Hampshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers

Getting started to learn to spin

Link to Association of Guilds Directory - Click Here

Fibre Suppliers offering spinning classes:

The best way to start is with a Guild. Contact a Guild near you and go to a meeting. Visitors are welcome and you can get to know people and gather information about spinning and where to learn.

Becoming a member will open up new benefits. There are Guild members who will teach fellow members to spin, workshops and access to the library.

There are other spinners who offer classes and also fibre suppliers will often run classes. By talking to people at the guild you will be able to find out about the options and choose the best one for you.

More information and Suppliers

(these are just a few, there are other sources of information and suppliers available)

British Coloured Sheep

Check the other resource pages in case there is a supplier or resource listed that covers more than one craft

Greatwheel

Drop Spindle

Ashford Wheel

Niddy Noddy

Glossary of Spinning Terms

Bobbin A reel on which a spun thread is wound.

Carder Device for untangling and straightening the fibres ready to make into a rolag or tops for spinning.

Combs Combs are held at right angles to each other.They can be large combs that are fixed to a table (see Roving) or hand combs as shown or you could use a dog comb.

Drafting Pulling out a number of fibres from the supply (roving or rolag).

Flyer drag Similar braking device as the bobbin drag, but attached to the flyer.

Lazy Kate Frame to hold bobbins of yarn for plying.

Locks Separate staples of wool that have been combed.

Long draw Drafting area whereby the length of fibres is extended to outstretched arm's length.

Niddy noddy Device for winding skeins of yarn.

Plying Twisting to combine two or more single threads together giving strength, uniformity and character to the yarn.

Rolag Roll of carded wool, ready to spin.

Roving A ribbon of combed wool which has been pulled through combs.

Scotch tension Mechanism to adjust the twist to winding ratio by means of a braking device causing bobbin drag - see above.

Short draw Two hands working fairly closely together with a short drafting area while spinning.

S-twist and Z-twist Z clockwise twist, S anticlockwise twist. Describes the direction of twist used when spinning. The middle section of the letter runs in the same direction as the twist.

Whorls Circular weights fixed to the spindle shafts to add momentum when spinning the spindle.

Z and S Twist

Roving

Lazy Kate