BEGIN TO SPIN:

This spinning information was developed while I demonstrated and taught drop spinning to hundreds of people of all ages over the past several years at our county fair as part of our fiber arts program. All you need to get started is a drop spindle and some wool. I use combed merino wool "top" for teaching, and my husband and I make the simple top-whorl drop spindles by combining wood dowels, wood wheels, and cup hooks.

For my "hands-on" students, I believe in focusing on the essence of spinning. I have them try various ways of holding the spindle and wool until they find one they're comfortable with. And then I have them start with a couple feet of wool roving, twirling the spindle to twist the wool, winding the new yarn around the spindle, then twisting the rest of the piece and folding it over to ply on itself to create several inches of two-ply yarn -- they've done it in 5 minutes!

Here, I can't physically be with you, but we can take more time go into more detail about spinning larger amounts of yarn...enough to use for knit or crochet projects. Since I dye my wool (usually before I spin it), I also include in these pages instructions for dyeing wool with Kool Aid or food colors. There are also instructions for drafting your wool into roving for spinning into yarn on the drop spindle. You will also find tips and suggestions for going beyond the basics, including some techniques that can be done on the drop spindle even though they are usually associated with spinning wheel spinning.