Spinning How-To

A Guide to Spinning Flax: Linen Spun from Flax Fibers

Liz Good — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:21:19 GMT

In this new free eBook, you will about flax from seed to fiber. By using traditional hand methods, it's quite possible to plant, raise, harvest, and process small quantities of flax for spinning. The process is quite laborious, but you'll find the transformation is very exciting and the end product very beautiful.

Wet Finishes for Yarn by Judith MacKenzie

Liz Good — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:42:24 GMT

Wet Finishes for Yarn: Or , it all comes out in the wash . . . by Judith MacKenzie originally published in Spin-Off Summer 2007 and also referenced in Judith's book The Intentional Spinner.

Wool Combing and Carding: How to Use Hand Carders, Wool Combs, and Drum Carders

Liz Good — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:05:32 GMT

In this new free eBook, you will learn the ins and outs of combing and carding. Learn how to comb and card your wool so that it is ready to spin. Find tips for how to hold your handcards, set up your wool combs, and feed your fiber into the licker-in of your drumcarder.

Dodec Spinning Wheel Plans by Porter Threads

Spin-Off — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:48:15 GMT

These are the plans for the DODEC Spinning Wheel created by Scott Porter of www.porterthreads.com that was featured in the Fall 2012 issue of Spin-Off.

Guide to Dyeing Yarn: Learn How to Dye Yarn Using Natural Dyeing Techniques

Liz Good — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:37:56 GMT

In this new free eBook, you will learn the ins and outs of natural dyes, explore dyeing with black walnuts as well as using a natural hot springs to supply mineral mordants (the "glue" that holds the dye to the fiber), and get instructions for making a solar dyeing oven.

A Guide to Handspun Yarn: Types of Yarn and How to Spin Them

Liz Good — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 22:01:22 GMT

In this free eBook, discover the numerous types of yarn you can create and the techniques and methods for spinning them. With the help from the editors at Spinning Daily, you can continue to build on techniques and methods that work for the yarn you're trying to achieve when spinning.

Note: On page 13 of the original eBooklet, the photo for step 3 was labeled incorrectly. The file was updated on December 18, 2012. While we work hard to avoid errors, sometimes something gets past us. We apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused.

How to Ply Yarn: From Plying on a Drop Spindle to Creating Plied Yarn on a Wheel

Liz Good — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:26:49 GMT

This fascinating eBook from the experts at Spinning Daily uncovers all of the opportunities, benefits, methods, techniques, and the art of plying yarn. Don’t wait; download your free guide today!

*This is an updated version as of March 2013. There are corrections to the twist directions in the captions on page 13.

All About Spinning Cotton: A Guide to Cotton Spinning + Free Naturally Colored Cotton Patterns

Liz Good — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:38:11 GMT

This eBook is filled with great tips about spinning cotton from spinners who love working with cotton and know how to get just the results they are looking for. Learn about the naturally occurring colors of cotton and some of the history of colored cotton available to handspinners and then try out your handspun cotton by weaving dishtowels, knitting a sweater, or crocheting a small bag.

A Guide to Spinning Silk Fibers + Free Knitting, Weaving, Crochet, and Embroidery Projects Using Silk Fiber

Liz Good — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:57:18 GMT

In this free eBook you'll learn how to spin silk for knitting, weaving, crochet, and embroidery projects guided by experts Mary Spanos, Carol Rhoades, and Dodie Rush.

Once you've learned how to spin, and you feel pretty comfortable spinning wool, you might start looking around for other fibers to try. Silk is one of the luxury fibers that new spinners are likely to try first—it is so seductively beautiful with its incredible luster and ability to take color. But spinning silk is a little trickier than spinning wool and it is really nice to have a couple (or three!) expert spinners by your side as you try it out.

A Guide to Spinning Wool: Learn How to Spin Wool from Rare Sheep Breeds and Other Wool Fibers

Liz Good — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:41:37 GMT

Want to learn more about spinning wool? We’ve compiled some of our best content from the pages of Spin-Off magazine focusing on three sheep breeds, Border Leister, Wensleydale Longwool, and Jacob. Learn about the sheep, the wool, and see how the wool is used for handspinning in a project for each. (Note: The original eBook, posted 10/31, was missing the Project Notes for A Border Leicester Christmas Stocking by Robin Russo. It is now included. Sorry for any inconvenience.)

A Guide to Processing Wool to Make Wool Roving: Washing Wool, Carding Wool, and Combing Wool

Liz Good — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:10:40 GMT

Considering processing our own fibers? We’ve compiled some of our best content from the pages of Spin-Off for you that should make the process of getting started easy and fun.

An Introduction to Spinning Wheels: How to Use and How to Choose a Spinning Wheel

Liz Good — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:17:58 GMT

Learning how to spin your own yarn is pretty easy and straight forward, especially if you have access to great teachers. To make this free eBook, we pulled from some of our best content from the pages of Spin-Off.

This updated version includes Denise Jackson's article on troubleshooting for your wheel.

Drop Spindle Spinning: Learn How to Spin with Drop Spindles

Liz Good — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:51:23 GMT

This updated version of the free eBook has additional material about top and bottom whorl spindles.

Felt—Myths and Reality by Kate Martinson

Liz Good — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:41:50 GMT

From Interweave Felt 2007: Felt—Myths and Reality: There’s felt, and then there’s FELT! Here are some tips on how to make it right . . . by Kate Martinson

Finding Balance

Spin-Off — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:25:14 GMT

Spinning is a combination of art and science, philosophy and physics, intuition and logic. We’re taught to draft and join and spin, but only skill and experience can tell us how much twist is enough for a particular fiber. We learn the attributes of two-ply, three-ply, and cabled yarns but choose to do one or the other “because it feels right.” Perhaps this is why spinning is so satisfying: both halves of our brains—the intuitive, emotional side and the calculating, rational side—get a chance to shine.