Wool crimp. It’ another term that you hear a lot about, especially if you are shopping around for different wools to experiment with, but what exactly does it mean? And, more importantly, why does it matter to you and your handspinning? Crimp is the natural wave in each individual fiber of wool. The amount of…
Before you get some wool to start your spinning project, you need to know what you are looking for in that wool, specifically how long should the staple length of wool be for you to spin it? Wool with a staple length of 3-5 inches will be the easiest to spin. Wool with shorter or…
You’ve heard the term staple length tossed around, especially when you are looking into spinning fibers, and wondered what does that mean? Why do folks who are using wool for spinning, weaving or other wool crafts care about this thing called staple? Staple length is the length of the individual fiber of the wool. Staple…
What happens to a sheep’s fleece after it is shorn? How do you go directly from the sheep to the wonderful to work with fiber that we all love to spin? After shearing, wool is skirted, rolled, and bagged. It can be kept for home use, sold privately or sold to a wool processor to…
Buying wool is an adventure, there are so many different breeds to try and all kinds of small farmers across the country raising that special small flock. So, how do you find them? Where are the places to look to find wool that is produced locally so you can support a small farmer and try…
There are all manner of wools to try, this is the best part of handspinning! But, which wools will be easier to work with and which ones will be harder to learn to spin? The types of wool that are hard for a beginner to handspin are: fine wool, long wool, down wool, angora, mohair…
Raw versus washed, it’s quite the debate! Some folks love to spin “in the grease” and others, to be blunt, can’t stand the idea of spinning raw wool. What’s the real story here: can you spin raw wool or not and in which situations is washing before spinning the better option? Raw (unwashed) wool can…
Merino wool is a handspinning classic! You hear about this wonderful fiber everywhere and have surely seen it for sale in nearly any color and blend you can thin of at most any fiber shop. Merino wool is definitely available and popular, but is merino right for you and how easy (or hard) is it…