If you are looking into handspinning, you have surely come across the terms roving and rolag, and many other fiber related lingo, too! Clearly you can use both roving and rolags to spin your own yarn, so what are the differences that you need to know between rolags and roving, so you know which one…
Since you are looking into handspinning, of course, you are also looking into equipment and fiber choices, which leads you to cost. There are a ton of options on what to buy and from where, but what do you actually need and how much will it cost you to get started spinning wool? You can…
When you are looking into handspinning you’ll hear a lot about spinning wool, but what about other fibers? Can you handspin fibers other than wool? You can handspin fibers other than wool. Spinnable non wool fibers include: other animal sourced fibers, like mohair or silk, cellulose (plant) fibers, like bamboo, hemp and flax, and synthetic…
Choosing your wool to spin, you’ve got a huge number of choices! How do you know what to look for to find the wool that will work the best for you? Is Spinning Your Own Yarn Worth It? goes over the math of buying vs making wool yarns. Beginning spinners should start with Corriedale top…
We’re all looking for a great source of wool for our handspinning passion. Whether we are looking for roving to raw fleeces, where are the best places to find high quality wool? Direct from the sheep farmer The most obvious place to get wool is from the sheep farmer. While not all sheep farmers have…
Spinning with raw wool versus washed wool, what are the things you need to do to make spinning with raw wool work for you? To spin with raw wool, pull a small section of wool to work with off of a well skirted fleece. Use your fingers to separate out the ends of a few…
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…