What had been sitting around for over a year (the natural, undyed Corriedale roving that I had bought at Eastside Weavers back in April, 2007), I actually finished spinning (for the most part) in a matter of three days. Once I finally figured out when to spin the spindle, when to pinch the yarn, when to draw out the fibres, and when to let go, it was a true pleasure watching the yarn grow magically from between my fingers. Now, my drop spindle no longer drops at the drop of a hat. *Ahem, excuse me.* That top-most layer of yarn on the drop spindle (the thing that looks like a top) actually looks pretty decent!Of course, these are just yarn singles (i.e. a single ply of yarn). Now, I have to figure out how to ply them together to make a two-ply yarn. Hopefully, that won't take me another year.
4 comments:
Oooooohhh, pretty! When I was a kid I used to try to "spin" balls of cotton wool, just to see what would happen. I just ended up with a bunch of short wriggly wormy things. Is hand spun yarn as strong as factory made yarn?
It depends, I think, on how you spin it. I am sure that experienced spinners can spin a yarn that is almost as even as, and as strong as, factory made yarns. In fact, the fibre may be treated more gently in a spinner's hands.
After all, people used to spin their own yarn all the time, and knit it into sturdy garmets such as fisherman's sweaters.
Cool! Are you going to try knitting that up into something?
I might need to get some more of the same fibre, but I think perhaps a pair of felted mittens.
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