A Guest Speak on Episode 27 of a Self-Sufficiency & Homesteading Group

Last week, I had the pleasure of being a guest speaker for Episode 27 of the talks run by Tanya Malan of the Self Sufficient Homesteading & Gardening Facebook group, also hosted by Warrick Selzer of Beeware.

Leon De Beer of the National Grower's Association of South Africa was also guest speaking, with some excellent info on sheep farming and what happens to the fleece on a larger scale.

Whilst the video is based on farmers, small-holders and homesteaders in South Africa, the same can apply in any country in the world.

So, a huge thanks to Tanya Malan and Warrick Selzer for having me along.

It was really interesting and insightful. Plus, I got to (hopefully) spread some of the joy of creating with natural fibers on to others.

A Sweet Little Handspun Weekend

I was saving a special batt of fiber that I bought, for just the right time, and this weekend was it.

I needed a little self-love and TLC, so I dug it out.

I'd bought the batt on Etsy several years ago (but can't find the seller to attribute it to, sorry) and thought it so pretty that I was reticent to spin it up straight away.

And I'm so glad I waited because it was just such a lovely treat for me.

The batt looked like this ...

And here's the finished yarn ... swoon.

Feeling soooo much better.

Top Whorl Drop Spindle Instructions

Learn to make your own yarn on a Top Whorl Drop Spindle with True Love Yarn ...

1) Take a length of 100% wool yarn of about 20 inches long and double it up so it forms a big loop. Tie it to the spindle securely beneath the whorl. Bring the leader yarn over the side of the whorl and wrap it once or twice around the hook. You are now ready to start spinning. Holding the looped end of the leader yarn, dangle the spindle in the air and do a practice spin by turning it around in a clockwise direction with your free hand. When too much twist builds up in the leader yarn, stop the spindle and unravel it. Repeat this as many times as you need to until you feel comfortable with the action of the drop spindle.

2) Take a length of fiber around 20 inches long and no wider than about an inch. Without pulling them apart completely, carefully draft a few of the fibers away from the bulk of the strip of roving (about the width of a pencil) and pass a few inches of this through the loop in the leader yarn. Then place the short end back on itself so that it now looks like the leader yarn and drafted fiber are interlocking loops. Pinch both sections of drafted fiber in the fingers of whichever hand feels most comfortable to you, and with the other hand, spin the spindle in a clockwise direction as you did in your practice spins.

3) When the spindle has stored up enough twist that it wants to turn back the other way, stop the spindle spinning and hold it between your knees. Bring your free hand up and pinch the fiber where your other hand had been. Then begin to draft the loose fibers of the roving by pulling gently approximately 2 to 4 inches away from the fingers keeping the twist on hold. With practice you will begin to see that a small triangle of fiber appears between the fingers of your two hands. This is called the drafting triangle. By keeping the amount of fiber in this drafting triangle the same thickness and density, the more likely your yarn will be of being an even consistency. Also, the more fiber you allow into the drafting triangle the thicker your yarn will be and the less you allow through the finer your yarn will be.

4) When you've allowed enough fiber through your fingers via the drafting triangle it's time to release the pent-up twist into them to begin to make yarn. Keeping the spindle between your knees, release the fingers nearest the leader yarn and watch the twist travel up into the fiber. It will stop when it can travel no more but there will probably still be too much twist in the free length of yarn so pinch the fiber beneath the roving, and with the other hand continue the drafting process again. Carry on carefully allowing a few inches of twist to move up into the roving in a controlled manner until the yarn is too long for your arms to manage.

5) Now it's time to wind the yarn you've made onto the drop spindle so you can continue to make more. Keeping the length of yarn taut and holding onto the roving securely with one hand, unwrap the yarn from the hook and wind the length of yarn onto the spindle directly underneath the whorl until there are a few inches to spare. Use the remaining length to bring the yarn back over the side of the whorl and back around the hook once or twice. Now you are ready to carry on as before. You can continue to hold the spindle between your knees whilst drafting for as long as you need to or until you feel ready to try free spinning.

6) To progress, you now want to try drafting the fiber whilst the spindle is spinning away in mid air. You will need to concentrate on both at the same time. To do this you need to keep an eye on the spindle. As soon as the spin slows down, it's time to stop the drafting process and put more spin into the spindle. If you allow the spindle to stop spinning or start to twist back in an anticlockwise direction, the twist that you've put into your yarn will unravel and it will become weak, turn back into fluff and break. This is when you will find out where the drop spindle gained its name from. Be prepared to have your spindle drop to the floor quite a few times until you get the hang of it. A cushion between your feet might be wise in the early stages.

7) This way of spinning is called the Inchworm Technique and is an excellent way to begin to spin yarn. There are other techniques to learn when you've mastered this one as it will give you a very good grounding in the art of spinning yarn.

8) When you wind your yarn onto the spindle, try to wrap it neatly and form a cone shape as you go. The majority of spun yarn should be nearest the whorl and then taper down neatly to the wooden spindle. This will help to control the spinning action of the spindle by preventing it from wobbling and will give you a much smoother spinning experience.

9) So experiment and most of all have fun. Once you've gained some confidence try spinning using different fibers (i.e. different sheep wools, alpaca, angora, silk, cotton, synthetic, etc), try different seats or standing up. There are so many things to discover with spinning ... the sky is the limit creatively, so just keep going and see where it takes you.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

Adding more roving: If the spindle has dropped to the floor because of a break or you've used up the fiber in your hands it's time to attach a new length of roving to your yarn. Make sure the length of yarn attached to the spindle has at least an inch of fiber that is loose enough to look fluffy and draft out a similar amount of fiber on the roving, overlap the two ends of fiber by a couple of inches so that the strands intermingle. Then begin to spin the spindle again, ensuring that the two ends have locked together before you move along further into the roving.

Weak/breaking yarn: This means that there isn't enough twist in it. Putting enough twist into the yarn will provide it with strength and resilience.

Too much twist: You can see this when it forms what looks like noodles! To counteract this stop the spindle and spin it in the other direction for a few rotations. You will see when the over-twist has gone because it will lose that bunched up appearance.

The spindle is full: You have quite a few options here. You can either unravel the yarn by hand or onto a ball winder and keep them as singles (bearing in mind that they will be weaker and energised in this format), or you can leave them on the spindle and spin the same amount on a second spindle with a view to plying the two (or more) singles together (i.e. 2-ply, 3-ply, etc). If you only have one drop spindle, this can be achieved by taking the singles off the spindle via hand, onto a cardboard roll or ball winder and storing it until you've finished the same amount of fiber again. Plying is achieved by tying both ends of single yarn to the leader, setting the drop spindle up as before, but this time, spinning the two (or more) yarn lengths together in an anti-clockwise direction. You can see how much twist is going into the yarn and test it as you go. You will see if there is too little or too much twist in your yarn (compare it to your shop bought yarn in appearance and feel). Too much twist will produce a tight looking yarn that wants to spring back on itself and gather up. Too little twist will look loose and untidy, and will also want to gather up in the other direction. You are ultimately looking for a lovely 'balanced' yarn where it is content to hang without too much recoil.

More questions: Please comment below if you have any further questions or suggestions and I will endeavour to help you.

And finally, don't worry if your yarn is uneven, thick and thin, and has areas of too much or too little twist. This is completely normal if you are a beginner/improver. Try doing a little bit of spinning each day, and before you know it you will be spinning exactly the thickness of yarn you intend to spin, and if there are lumps and bumps, it will be because you meant for them to be there!

©2013-2021, Tanya Blackiston. All rights reserved.

Bottom Whorl Drop Spindle Instructions

Learn to make your own yarn on a Bottom Whorl Drop Spindle with True Love Yarn ...

1) Take a length of 100% wool yarn of about 30 inches long and double it up so it forms a big loop. Tie it to the spindle securely above the whorl. Spiral the leader yarn around the spindle and wrap it once or twice around the hook. You are now ready to start spinning. Holding the looped end of the leader yarn, dangle the spindle in the air and do a practice spin by turning it around in a clockwise direction with your free hand. When too much twist builds up in the leader yarn, stop the spindle and unravel it. Repeat this as many times as you need to until you feel comfortable with the action of the drop spindle.

2) Take a length of fiber around 20 inches long. Without pulling them apart completely, carefully draft a few of the fibers away from the bulk of the strip of roving (about the width of a pencil) and pass a few inches of this through the loop in the leader yarn. Then place the short end back on itself so that it now looks like the leader yarn and drafted fiber are interlocking loops. Pinch both sections of drafted fiber in the fingers of whichever hand feels most comfortable to you, and with the other hand, spin the spindle in a clockwise direction as you did in your practice spins.

3) When the spindle has stored up enough twist that it wants to turn back the other way, stop the spindle spinning and hold it between your knees. Bring your free hand up and pinch the fiber where your other hand had been. Then begin to draft the loose fibers of the roving by pulling gently approximately 2 to 4 inches away from the fingers keeping the twist on hold. With practice you will begin to see that a small triangle of fiber appears between the fingers of your two hands. This is called the drafting triangle. By keeping the amount of fiber in this drafting triangle the same thickness and density, the more likely your yarn will be of being an even consistency. Also, the more fiber you allow into the drafting triangle the thicker your yarn will be and the less you allow through the finer your yarn will be.

4) When you've allowed enough fiber through your fingers via the drafting triangle it's time to release the pent-up twist into them to begin to make yarn. Keeping the spindle between your knees, release the fingers nearest the leader yarn and watch the twist travel up into the fiber. It will stop when it can travel no more but there will probably still be too much twist in the free length of yarn so pinch the fiber beneath the roving, and with the other hand continue the drafting process again. Carry on carefully allowing a few inches of twist to move up into the roving in a controlled manner until the yarn is too long for your arms to manage.

5) Now it's time to wind the yarn you've made onto the drop spindle so you can continue to make more. Keeping the length of yarn taut and holding onto the roving securely with one hand, unwrap the yarn from the hook and from around the spindle shaft. Then wrap the yarn next to the whorl over where you have secured your leader yarn, until there are about 15 inches to spare. Use this to spiral back up the spindle and around the hook once or twice. Now you are ready to carry on as before. You can continue to hold the spindle between your knees whilst drafting for as long as you need to or until you feel ready to try free spinning.

 

6) To progress, you now want to try drafting the fiber whilst the spindle is spinning away in mid air. You will need to concentrate on both at the same time. To do this you need to keep an eye on the spindle. As soon as the spin slows down, it's time to stop the drafting process and put more spin into the spindle. If you allow the spindle to stop spinning or start to twist back in an anticlockwise direction, the twist that you've put into your yarn will unravel and it will become weak, turn back into fluff and break. This is when you will find out where the drop spindle gained its name from. Be prepared to have your spindle drop to the floor quite a few times until you get the hang of it. A cushion between your feet might be wise in the early stages.

7) Parking the spindle between your knees after allowing twist to build up in the couple of inches of drafted roving, and allowing that excess twist to move up into the fiber as you draft it is called the Inchworm Technique. It is an excellent way to begin to spin yarn. There are other techniques to learn when you've mastered this one as it will give you a very good grounding in the art of spinning yarn.

8) When you wind your yarn onto the spindle, try to wrap it neatly and form a cone shape as you go. The majority of spun yarn should be nearest the whorl and then taper down neatly to the wooden spindle. This will help to control the spinning action of the spindle by preventing it from wobbling and will give you a much smoother spinning experience. It will also allow you to store more 'singles' yarn on your spindle before needing to start afresh.

9) So experiment and most of all have fun. Once you've gained some confidence try spinning using different fibers (i.e. different sheep wools, alpaca, angora, silk, cotton, synthetic, blends, etc). There are so many things to discover with spinning ... the sky is the limit creatively, so just keep going and see where it takes you.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

Adding more roving: If the spindle has dropped to the floor because of a break or you've used up the fiber in your hands it's time to attach a new length of roving to your yarn. Make sure the lenth of yarn attached to the spindle has at least an inch of fiber that is loose enough to look fluffy and draft out a similar amount of fiber on the roving, overlap the two ends of fiber by a couple of inches so that the strands intermingle. Then begin to spin the spindle again, ensuring that the two ends have locked together before you move along further into the roving.

Weak/breaking yarn: This means that there isn't enough twist in it. Putting enough twist into the yarn will provide it with strength and resilience.

Too much twist: You can see this when it forms what looks like noodles! To counteract this stop the spindle and spin it in the other direction for a few rotations. You will see when the over-twist has gone because it will lose that bunched up appearance.

The spindle is full: You have quite a few options here. You can either unravel the yarn by hand or onto a ball winder and keep them as singles (bearing in mind that they will be weaker and energised in this format), or you can leave them on the spindle and spin the same amount on a second spindle with a view to plying the two (or more) singles together (i.e. 2-ply, 3-ply, etc). If you only have one drop spindle, this can be achieved by taking the singles off the spindle via hand, onto a cardboard roll or ball winder and storing it until you've finished the same amount of fiber again. Plying is achieved by tying both ends of single yarn to the leader, setting the drop spindle up as before, but this time, spinning the two (or more) yarn lengths together in an anti-clockwise direction. You can see how much twist is going into the yarn and test it as you go. You will see if there is too little or too much twist in your yarn (compare it to your shop bought yarn in appearance and feel). Too much twist will produce a tight looking yarn that wants to spring back on itself and gather up. Too little twist will look loose and untidy, and will also want to gather up in the other direction. You are ultimately looking for a lovely 'balanced' yarn where it is content to hang without too much recoil.

More questions: Please comment below if you have any further questions or suggestions and I will endeavour to help you.

And finally, don't worry if your yarn is uneven, thick and thin, and has areas of too much or too little twist. This is completely normal if you are a beginner/improver. Try doing a little bit of spinning each day, and before you know it you will be spinning exactly the thickness of yarn you intend to spin, and if there are lumps and bumps, it will be because you meant for them to be there!

©2013-2021, Tanya Blackiston. All rights reserved.

Hand-dyed and Handspun Capucine Hat FO

From dye pot to finished garment ... here's my handspun Capucine hat FO write-up.

I started off with 200g of undyed BFL fiber which I dyed with green(ish) & pink Kool-Aid. It looked so gorgeous straight out of the dye pot ...

When dry, the colours became much less vibrant, and I was worried that I might have felted the fiber slightly.

But after some pre-drafting, I began to spin it up (during the Tour de Fleece in July this year).

With the Capucine pattern in mind, I spun it in bulky/superbulky weight. As my first batch of handspun of the TdF it was a little uneven and over-spun in places, but I was still more than happy with the result.

Then, on my trip to Cornwall last week, I cast on during the four hour drive to the caravan park.

I do so love a bulky knit, as it seems to grow before your eyes.

I finished the main bulk of the hat quite early into the holiday, but forgot to pack my DPNs so had an agonising wait to finish it off.

A few days later, on the evening of returning home, I completed the last few decrease rows and closed the peak of the hat up, added braids, sewed the ends in and tried the hat on immediately.

I think you can see from the photo how pleased I am with the hat, which fits perfectly and is remarkably warm.

I just adore making the whole item from start to finish and can't quite explain how satisfying it is. It's just a wonderful feeling.

***********

Taking part in Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch's SPINNING SHOW & TELL meme today. Please go along and take a look at her gorgeous blog.

Wensleydale Locks - A First Attempt at Art Yarn

Today, I am delighted to be guest blogging for Sarah of Crafts from the Cwtch on her 'Spinning Show & Tell' weekly spinning meme.

When Sarah emailed to say she was going on holiday and would I like to write a guest post on spinning I jumped at the chance. I decided straight away that I would attempt something outside of my comfort zone for the project with a 'show & tell' style blog post for Sarah, and a more in depth 'how-to' for my blog.

I have been spinning since 2009 and have, to date, focused on the attainment of a good conventional and functional yarn. I have been mostly stuck in 2-ply Yarn Land, practicing a variety of yarn weights and using a variety of animal fibers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a perpetual desire to spin the most even and perfect skein of yarn, but after completing 2-ply skein number 11 at the close of the Tour de Fleece last month, I made a personal and conscious decision to try something new.

With a burgeoning desire to broaden my spinning horizons I took to Instagram, YouTube and new spinning magazine PLY for inspiration.

Good old Ebay provided me with the raw materials for the project, which on this occasion was 100g of scoured Wensleydale locks, and 100g of Wensleydale top.

I began by spinning the whole 100g top as a singles yarn at an even(ish) sock/fingering weight.

The following evening, I prepared the locks by separating each one from the main bulk of fiber and laid them on my lap ready to incorporate into my spun singles.

Attaching the singles onto an empty bobbin via a leader yarn in such a way as to create the first loop needed for the Navajo or chain ply method, I was ready to go.

I began by plying a few feet of yarn to get myself into the swing of things, all the while feeling the excited anticipation of the addition of locks.

Having done a fair amount of online research about how to attach the locks to my yarn, I eventually chose to try a method where you push the top (sheared) end of the lock through the end of the loop created in the crochet chain type action of the Navajo ply. This secures the lock in place, and then you continue to ply down the length of the lock, leaving the curly tip to poke out at the bottom. If done correctly, the lock will then be completely anchored into place within the 3-ply yarn.

I continued on in this fashion, adding a new lock every (or every other) time I needed to perform a new ‘chain’ section of my ply.

As I have a normal flyer on my Ashford Joy spinning wheel, I sometimes had to feed the bulkier sections of yarn through the orifice and hooks by hand, but this was easily and quickly achieved.

Very soon I noticed that my bobbin was filling up nicely.

By the time the bobbin was full to capacity, I was feeling very jaded from a high level of sustained and complete concentration, so I left it where it was and called it a night.

First thing in the morning, I was excited to wind the yarn onto a niddy noddy and inspect my work.

So far so good. I really liked what I saw, but my fibery transformation wasn't over yet.

On to the dye job!

Securing the yarn in four places with white acrylic yarn using the figure of eight style, I took it off the niddy noddy and off for its first bath ... a nice half hour soak in luke warm water.

Meanwhile, I filled a large saucepan with one litre of water to which I added three tablespoons of citric acid, two 10g Sky Blue and two 10g Lime Green Dr. Oetker food colour gel tubes. I turned the hob on to a low heat and stirred until all the ingredients were completely dissolved.

After carefully squeezing out as much water as I could from my art yarn, I lowered it into the dye bath and turned up the heat to bring up to a gentle simmer.

I allowed the pot to simmer away for approximately twenty minutes until I was content that the yarn had taken up as much of the dye as it needed. Having used this food colour to dye fiber before, I knew that it doesn't completely absorb all the colour as is usually recommended. The green gel colour tends to leave a yellow in the water that doesn't take to the fiber easily. As I didn’t want the yarn to become a felted mass, I took the pot off the heat and let it stand for a couple of hours.

Once completely cool, I was able to take the yarn for another soak; This time in a weak detergent bath. Then a rinse to wash any excess dye and soap suds away. Next rolling it up in a nice dry towel, standing on it to squeeze out as much fluid as possible, and then I hung it up to dry with a big smile all over my face.

By early evening the same day, the yarn was dry and I took great satisfaction in re-skeining it for a photo shoot.

I am immensely happy with how this yarn has turned out, in so much as I had an idea of how I wanted this yarn to look in my best case scenario imagination, and I’m pleasantly surprised by the fruits of my labour.

Will I use this yarn as yarn? ... Maybe.

Will I admire it, have it out on show and stroke it a whole lot? ... Oh yes!

So I guess that what I’m saying is that there’s no need to fear spinning, in any of its guises. If you are spinning-curious then you can look to purchase a drop spindle spinning kit and get started creating your very own yarn.

And if you have already started this wonderful craft and are feeling the need to progress on to different methods, I’d say GO FOR IT. I wholeheartedly recommend that if you admire a certain look, texture or colour of yarn, then go out and make it happen ... fearlessly.

Play with different fibers ... animal, vegetable and synthetic ... research different ways of creating yarns in a variety of textures, colours and sizes.

I can assure you it’s a whole lot of fun, with a heaped tablespoon of creative satisfaction on the top.

*******

Many thanks for reading.

I'd love to hear from you if you've been inspired to try something new too :)

Tour de Fleece 2013

This was the year I took the plunge and joined in with the Tour de Fleece, and I'm so glad I did because I loved every minute of it.

Through the hottest British summer since 2006, I still managed to spin every day that the Tour de France cycled ... even if I had to wait until the evening so it was cool enough to do so.

Here's my final tally ... all 845g of it!!

I managed these 11 skeins of completed yarn, all 2-ply, but in a variety of fibers and in a variety of weights.

I especially love this skein of BFL sock weight yarn in a 'Watermelon Tourmaline' colour scheme I had custom dyed by Danielle of A Stash Addict.

I also tried spinning alpaca for the first time, albeit in a blend of merino and silk, but it was my first alpaca experience nonetheless. I'm really pleased with the results of this uber-soft DK weight yarn.

I also tried spinning a singles yarn for the first time. I'm seriously over the moon about this one as it ended up better than I expected. After asking some TdF team mates for advice, I slightly fulled the yarn by alternating it in a hot versus cold bath, and then hung it to dry with a weight on the end. I will definitely be trying this out again soon, as it provides you with so much more yardage than a 2-ply.

I was disappointed about not being able to finish the rainbow merino fiber on my drop spindle, but it really was too hot to spin yarn during the day. Despite that, I did have all the good intentions, and took my spindle out on numerous day excursions ... only to give up actually spinning after the first 10 minutes, drenched in sweat and in fear of felting my fiber between my hands! Here's a photo of me feeling optimistic on route to the beach, spindle in hand.

I was also half way through some lace weight luxury 50% baby camel and 50% tussah silk yarn when the TdF ended.

Badly timed I know, but the end of the event just crept up on me so quickly.

Not yet sick of spinning, I carried on my daily spinning to get it finished.

As I didn't want to be a Rookie-No-Mates, Team AYLM was founded on Instagram and Ravelry. Thanks so much to all who joined in. I've had some lovely messages from team mates who wrote to say that they also thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

As a thank you to my team mates, I pledged a prize drawn at random of a custom made drop spindle.

And I'm so pleased to announce that the lovely Jenni (IG username @baamekniits) was the winning member.

So it's over for 2013, and now I've done my first I can say that I will be there with bells on next year and probably every year after that.

It's such a wonderful opportunity to be inspired by others, develop your own skills, grow as a fiber artist, make new like-minded friends and enhance that wonderfully OOAK handspun yarn stash.

See you all there next year :)