Just before Christmas I stumbled on youtube videos about spinning yarn. I’ve thought about making yarn on a spinning wheel but I didn’t realise that you could do it inexpensively with a drop spindle until I watched videos on the technique and found information about making your own drop spindle.

Visiting my mum for a week, we went to a hardware store and picked up a length of dowel and, unable to find a circular piece of wood, bought three coaster pieces which we stuck together. With a cup hook, some glue, and a drill, we made a drop spindle!

I was keen to get spinning but I didn’t have any fibre so we raided my mum’s tapestry wool stash of odds and ends which I spent time plying together. I found out later that I should have been plying in the opposite direction (against the original twist) which might have made my yarn easier to work with, but this is the point of trying… you learn. Continue reading →