Today I present to you a new online course: The Twist Model – moving between spun and undspun with ease and quality. It’s a 25 minute lecture in four sections.
Enroll in the course here
I’m equally nervous and excited about this lecture. I have been thinking about creating short lectures on my online school, on different topics. This is my first try.
“That was the best 25 minutes I’ve had in a long time! The lightbulb went on! This video is a game changer for me.”
Wendy C, Canada
A nifty method for any spinner
One of the most important techniques I teach my students – beginners and advanced alike – is to open up the twist to allow the fibers to glide past each other without coming apart. In this semi-stable section, between unstable fiber and stable yarn, the fibers are able to move and the spinner can draft with ease.
Often I see students pull the yarn as they spin and glide with their hands along the yarn. This creates strain in the body and often felts the yarn. I have seen many spinners with a sweaty felted wool mass in their hands after having spun for a while.
By opening up the twist the spinner will be able to draft using only the tension between the hands. Even if a beginner might not find the sweet spot where the fibers can glide past each other without coming apart straight away, once they do it’s usually a big aha moment and a new understanding of the spinning process. The sweaty felted wool mass is no more.
The Twist Model
In this short lecture I talk about the Twist Model and what happens between spun and unspun and the point right in between. I also talk about what we can do with this section of the yarn to have less strain on the body, less strain on the fiber, to get a more evenly spun yarn and to be able to listen to the wool.
In the course I start with the very basics of fiber and yarn. I move on to explaining the Twist Model and show examples with different spinning tools. In the last part of the lecture I talk about how opening up the twist can help you listen to the wool.
What do I need?
This video is for any spinner – beginner and advanced alike – who wants to explore ways to work with the wool and its individual characteristics. The Twist Model works with any spinning tool. Try it with any spindle or wheel you like. The video is captioned in English.
You can read on the blog about the Twist Model and about opening up the twist. And you can now enroll in the course, the Twist Model.
Enroll in the course here
If you have suggestions or wishes for future topics on short lectures, please let me know!
Happy spinning!
You can find me in several social media:
- This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
- My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
- I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
- I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
- On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
- You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
- Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
- Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
- In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
- I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
