up too high so the wheel seems to be snatching the yarn. You should never be 'fighting' it. Make sure there is just the slightest of pulls when you hold the end of the yarn so you can work steadily at your own pace and don't feel hurried. You can always speed up later.

Brilliant advice Notallindividuals, thank you!

Claire, when I was starting I ordered 100g each of lots of different wool tops to get the feel of it (then knitted a bag from the results). Blue faced Leicester is as Notallindividuals says a lovely one to start with. (Not Shetland though. I bloody hate Shetland, for some reason it feels all weird and sticky to spin.)
Undyed is a tad safer to start with because the dyeing process can felt the fibres a bit, but it doesn't take long before you can use all kinds of lovely blends and colours.

Wensleydale has a lovely sheen. Jacobs is easy to spin. And I have a soft spot for Herdwick even though it is as rough as old carpets.

clairethewitch70 I would try with merino if you want something fairly standard to start with. Dyed or white will be exactly the same and you can get mixed colours too so you don't have to buy loads of the same; www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk/mixed-colour-packs.html

You need to watch out for anything that mentions long or short staple length (which is the length of the individual hairs that make up the fibre) as they can be a little bit harder to spin. Carded wool can be easier for beginners, but tops (called roving in the US) are not difficult.

I so desperately want to do this! I have all the fleeces I could ever use (Suffolk sheep) but no equipment- how can I get started?

A drop spindle is cheap (around £10) but you would need to card or comb the wool and I am not sure if there is a cheap option there - a pair of cards would set you back at least £30 I think.
Also I would be inclined to learn on commercial prepared fleece so you know what you're aiming for.

Notallindividuals might have some more useful advice.

Thanks! I’ll have a little google of that later - would be amazing to knit or crochet something for the shepherd. Do you think it’s essential to try it all on a commercial fleece first or only desirable?

I started with a drop spindle why, did tons of it on holidays as it is very portable, got carried away and ended up buying two wheels ..... and have barely touched them since.

I live fairly close to Wingham Wool and have the very best intention of going on their courses but never get there!

I bought a couple of videos from Interweave and downloaded them, must get on with them in the winter.

www.interweave.com/store/spinning/spinning-dvds-videos/spinning-dvds-videos-digital-videos

Thank you all. I have a drop spindle too and combs.

Countess I second your advice on starting with prepped wool! It's so much easier to get started then use the fleece once you have the hang of things.

Re the equipment, I wonder if there is a group or art/ textile department at a university etc you could approach to see if they have any kit you could have a go on (or that's stood in a corner gathering dust that you could re-home)? People do seem to get all enthusiastic at the beginning but then the bug doesn't stick so they have spindles, wheels and carders hanging around in dark corners waiting to be loved.

Thank you for all the info 😊 ordered a drop spindle and some prepared fleece to see how that goes. Would really really love to knit or crochet something from all the unused fleeces for the shepherd they belong to. Hopefully it’s something I’ll only want to do once because I don’t really need another wool based obsession in my life 🤞