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Consistency

I wanted to spin a yarn that was evenly spun and learn more about consistency. I wanted to let the yarn shine both up close and as a whole in a garment. To be able to do that I needed to be really thorough and take notes of every step I took on the way from fleece to the finished yarn.

This is the second post in a blog series. The first post was about how to find the superpowers of a fleece. In the remaining posts I take you through designing and knitting a garment and some calculations. Through the blog series I will use the wool from one sheep as a case study.

Consistency from fleece to yarn

To spin a consistent yarn you need to be consistent in every step of the process. With an unevenly spun yarn it will be a challenge to get consistency in the plying. If the wool isn’t evenly carded or combed, it is difficult to spin an even yarn. Wool that isn’t properly blended or sorted, will result in uneven wool preparation. There are many opportunities through the process to control your consistency and even more opportunities to learn.

It may seem daunting to go through a gazillion of steps to get a consistent yarn. But fear not. To start with, a consistent yarn isn’t at all necessary. I love the feeling of a handspun yarn that is not consistent. It can make it more alive. But sometimes consistency can give a yarn that extra shine that it deserves.

In this post I will tell you about different steps you can take towards consistency and about what I did in my case study. Pick the steps you like, play, experiment and evaluate. Do what works for you. You don’t even need to count or measure that much. Here are three simple steps that can help you a long way:

  • Look at the fiber or yarn and find ways to remember and replicate how you want it
  • Feel the material and let your touch guide you to consistency
  • Take notes and make samples
A sheet of paper with wool, tarn and knitting samples
Planning for consistency

For this particular project, though, I wanted to go all in and learn about consistency and what I can do to come closer to it.

Sorting, blending and teasing

Before I prepare the wool I arrange it in some fashion. I can

  • sort the fleece according to quality, staple length, fiber type or colour
  • blend different qualities to make sure the qualities are evenly spread
  • tease the wool as a preparation for carding.

Blending

In my case study I had two fleeces from the same sheep – the spring shearing and the autumn shearing. The staples from the spring shearing were a bit shorter than the staples from the autumn shearing. I wanted to spin the fleeces together to get both these qualities in my yarn, so I blended them. Had it been summer I would definitely have willowed the fleeces, but instead I just tried to blend them as well as I could in a big basket.

Teasing

After I had blended the wool I teased it. My favourite teasing method is with combs. I used my table mounted combing station and loaded the stationary comb with the blended fiber. I loaded each batch with wool to about a third of the height of the tines and I combed three passes for each batch. That gave me an even teasing throughout the wool.

While doing this, I also added the sari silk I wanted in the yarn as a tweedy effect. For consistency I decided to have a set amount of sari silk tufts with each combed batch. So for every batch of wool I combed I added eight staple length tufts of sari silk. That would give me consistency in the visual appearance of the colored specks. It would also be of importance to the consistency of the yarn quality since the proportions of silk to wool would be consistent.

Carding

For consistency in my carding there are a few tricks to consistency:

  • Make sure you load the card with an equal amount of fiber in each carding batch
  • Keep an eye of how much of the carding pad area that is covered with the fiber
  • Count the strokes and passes to get an even density in each rolag.

In the case study I grabbed a tuft of my teased blend and stroked the width of the card with the tuft until the teeth of the card didn’t catch any more fiber. I kept a one inch passepartout on the sides and upper edge of the carding pad empty to control the width and height of each rolag.

I carded six strokes before transferring the wool to the other card and three passes. This together with the technique to load the cards gave me rolags of the same density and weight.

I spun 12 skeins of 3-ply yarn. I made sure that I had 20 g of rolags for each single. Because I had been so consistent in my carding I ended up with 16 rolags for every single. 16 rolags per single in 12 3-ply skeins of yarn makes 576 rolags of around 1,25 gram each, all in the same shape, size and density. That gave me lots of practice in carding and consistency.

Carded rolags
Consistency in preparing the wool.

Spinning

There are several ways to control consistency when spinning. Apart from adjusting tension and ratio you can

  • keep an even treadling
  • count the treadles for each draft
  • keep an even amount of fiber to each draft
  • stop your drafting hand at the same distance from the orifice for each draft
  • keep an even distance between your front (yarn) and back (fiber) hands.
  • take notes of the twist angle and twists per inch
  • make samples and compare your current spin to the main sample
Skeins of dark grey yarn
Consistent yarn

Another way to get a consistent yarn is to leave some lanolin in the fleece. The lanolin helps me get a smooth draft. Usually I don’t use any detergent at all when I wash my wool (most Swedish sheep breeds are quite low in lanolin), so there is alway enough lanolin left after washing to give me that smooth draft.

I used several of these points in my case study. I spun the yarn with English long draw, which is an excellent opportunity to practice spinning with consistency. For building up twist I kept a set treadle count (4) and for making the draw and adding twist another set treadle count (10).

By keeping an eye on my posture while spinning and keeping my arms close to my body I made sure my hands were at the same distance from each other and from the orifice. I tried to keep my fiber arm elbow close to my body and move my fiber arm outwards to a comfortable angle from my body to control the length of each draw. I also tried to feed an equal amount from the rolag in each draw. This was more of a feeling in my hand than any calculations.

The fact that my yarn was 3-plied also added to the consistency. With three separate singles the chances for a consistent yarn is better than for a 2-plied or chain-plied yarn.

Yarn rolled onto a piece of cardboard
A consistent yarn doesn’t spin itself. It takes testing, counting and documenting.

When I started spinning this yarn I experimented my way to the yarn quality I wanted – thickness, twists per inch, drafting method etc. I saved the sample that I had decided would be my guide. All through the spinning I measured my spinning to this main sample to make sure I was on the right track.

Plying

At this late stage in the process from fleece to yarn, the measures I took in the beginning towards consistency are really paying off. I have three singles that are consistent in thickness, density and twist angle. But there are still some things I can do to add consistency to my yarn. I can

  • keep an even tension between the singles when I ply
  • keep a set treadle count for each feed into the orifice
  • feed an equal length of yarn into the orifice every time
  • Stop every now and then to check the twist angle and balance

This is what I did for this spinning project and it is what I generally do when I ply. I also make sure I move the yarn between the flyer hooks so that I feed an equal amount of plied yarn to every hook.

Some people don’t ply until all the singles are spun and make sure to ply the first singles together with the last singles. It is easy to gradually change the quality of the singles if you spin over a longer period of time. By mixing the singles from the earliest and the latest stages of the spinning, you avoid ending up with different gauged skeins. I have not tried this method yet, mainly because I’m too lazy to transfer all the singles to toilet rolls.

Record keeping

I did end up with a consistent yarn and all the methods I used in aiming for consistency really paid off. I did a lot of experimentation to see which steps I was comfortable doing and that I thought I could keep up with for the whole project.

Ravelry

Ravelry is a very powerful tool where you have the opportunity to keep track of your fiber stash and handspun yarn. I use the different features in my personal Ravelry fiber stash and handspun pages. As the proud geek I am, I record every fleece (and occasional industrially processed fiber) I have and every yarn I spin. I won’t go through every feature you can keep track of, but there are a lot. If you are on Ravelry you can check out my notes for this yarn here.

One of the features I use on Ravelry is the grist calculation – how much meterage or yardage you get per pound or kilo. I usually calculate the grist for every skein to keep record of the spectrum of grists for the skeins in one yarn. Out of the 12 skeins I spun in my case study, one had a grist of 1948 m/kg and two between 1650 m/kg and 1690 m/kg. The other nine skeins ended up with a grist between 1726 m/kg and 1900 m/kg. For me, that is quite consistent.

The satisfaction of a finished yarn

Sample cards

Even if Ravelry is a very powerful tool, you can only get so far with digital record keeping and pictures. For this project I combined these notes with samples of fiber, singles, plied yarn and knitted swatches. And it is so nice to arrange all the samples on a fancy paper. You have everything gathered in one place and you can make notes of calculations, methods, tools and a general feeling of the yarn – nice and orderly and good.

A sheet of paper with wool, yarn and knitting samples
Record keeping – nice and orderly and good.

Spinning for consistency felt very rewarding and I did learn a lot. One of the most important things I learned was that consistency starts already at the fleece – spinning a consistent yarn requires focus on more parts of the process than just the spinning itself. Also, I learned that spinning a consistent yarn takes time and effort, but also that the energy is very well spent. I love how my yarn looks in the individual strands and as a whole.

Even if I won’t strive for consistency in every yarn I spin, there are many techniques from this project that I will incorporate in my coming spinning project. Just the awareness of what a technique or a measure taken will do for my spinning makes me better equipped for planning and implementing a project.

Happy spinning!

This is, indeed, happy spinning!

Don’t forget about the spindle case giveaway! It is open until next Saturday, January 26th at 10 a.m. CET (world clock here)

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • 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!
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
    If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
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The superpowers of a fleece

A sken of dark grey yarn with colored specks in it

For a long time I have wanted to spin a yarn and knit a project where I start from the characteristics of the fleece and make a yarn that highlights the superpowers of that particular fleece. I wanted all the decisions I made from preparing the wool to designing and knitting a garment to be made with consideration to the fleece I had started with.

This post is part of a new blog series. In four posts I will take you through preparing, spinning, designing and knitting a garment, looking at consistency and some calculations. I will use the wool from one sheep as a case study.

A finull/rya gold medalist

In the 2017 Swedish fleece championships I got my hands on a beautiful, dark grey finull/rya crossbred. It is very soft with airy staples and mostly undercoat.

From spring to autumn

The ewe who grew this winner fleece was shorn in the spring, which usually means a little coarser wool and shorter staples than the autumn shearing. This fleece, though, was wonderfully soft.

A finull/rya mix and gold medalist at the 2017 Swedish fleece championships, shorn in the spring. Sheperdess: Margau Wohlfart–Leijdström

The competition had taken place in September, and I realized that the ewe probably was still wearing her summer coat. I contacted the shepherdess, Margau, and I was right, she hadn’t done the autumn shearing yet. A couple of weeks later, I had the autumn shearing in my hands. A little longer staples and even softer than the spring shearing.

Same sheep, shorn in the autumn. The staples are a bit longer and the tips are slightly sun-bleached.

Finding the superpowers

For a long time I was thinking about what I wanted to do with the fleeces. The spring fleece was a gold medalist and I felt a responsibility to make the most out of it. I wanted to let the wool tell me how it wanted to be spun to become its best yarn.

To look for the superpowers in a fleece I need to examine the fleece itself. But I can also get some clues from considering the characteristics of the breed in general, in this case two breeds – Swedish finewool and Rya.

Swedish finewool and Rya

Wool from Swedish finull (closely related to Finn) is typically very fine and soft with a high crimp (2–10 waves per cm). It has well defined staples of up to 8 cm. It is a good choice for spinning a lofty yarn with longdraw from carded rolags.

Rya has very long staples (up to 30 cm) of strong and shiny fibers and about 60% overcoat. A worsted spun yarn from combed top would be a good choice for this kind of wool. Rya is often used in weaving. The combination of the two can make a winner.

A finewool/rya crossbred

The shepherdess Margau has a flock of 25 finewool and rya sheep and has also crossbred these for several years. This has resulted in wool with the best of the superpowers of both breeds – strong, shiny and soft. She has won several medals from the Swedish fleece championships.

The wool I got from Margau is truly magnificent. I am a sucker for grey. This wool has shades of medium to dark grey with a hint of brown. The wool shorn in the spring has the staple length of finewool sheep, up to 8 cm. It is very soft and airy. I would say it looks more like finewool than rya, but the staples are more open than finewool. Finewool can be tedious to prepare since the staples usually are very thin and defined. This wool is a lot easier to prepare.

The autumn shearing has longer staples and a bit lighter. The tips are slightly sun bleached. The overall feeling of the wool is soft, but it is also clear that the wool is strong and shiny.

A row of wool staples
Staples from the spring and autumn shearing of a finewool/rya ewe

This summer I had made a tweed experiment where I blended the autumn shearing with some sari silk. I really got a taste for the mixture between the dark wool and the colourful specks of sari silk. I decided that I wanted to use the spring and autumn fleeces together and blend them with the sari silk for a tweedy yarn.

Fiber preparation

I wanted to be really thorough and sample my way to the best yarn for this wool. I knew from the experiment I had done earlier that carded rolags was the best way to prepare this wool. Before that could happen, though, I needed to go through a few other steps.

Mixing the fleeces

The spring and autumn shearings were a bit different – the spring shearing was shorter because most of the nutrition had gone to the lamb during gestation and lambing period. The autumn shearing had longer staples and were also a bit sun-bleached. I wanted all of these characteristics in the yarn – the short staples for loftiness and the longer for strength – so I mixed the fleeces in a big basket.

Teasing and blending

I used my combing station to tease the wool. This is the way I usually tease before carding, it is a quite efficient method. In this step I could also blend the sari silk with the wool.

A braid of turquoise based sari silk
Sweet sari silk

I loaded the stationary comb with the wool, not considering staple ends or directions, I just loaded ruthlessly to about a third of the height of the tines. At the top I added the sari silk. I combed three passes and then removed the blended fiber from the stationary comb tuft by tuft. This left me with clouds of wool blended with sari silk.

Carding

I am quite used to carding and I have my way of doing it that I think works quite well. Still, after watching the Interweave downloadable video How to Card Wool: Four Spinners, Four Techniques, I made some adjustments. I used to load the whole width of the card with wool, but now I leave a one inch passepartout of the card empty on the sides and top of the carding pad. This way I make sure that all the fibers are actually on the carding pads and not escaping through the sides. I also pay more attention to rolling the rolag between the cards to make neater and more uniform rolags.

Carding is something I love doing, and with these adjustment it became even more satisfying to see the fluffy teased clouds turn into proper and uniform rolags.

Sweet hand-carded rolags with specks of recycled sari silk.

Spinning and plying

I wanted a soft and round yarn, so my idea was to spin a 3-ply yarn with long draw. I made lots of samples with long draw in different thicknesses, but I wasn’t really happy with the results. All the samples felt too dense and not soft enough.

Spinning

For a while, English longdraw had been lurking in the back of my mind, but I was a bit reluctant to try it. If I liked it it would mean that I would have to spin everything with english longdraw and I wasn’t sure I would be able to do that with the consistency I wanted. But I tried it and realized that I had found the best way to spin the rolags. The samples were soft and lofty, and it felt just right. I ended up with a sport weight thickness that seemed perfect for the wool.

yarn samples of different thicknesses
I sampled my way to the best 3-ply yarn for my fleece

Spinning longdraw requires really well carded rolags. With any unevenness in the carding there is a risk that the yarn will be uneven and/or break in the draw. This is even more true for English longdraw where you draw one arm’s length in one motion. Having little specks of short fibers in the rolags feels a bit counter productive here. I didn’t let that stop me, though, I just had to take extra care in examining the roving before setting the twist. I think the yarn broke just a handful of times during the whole spinning.

When I spun the yarn I could feel the amount of blending of the two fleeces. In some rolags the drafting was really easy, almost too easy. This meant that I had mostly shorter staples from the spring shearing in this rolag. In others, the drafting was a bit tougher due to a higher amount of longer staples from the autumn shearing. The longer staples were important to the durability of the yarn, but too much of the longer wool would make a denser yarn than I wanted. Had I done this preparation in the summer I would definitely have mixed the fleeces by willowing them.

A bobbin with dark grey yarn with specks of colour
A bobbin full of yum

Plying

When I ply I like to transfer the singles together to a new bobbin. This way I start plying from the same end as I started spinning. It also allows me to go through the singles one more time before plying. I don’t need to handle three individual singles when plying. Instead I ply them in a bundle straight off one bobbin.

A skein of dark grey wool with colored specks in it.
A finished skein of final/rya tweedy yarn, full of superpowers.

Getting to know a fleece

This wool has gone through my hands numerous times. From sorting, teasing, carding, spinning and plying. I try to read the fleece to find out what I need to do to let it shine. In handling the fiber I get to know know what it feels like, how it sounds, the staple length, the crimp, how well it drafts, how much lanolin is in the wool. Every time the fiber goes through my hands I get new pieces of the puzzle. It is like every step in the process gives me a deeper and broader knowledge and understanding of the wool.

A sken of dark grey yarn with colored specks in it
Some tweedy loveliness

Coming up: In the next part of this blog series I will dive into consistency in all the steps in the process and look at how I take measure – literally – to end up with a yarn that is even.

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • 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!
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
    If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
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Slow

A friend of mine made a big personal change in her life recently. She had decided to listen to her heart and go back to the university for the third time after already having made a big career change once. Someone said to her that it was better to strive inwards than upwards. This sentence stuck to me and it floats around in my heart and reminds me softly every now and then to embrace the superpower of slow.

To get you in the mood for slow I give you a short and sweet video where I show you how I wind a ball of handspun yarn with my thumb.

Share the video and blog post if you like them!

The power of slow

Slow is for me a form of connection to the here and now. In society today, speed is power. There is a vast array of information rushing by every second. I need to sort things out in my brain and figure out what is important to me and what is just a waste of my time and energy.

With technological  speed I can reach more people in a shorter time, which is of course of importance in sharing my online work. I rely on this speed. But when we make shortcuts to cut costs and get more done faster, someone else will have to pay for it with their time, work and health. If I want to buy a sweater, somebody must do the work for me. And the cheaper the sweater, the more this someone has to pay. There is a big difference between price (what I pay for a sweater) and cost (what someone else has to pay for me to get a cheap sweater).

I can make my own sweater. Even if I will let someone else take care of the whole sheep part, I usually do know the sheep owner. Once I get my hands on a fleece, I can do all the steps and end up with a sweater. And the process will definitely be slow. If you are a spinner or any other kind of crafter you know this. I have made two videos with the concept of slow in mind: Slow fashion – from sheep to sweater and Slow fashion 2 – from sheep to shawl.

Josefin Waltin spinning on a supporter spindle and wearing a sweater with spinning wheels
A sweater knitted with my handspun yarn. The sweater has the leading role in my video Slow fashion – from sheep to sweater

I have paid for my sweater with my own time, experience, skills and design. By dedicating all this time to the process of making, I will gain so much more than just a sweater.

The power of thought

Being creative allows you to entertain the creative side of your brain.  When I spin (or do any kind of craft that I am fairly comfortable with) I also open up the door to creative thinking. Creative making in this sense allows for creative thinking. I can take advantage of this. If I feel a bit dull minded I go to my spinning tool of the day and spin. After a while I enter the crafting bubble. This state of being in the making sends a signal to my synapses to open all the doors to creative thinking. My dull mind becomes sharp and I can solve a problem or give birth to a new baby idea to take care of.

Josefin Waltin spelning on a supported spindle
Creative making and creative thinking

It is like being creative takes me to a place where I can find balance between focus on the process and unrestrained thinking – the crafting flow. It is very much like meditation. I have the same feeling in my body after crafting as I do after meditation – I feel light, empowered and balanced.

The power of touch

When I get my hands on a fleece I get to know it. Through all the steps in the process from fleece to garment every single fiber has gone through my hands numerous times. My hands tune in the channel of the superpowers of this particular fleece. They know the staple length, they know how the crimp behaves, how it drafts and how the yarn should feel when it is just right. My hands enter their own crafting bubble and after a while they just know how to prepare the wool to make the finished yarn show off all the superpowers of the fleece.

Hands feeling a fleece
The power of touch

My hands become an extension of my brain – like antennae – and allow my mind to read and interpret the material I work with.

Respect

Crafting is a sustainable way to use natural materials instead of buying new stuff. You may have heard of the “3 R’s” of waste management – reduce, reuse and recycle. Crafting is a part of this. You reduce the waste by using natural materials, you reuse the material instead of throwing away old stuff and buy new and you recycle by mending broken things.

I would like to add respect to this trio. By getting to know the material I work with I gain a sense of respect for it. I learn about the superpowers of this particular material and what it can give me. In return I handle the material with care and respect and highlight its superpowers in the things I create. You can compare it to gardening. The soil gives nourishment to my crops and I need to give something back to the soil when I harvest to be able to harvest again. By using the natural material to the best of its potential and all that it gives me I respect it.

Recently I have embroidered a lot. There is a slow process for you! But as all crafting it puts me in the crafting bubble and I am in my hands again, happy as a clam. Suddenly I want to save all the abandoned linen floss and embroidery silk in every flea market in all the land and make pretty patterns to save the world.

An embroidery, linen on wool
Slow fireworks embroidered with linen floss found – and saved – at a flea market.

Winding a ball of yarn

The faster things roll in society, the more important slow becomes. By making things slow I make an effort to balancing all the speed around me and hopefully getting some peace of mind in the process. It can be as simple as winding a ball of yarn.

Thumb nostepinne

I do own a ball winder and I use it sometimes. But I prefer using my thumb. Recently all my skeins have turned into pretty thumb wound balls of yarn. It gives me even more time to feel the fiber and once again pay tribute to its superpowers and all that it has given me.

Winding a ball of yarn with your thumb as a nostepinne is slow. Slower than using a nostepinne and definitely slower than a ball winder. But it gives me more time to hang out with the yarn that I have put so much skill, love and care into. I get time to watch the yarn in all its glory and remember the process of making it. And what is another fifteen minutes spent on a ball of yarn that has already taken me hours upon hours to process and spin? I like to think that I owe it to the yarn to spend that extra time and care to make it shine.

The technique

The technique is basically the same as for winding with a nostepinne, but instead of turning the nostepinne you will turn the ball on your thumb.

If you happen to be right-handed, you have the opportunity to learn how to wind with your left hand. You can also translate the image to right-handed in your head. The description in the titles is made to work with any hand. This is how I do it:

  • If I work from a skein I put it over my knees or the arm rest of my chair and wind from there.
  • I hold the yarn end in my hand and wind the yarn very loosely around my thumb. You don’t want to stop the blood flow in your thumb and you do want to be able to turn the ball with ease.
  • I wind diagonally from lower outside of the thumb to the upper inside.
  • For every round I place the strand of yarn closer to the inside of the thumb.
  • After a while I can wind a little less loosely.
  • When the front is full I turn the ball outwards. This way I can keep placing the strand of yarn towards the inside of the thumb again. This is where I would turn the nostepinne if I were using one.

I shot the video on Christmas Day. I generally don’t make outdoor spinning videos in the winter since the lanolin solidifies in the cold. But for winding yarn I don’t need to draft.

A hand wound ball of handspun yarn. A winter city in the background
Let your yarn shine!

The setting is our terrace overlooking Stockholm. In the background you can see Essingeleden, the largest traffic route in Sweden, which is anything but slow.

The yarn I wind in the video is the yarn I spin in my English longdraw video. The mittens featured in the video were knit with my handspun Shetland and Jämtland yarn and I used the pattern Stevenson Gauntlets by Kate Davies.

If you are not already there, try to embrace the rhythm of slow and strive inwards.

Happy ball winding!

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • 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!
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

2018 in retrospect

A Navajo spindle. Photo by Dan Waltin

In the last few days of the year I get a little nostalgic. I browse through the months, looking at all the memories of blogging and youtubing. They are like sparkling candy in a pretty bowl. All different, all sweet and all part of the whole. In this post I look back at 2018 and forward to 2019. Here is 2018 in retrospect!

If you have been following me for a while, this might be a walk down memory lane for you too. If you are new to the blog – welcome – this post  will help you can catch up with what happened during 2018.

The stats

During 2018 I have published

  • 66 blog posts
  • 17 public youtube videos
  • 20 blog post specific videos.

That’s more than one post a week and one one video every three weeks. At the end of the summer I decided I wanted to aim at one post a week during the autumn, but I didn’t realize that I had made even more than that in the spring.

Blog statistics
The stats

I am very proud of the videos and posts I have published this year. I learn new things all the time and I have sharpened my articles and learned how to analyze and reflect to produce interesting content for you. If you have enjoyed my posts and videos during 2018 and look forward to 2019, do become a patron and support my work. This work takes up a lot of my time and I also need to finance editing software and video equipment.

I love writing the posts and making the videos. When I get home on Friday after a week of work I can’t wait for Saturday morning to publish my next post.

During the year I had most viewers in the U.S, followed by Sweden, U.K. Canada and Germany. Thank you all for following, commenting, asking questions and giving valuable feedback. You help me become a better spinner, blogger, youtuber and teacher and I couldn’t do it without you.

Popular posts

The post with the single most views was, quite surprisingly, Willowing wool. I hadn’t planned it at all, I just thought of it one morning, grabbed a fleece and a couple of sticks and started shooting. And over 2500 people have visited the post and even more people have watched the video. It was great fun to make the video and I am happy to have contributed to sharing this old technique and craft.

Josefin Waltin sitting with a pile of wool. Locks are flying in the air around her.
Wool is in the air!

The second most viewed post was, even more surprisingly, Don’t waste your wool waste. This post didn’t even have a video attached to it, which makes it even more puzzling. But it was obviously interesting to both the spinning and the gardening community.

Third in line was Spinning in the 14th century and one of my favourite videos this year. I had such a great time with Maria, who provided the costumes and helped me with the shooting. There is a big difference in quality of the video when I have company (My daughter was with me in parts of the willowing video, which is also a favourite) compared to when I do it all myself. You can see and feel the interplay in the video which gives it different dimension than my solo videos. I hope to make more videos like that during 2019.

Josefin Waltin in medieval costume
Preparing for 14th century video shoot. Photo by Dan Waltin.

Blog series

During 2018 I have made four blog series where I have focused on a theme and looked at it from different perspectives:

They have been very popular and I have loved the opportunity to dig deep in a given topic. I have learned a lot from all four of them, but one of them in particular has totally changed the way I look at – and teach – spinning.

Spinning direction

The series about spinning direction started with an injury. I had started to practice spinning with in-hand spindles where you twiddle the spindle in your hand, basically without letting go of the spindle. A short while after I had started practicing this technique, I got  a cramp in the base of my thumb and I wanted to find out why.

I talked to a vocational therapist who told me that the muscles used for pulling are twice as many as the muscles used for pushing. Being a leftie, I had been pushing the spindle for a clockwise spin. When I changed hands so that the right hand was pulling the spindle for a clockwise spin, there was no more cramp.

A hand holding a spindle
Which is your spinning hand?

This made a huge impact on my own spinning and my teaching. I taught myself to spin with my right hand as spinning hand. It was difficult in the beginning, but with practice I managed to become as skilled with my right hand as I was with my left hand.

Now I teach spinning direction in spindle spinning in all my classes – I encourage them all to learn how to use both of their hands as spinning hands. I want them to have the opportunity to spin and ply with both hands without injuries.  Both my students and I are much more aware now of how the hands move and work.

The blog series was a combination of my own reflections about spinning direction, interviews with professionals in physiology and textile history and poll results from the spinning community. It was read and appreciated by many followers. Long after the series was published I have referred spinners to it who have had questions about pain or cramp in their spinning hand when spinning on spindles. And I am happy to help.

Twined knitting mittens

The blog series about twined knitting mittens was born out of the previous blog series about spinning direction. In the series you are invited to follow me on my path from fleece to a finished pair of mittens.

After having started practicing spinning with my right hand as spinning hand I wanted to give something back to my left hand that had been struggling for so long with pushing the spindle. I wanted to spin a yarn counter-clockwise so that my left hand could pull the spindle.

There is an old Swedish technique called twined knitting. You use two strands of yarn and twine them on the wrong side of the fabric. The technique takes very long to knit, but it results in  a fabric that is very dense and warm.

Close-up of the wrong side of a twined knitted mitten.
The two yarn ends are twined on wrong side of the fabric.

To compensate for the twining, you use a yarn that is Z-plied: Spun counter-clockwise and plied clockwise. So I spun a beautiful Värmland wool on a supported spindle counter-clockwise with my left hand as spinning hand. When the yarn was finished I made a pair of mittens in twined knitting. They weigh 60 g each and my heart sings every time I wear them.

A grey mitten with a venus symbol
Twined knitting mittens. Photo by Dan Waltin.

Flax

The autumn started with a series of processing and spinning flax. I have a tiny experimental flax patch at home. I started it in 2014 and learn new things about flax processing every year. The series includes a video where I process my flax from the 2017 harvest. I went to Skansen outdoor museum and borrowed their flax processing tools and got a lot of help from the friendly staff. The 2017 harvest was the first one I felt I can actually spin with ( I haven’t yet, though). In the series I also invite the viewer to follow the retting process on my lawn, with pictures of the flax straws in different stages of the process.

Retted flax
The flax fiber is easy to pull off the cellulose core. The retting is finished!

 

Cotton

The cotton blog series started with a gift. A fellow spinner gave me 130 g of newly harvested cotton from Stockholm. I am very reluctant to buying cotton clothes because of climate reasons – the fashion industry takes up a lot of farming ground for cotton farming. The industry also uses a lot of pesticides that are harmful for biodiversity and the people working in the business. But with small-scale and locally grown cotton I had the opportunity to try a fiber that I hadn’t spun before! In the series I prepare the cotton and spin it with Tahkli, Navajo and Akha spindles.

New grounds

During the year I have investigated grounds that were new to me. It has been a truly wonderful journey, but also required a lot of energy. In the end, I am very proud of what I have achieved.

Patron launch

In February I launched my Patreon site. This is where followers have the opportunity to support my work and get extra Patreon-only benefits like previews of upcoming videos, Q&A:s and their names in the credits of my videos.

Article in Spin-off

Last June I submitted a proposal to Spin-off magazine. It was accepted, and in March it was published. The link goes to a shorter version of the article. If you want to read the whole article you need to buy the magazine. I wrote about the process of the making of the video Slow fashion 2 – from sheep to shawl (the video was published in August 2017), where I processed and spun yarn for a shawl that I wove on my rigid heddle loom.

I will be writing more articles for spinning magazines.

Business

Around the same time, I started my own business. It feels very grown-up and totally terrifying, but it also gives me a boost to ignite my entrepreneurial switch and acknowledge my work as something more than just a hobby.

Josefin Waltin wearing an apron with an embroidered sheep
My wool handling apron with sheep logo. Photo by Dan Waltin.

Teaching

2018 has been the year of teaching for me. I have been teaching supported spindle spinning in different parts of Sweden during the year. Every time I learn something new about teaching, spinning and analyzing, but most of all I have learned to see and listen what the students need and how they are most likely to understand and learn. There is a big difference between conveying a message and for the receiver to actually understand and make use of it. I’m still learning and I jump with joy every time I see a student make progress.

Online school

I have been planning and working with my online school for nearly a year now, and in December I finally launched it. The first course is a free course in How to pick a supported spindle and bowl. Over 120 people have already taken the course. Come to the school and take the course you too!

A spindle and puck
Supported spindle and bowl by Björn Peck.

I have received a lot of wonderful feedback. Many students have really enjoyed and appreciated the course and given me valuable suggestions for future courses. I am truly thankful for that, it helps me become a better teacher and course creator.

There will be more online courses in 2019!

Favourites

One of my personal favourite videos in 2018 was the one I shot in Austria about plying on the fly on a Turkish spindle. I had such a lovely time standing in the big meadow in the beautiful morning light. And a lot of you enjoyed the video as well.

A hand starting a spindle.
Plying on the fly on a Turkish spindle in Salzkammergut, Austria.

Another favourite, with some shots from Austria, was my craftivism project I choose to stay on the ground. It is a video and a theme that is very important to me: Reducing our carbon footprint by avoiding flying.

Josefin Waltin reading a book on a train
Image from I choose to stay on the ground

A third favourite was the supported spindle video A meditation that I shot by a fulling mill. A beautiful day with pale September light.

You

Even if I have published lots of videos and posts this year I couldn’t have done it without you, my followers and readers. The feedback, inspiration and love I get from you is invaluable. Keep commenting, asking questions and sharing your knowledge. It helps me make better content for you. You are my biggest inspiration!

Plans for 2019

As I write this, it is still winter, which means that I can’t shoot any videos outside. Well, I could, but not with spinning involved, my hands and the fiber won’t work in the cold. I will have to wait until spring to shoot new videos. But I do have a few unedited videos left from 2018, I will publish them until the weather permits new outdoor videos.

I will launch more online courses during the year. Hopefully I will be able to buy a better microphone, so that I can improve the audio quality in upcoming online courses. I will also offer in-person courses around Sweden, perhaps I will see you there.

Björn the wood turner and I talk regularly and we will have a workshop in his workshop (!) in January to look at new models and designs. He will open a web shop soon.

I create my videos out of a special idea I get or if I find a special location I fall in love with. I have a few plans up my sleeve, involving spindles of different kinds. My husband gave me a lightweight tripod for Christmas, so I will be able to get out and about easier. The old one weighs over 2 kg, this one was only 800 g.

If there is anything you would like me to cover in an upcoming post or video, do give me a holler.

These are some of my favorite sweets in the 2018 candy bowl. I hope you found some favourite sweets as well.

With all my heart I thank you for 2018 and wish you a happy new spinning year 2019!

Josefin Waltin spinning on a supported spindle. Photo by Dan Waltin.
Looking forward to spinning in 2019!

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • 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!
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

English longdraw

Josefin Waltin spinning on a spinning wheel

In the last video of 2018 I give you what I promised you back in March – a video about spinning English longdraw. Share it if you like it!

In July I made a video with spinning English longdraw with a quill, but that time I was using brown wool that was a bit difficult to see. This time I use white wool and I hope you can see the fiber better this time.

I’m spinning on my RoadBug spinning wheel from the Merlin tree. The fiber is Shetland wool, hand-carded rolags from combing leftovers.

The English longdraw

With the English longdraw – or double drafting – you gather twist, make an arm’s length draw, add twist and roll back onto the bobbin in one smooth motion. The technique is full of superpowers that I will dissect in this post.

Lofty and warm

Spinning English longdraw will get you a lofty and warm yarn. When sampling for a spinning project recently I tried different kinds of drafting techniques, turns per inch, thicknesses and fiber preparation. I was amazed by the difference between the “regular” (American) longdraw and the English longdraw – the English longdraw was so much softer and loftier!

A skein of white yarn
A sweet little skein spun with English longdraw. 16 g, 36 m, 2297 m/kg

A double drafting technique

When you spin with the English longdraw you use a double drafting technique:

  • After you have gathered the twist you make the draw. This first part of the double draft results in a pencil roving with a soft twist.
  • After the draw has been made, you begin the second part of the double draft by adding twist.

You can compare this to the technique used with different kinds of spindles – the Navajo spindle and the Akha spindle are two examples. A good idea to practice the English longdraw is to begin with a slower tool like a Navajo or Akha spindle. You also spin with an English londgraw on a walking wheel. The English longdraw is an excellent choice for spinning short fibers.

Josefin Waltin spinning on a spinning wheel
An arm’s length’s draw gives consistency.

Consistency

With the English longdraw you have the opportunity to spin a consistent yarn. The draw in itself helps achieve this consistency since it is quite a long draw.  In addition to that, you can make the yarn even more consistent by planning your project.

Consistency as a bonus

When you spin with an English longdraw you can make the draw as long as you like or find comfortable. This is achievable with American long draw as well. The difference is that by gathering the twist in the English longdraw and then make the draw in one motion, the twist will catch the fibers more evenly over the draft.

Consistency by design

As I wrote in the paragraph above, the length of draw in itself helps you achieve a more consistent yarn. However, you can also take advantage of this and plan for even more consistency. By aiming for the same length in every draw, you will add to that consistency. Try to get a feeling for what draw length is comfortable and stick to that length in every draw. Voilá – consistency.

You can also add to the consistency by controlling the amount of twist in every draw. I do this by having a set treadle count – I make samples of different amounts of treading and set my inner meteronome to the count that gives me the best yarn for that particular fiber. In the video I count to eight when I gather twist, make the draw and count to ten when adding twist. By doing this for every draw I will have a more consistent yarn.

It has to be said, though – no yarn will be consistent without a good preparation. I use hand-carded rolags. Hand-carding rolags takes a lot of time, but it also gives me a lot of practice. The yarn I’m spinning at the moment (not pictured)  is a 3-ply yarn. One single is 20 grams and consists of around 16 hand-carded rolags. That makes 48 rolags for one 60 gram 3-ply skein. So far I have spun 10 skeins – 480 rolags. That’s a lot of practice and 480 chances to learn new things. Think about that the next time you sigh over your hand cards.

The technique

So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of the technique. Spinning English longdraw is done in a four-step sequence:

  • Building up twist
  • Making the draw
  • Adding twist
  • Rolling onto the bobbin

We will look at each of the steps individually. But before you do anything, you need to make sure the wheel is ready: Bring out the oil and lubricate. Spinning English longdraw requires serious spinning wheel pampering.

Building up twist

In this first step I prepare for the draw and decide how much fiber I want in each draw. With quite a low ratio I build up twist just in front of the unspun fiber. That means that I hold the rolag carefully and treadle for a set amount of treadles. I pinch the yarn with my spinning hand just in front of the rolag so that the twist doesn’t enter the fiber. This is the only time in this technique where the spinning hand is on the yarn. The fiber hand takes care of the rest.

Making the draw

In this second step I decide the thickness of the yarn.

A lot of things happen at the same time now. I unpinch the yarn with the spinning hand and make an arm’s length draw in one single motion with my fiber hand. This lets the twist enter the unspun fiber as both fiber and twist distribute over the drawn length. I now have a pencil roving with a soft twist in it. I need to make the draw slow enough so that the yarn doesn’t break and fast enough so that the fibers still have their mobility. This of course also depends on how much twist you have built up – how many treadles you have counted to.

Adding twist

In the third step I decide how much twist I want the yarn to have. I hold the yarn in the arm’s length I have decided and count to my set treadle count.  I watch the yarn and assess it as I treadle. If I need to, I have time to make adjustments in this step.

Rolling onto the bobbin

The last step ends the just made draft and prepares for the new draft. I roll the yarn onto the bobbin in one smooth motion and pinch the yarn just in front of the rolag again, ready for the next draw.

Close-up of a person spinning on a spinning wheel
When gathering twist, I pinch the yarn with my spinning hand just in front of the rolag. The fiber hand holds the rolag loosely.

The setting

The video was shot in August at the cabin we rent at a sheep farm every summer. This was an overcast day and it was difficult to get good colour quality. To compensate for the overexposed pasture in the background, I have focused extra on the sound – the music, the running stream and an occasional baah.

A lofty yarn spun with English longdraw

Happy holiday spinning!

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • 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!
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

Spinning cotton on an Akha spindle

A spindle with fiber

I have a new spinning video for you today! This time I discover the beauty of spinning cotton on an Akha spindle. The Akha spindle is by far my favorite tool for spinning cotton.

This is the fifth and last post in my cotton blog series. Previous posts have been about my opinion of the cotton industry, cotton processing, spinning cotton on a Tahkli spindle and spinning cotton on a Navajo spindle.

The Akha spindle

The Akha spindle is used by the Akha people who live in the region between Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Chinese Yunnan. It is a spindle primarily used for spinning cotton. I think it would work for other short fibers as well, but I haven’t tried that. The whorl is placed in the middle of the shaft and you spin it with a two-step technique in two dimensions. The end of the upper part of the shaft has either a hook or a notch. Mine comes from NiddyNoddyUK and has a notch and I make a half-hitch to secure the yarn.

Spinning cotton on an Akha spindle

Cotton drafts very easily but has very short fibers. This means that you can draft the fiber as long as you don’t apply any pressure on the yarn.

It also means that you can’t spin cotton with a suspended spindle. Or, at least it would be very difficult. Yet, you use the Akha spindle suspended in the second step of the spinning technique. How does this work? Well, you need to make sure the drafting is all done in the first step. This is how I do it:

First step: Horizontal and supported

Setup: I hold the spindle horizontally in my spindle hand (my right hand for clockwise spinning). I hold the bottom part of the spindle shaft. The fiber is in my fiber hand, I hold it very lightly. I use hand-carded rolags. You can see how I card cotton here. No hand is on the yarn.

A person spinning horizontally on a spindle
Drafting away on my Akha spindle

  • I draft the fiber by increasing the distance between my hands. My fiber hand just supports the rolag and keeps it from falling down. No holding or pinching.
  • At the same time I roll the bottom of the spindle shaft. It is a very light movement – I use my index finger and thumb for rolling and the other three fingers for support. I pull my index finger toward the palm of my hand – clockwise with my right or counter-clockwise with my left (for a discussion on spinning direction and ergonomics, see this post).
  • I make a loose draft until I reach a length of the yarn that allows for a second draft.
  • When I have enough length between my hands I can allow myself to pinch the yarn in front of the rolag to avoid more fiber to enter the draft.
  • Now I can keep drafting and rolling. I make sure I do very small adjustments – I draft a little, roll a little, always checking that there is enough twist to hold the fibers together and enough draft to give the fibers mobility.
  • I draft until I can’t see or feel any more mobility or uneven parts in the fiber. When there are no more lumps and when there is no more give in the yarn, I stop the drafting.

A spindle hanging in its yarn
The second part of the two-step spinning sequence.

Second step: Vertical and suspended

  • I hold the yarn right in front of the rolag and let the spindle hang in its now-drafted yarn. If the fiber hasn’t been sufficiently drafted, the yarn will break.
  • I roll the bottom part of the shaft along my thigh in the spinning direction to add twist. A lot of twist. The bottom tip of the shaft is a bit tapered, so the spindle spins very fast.
  • When I’m happy with the amount of twist, I roll the yarn onto the cop, make a half-hitch and start the first step again.

The real spinners

I found a YouTube clip of a woman spinning on an Akha spindle. She does It a bit differently. She combines the first and second parts by having an arm’s length of long draw and then another arm’s length where the spindle hangs suspended. Also, she seems to spin counter-clockwise and she manipulates the yarn with her spindle hand to keep the spindle in motion.

Here is another clip of women spinning cotton on Akha spindles. They seem to be using both methods. The person behind the camera doesn’t seem to fully understand how to shoot spinning, though.

The setting

I shot the video when I was teaching spinning at Sätergläntan in early October. Before I came I knew it would be a beautiful place so I had planned to shoot a video there. I just needed to find a suitable spot. And it didn’t take long for me to find the perfect location. There are lots of beautiful old wooden houses where the students live. But the prettiest ones were the storage houses (härbre) that are used as simple lodging in the summer. You can compare it to an Alaskan or Canadian bear cache. I am truly fascinated by the old wood. I just want to hold my hands against the log walls on a sunny day and feel the warmth and the kindness of the wood.

A row of wooden store houses
Old wooden store houses, used for light lodging at Sätergläntan craft institute.

All the store houses had different doors. I just picked the one with the prettiest door. A student in the course I was teaching was kind enough to help me with the shooting of the video.

A favourite tool

In the cotton blog series I have prepared my cotton bolls and spun with three different spindle types – the Tahkli, Navajo and now Akha spindles. They are quite different but they all make the most of the superpowers of the cotton fiber.

  • The Takhli spindle with its speed catches the short fibers in the twist and I can manipulate the yarn while the spindle spins.
  • With the Navajo spindle I can  take my time making a double draft and use the length between my hands to even out the twist.
  • The Akha spindle allows me to separate the different parts of the spinning process and finish one at a time.

I have to say that my favourite of all these cotton spinning tools is the Akha spindle. It fits the characteristics of the cotton so perfectly and really makes the most of the properties of the cotton fiber. I can choose to sit or stand when I spin with it. The supported part does not require me to sit and the length of the yarn is short enough not to dangle in the floor for the suspended part if I sit down.

The Akha spindle I’m spinning on in the video (from NiddyNoddyUK ) is so very light and sweet to work with. It weighs only 14 grams but is not too delicate. It is very comfortable to spin with. I love the light feeling when I roll the shaft in my hand, feeling the structure of the wood and the subtle turning details. It is really fast when I set it in motion against my thigh and spins beautifully centered. She’s a keeper!

A spindle hanging in its own yarn
A favourite cotton spinning tool

Happy spinning!

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • 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!
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

Spinning cotton on a Navajo spindle

In today’s new video: Spinning cotton on a Navajo spindle. It is difficult, but I learned a lot about spinning long draw and how to feel what the fiber wants.

This is the fourth post in my cotton blog series. Previous posts have been about my opinion of the cotton industry, cotton processing and spinning cotton on a Tahkli spindle. So, here is my video about spinning cotton on a Navajo spindle.

Spinning cotton on a Navajo spindle

I love spinning on my Navajo spindles. I love the whole-body approach to it. Especially when you compare it to the more fine-tuning supported spindle spinning where you mostly use your fingers. When I spin on my Navajo spindles I can use big movements and involve my whole body.

So far, I have only spun wool on my Navajo spindles. But when I read Connie Delaney’s book Spindle spinning from novice to expert I learned that Native Americans spun cotton on ground-resting spindles in pre-columbian times. Of course I needed to try that too!

The Navajo spindle is a perfect tool for spinning cotton. Since it is supported by the ground there is no weight on the yarn or fiber. When spun with a lot of twist cotton is strong, but before that happens you can’t put any weight on it.

Long draw

Spinning cotton is done best with a long draw from hand-carded rolags. And the only way to spin on a Navajo spindle is to spin long draw, preferably from hand-carded rolags. Isn’t that the perfect match! Here is my take on carding cotton.

As I covered in the post on spinning cotton on aTahkli spindle, cotton is very sensitive to compression, so it is vital to hold the rolag very lightly. Hold it as if it were a newly hatched chicken.

How I spin cotton on a Navajo spindle

While some spinners spin the fiber twice or even three times, I prefer to use a double draft. This means that I draft the fiber two times in the same take. The first time is to get the twist evenly into an amount of fiber. The second draft is to even out the twist and to reach the final thickness of the yarn.

Close-up of a person spinning on a Navajo spindle
Spinning cotton on a Navajo spindle., the first draft. Like magic, the twist enters the fibers and yarn happens.

This is how I do it

  • With a very light hand I roll the shaft to build up the twist in the yarn. I let the fiber hand follow the motions of the rolling. I let the rolling rest in the angle at the base between my thumb and index finger.
  • After a given amount of rolls, I move my fiber hand outwards, letting the twist enter the fiber. This first draft gives me a roving. After a certain length I can’t stretch my fiber arm any more and I wind the roving onto my fiber hand so that the yarn never slacks.
  • Now I make the second draft in comfortable arm-length sections. I roll and draft, always making sure that there is enough twist to hold the yarn together, and enough mobility to allow the fibers rearrange themselves more evenly. If there are lumps, I open up the twist by untwisting slightly between my hands. For this both of my hands are on the yarn, controlling the piece between them.
  • A final add of extra twist. Cotton needs a lot of twist to hold together and make a strong yarn. I realized that this yarn didn’t have enough twist, so after the video was made I went through the yarn again and added extra twist.
  • When I have spun for a while I transfer the spun yarn down to the permanent cop, using my fiber hand as a middle station.

Josefin Waltin spinning on a Navajo spindle.
Transferring the yarn to the permanent cop, using my fiber hand as a middle station.

Doing the Navajo dance

Spinning on a Navajo spindle is almost like dancing. The hands are constantly leading and following each other and working together in a given choreography. The fiber is their master and the hands need to listen to the fiber to be able to make the right moves. When the spindle hand rolls the shaft to gather up the twist the fiber hand follows in a gentle motion. The fiber hand takes over the control in the first draft and the spindle hand allows for a matching resistance. In the second draft both hands work together.

Allow your hands to really listen to the fiber. Cotton is a picky master, but the fiber usually tells you what it wants. I can literally feel when the twist enters the fiber in the second draft. Be sure to pay attention to what the fiber tells you.

The scenery

I shot this video outside our common laundry room. A sweet white building under a big oak. A century ago it used to be a stable for the horses that worked in the factories that were here before our house was built.

It was a really windy day in the end of September and I had a hard time keeping control over fiber, yarn and hair.

The Navajo spindle (and bowl that is outside of the picture) is from Roosterick.

Josefin Waltin spinning on a long-shafted spindle.
It was a windy day!

Happy spinning!

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

A meditation

I have a new video for you today! This time it is about spinning on a supported spindle. Or, rather, what spinning in general and supported spindle spinning in particular does for me. I give you Spinning on a supported spindle: A meditation.

A new video

The very first instructional type videos I released were about spinning on a supported spindle. I have learned a lot since then, both about spinning technique and about videography and editing. For example, nearly all of my previous supported spinning videos were shot before I had figure out spinning ergonomics and spinning direction.

The scenery

So, I figured it was time to make a new video on supported spindle spinning, with better spinning, photo quality, and editing. The weekend we spent at the Swedish spinning and fleece championships was the perfect opportunity. My husband brought his fancy camera and we found a beautiful location by a mill in the forest.

We shot the video on a beautiful September afternoon, with magic autumn light and the mesmerizing sound of the creek. I decided that the number one priority this time would be the scenery – spinning angles and techniques would have to come second. We skipped between the rocks in the creek like fairies, hunting for the prettiest spots and lighting. I can imagine that the mill would have been quite a dangerous place back in the days and our skipping around would soon have ended badly.

We didn’t bring a tripod for our weekend away, so some of the shots are a bit unstable. I hope you can live with that.

Josefin Waltin spinning on a supported spindle by a mill.
Spinning by the mill. Photo by Dan Waltin

Editing

Back home, I started to edit the clips. When I had finished, I started to add the titles. And I didn’t know what to write. In my more recent videos I have found a way to approach the titles on a level that I think works. It is informative but not too busy. But I couldn’t really think of titles that would match that level in this video. When I teach supported spindle spinning the course usually takes three hours, which actually is way too little. How could I fit informative titles in a three minute video when I need more than three hours to teach it?

After a while I gave it a go and added titles that I thought would be on a suitable level. I was still unsure of the result, though. The titles didn’t match the theme of the shots. I asked Dan what he thought. He said “Why don’t you adapt the titles to the scenery and make them more… mindful?” That was it! This wasn’t an instructional video at all, it was a mindful video. I deleted all the titles and started over with a fresh perspective. I edited the video into an inspiration for meditation. The new titles made the scenery and Dan’s beautiful shots justice.

Josefin Waltin spinning on a supported spindle. An old wooden door behind her.
A mindful spinner. Photo by dan Waltin

A meditation

When I spin, especially on a supported spindle, I relax. I feel that I allow my mind to be light and free. Just like the fibers go through my hands, I allow my thoughts to come and go, without expectations or forcing. If I feel tense or stressed, I like to grab my spindle and take a moment to myself and spin. This allows my mind to relax and I feel more balanced. Spinning also unlocks my creative thinking and I get access to fresh ideas and inspiration. It is like I have entered a door in my mind that has been hidden behind other thoughts before, like a meditation. I meditate twice a day and the sensation of spinning and meditation are quite similar. Sometimes I get the same feeling after a bike ride. There is something about the motion that also helps my mind to move forward and untie any mind knots.

I tried to convey this feeling in the new titles. I hope you get a sense of what I mean, or even recognize the feeling.

The spindle

The spindle and bowl I am using in the shots was made by Björn Peck. He is a professional wood turner based in Stockholm. I contacted him this June and asked if he could make me some supported spindles. When I teach I have a whole array of spindles from different makers, mostly from the U.S. but also from Australia and the U.K. It takes time to ship them to Sweden and the shipping and customs fees make the spindle quite costly. Also, if my students want to buy a spindle after the course, they have to wait several weeks for the spindle to arrive, and by then they will have forgotten the technique.

Björn agreed to give it a go and came to our house. I showed him how the spindle works and what features I think are important. After another two meetings, he had managed to make a beautiful spindle that spins like a dream and has all the details I want. He also made a spinning puck in matching wood.

I don’t sell Björn’s spindles and bowls, other than to the students in my courses in Sweden. But if people – by that I mean you – are interested, I can ask Björn to set up an online shop. Just let me know.

Close-up of a person spinning on a supported spindle
Spindle and bowl by Björn Peck. Photo by Dan Waltin

And, oh, the sweater I’m wearing is the one I made in my first documentary video Slow fashion – from sheep to sweater.

Happy spinning!

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!

 

Posted on

Shopping trolley makeover

A person pulling a shopping trolley

I have a shopping trolley that I pack all my gear in when I teach spinning. It is lightweight and easy to bring on the metro or train. It can easily swallow three shoe boxes on top of each other, filled with spindles, cards, combs and other tools. This is the story of a shopping trolley makeover.

A shopping trolley makeover

Lately my shopping trolley bag has started to come apart and I decided it was time for it to retire. My husband suggested I look for a new one in wool. That was an excellent idea. The one I had was in some synthetic canvas which wasn’t climate friendly at all. When I browsed for a shopping trolley in wool, though, I couldn’t find one.

Creativity by bike

On an early bike ride to work I got an idea.  My 10 K morning bike ride to work is one of my most creative moments during the day and I usually get so much sorted out in my head on these rides. I direct and edit videos, brainstorm for new videos, outline articles and blog posts etc. When I get to work I just write all of it down and e-mail it to myself. This was one of those ideas. I was going to make a new trolley bag myself – I would just copy all the parts and measurements from the existing trolley bag and stitch them together.

I had seen a made-over shopping trolley before and fallen in love with the idea. A while ago, I took a wood-carving class, and the teacher had upcycled her shopping trolley. Instead of the regular canvas bag she had made one in woven birch bark. The handle was made of carefully carved wood with an ergonomical grip. It was really beautiful and personal. The idea of making one in my own crafting material made my heart jump with joy.

Wool needle punched felt

On a recent fiber event I passed by a vendor who sold needle punched felt in 100 percent wool from Swedish sheep. They sold it by the meter in large rolls. That would be a perfect material for my shopping trolley!

I bought a meter of medium felted needle punched felt. The material is about 6 mm thick and quite sturdy. However, it works excellent to hand sew in.

Cozy sewing

I measured the original shopping trolley bag and copied it right off (I did leave the cane compartment, though, I figured I wouldn’t need it for a while yet). Then I just used a simple backstitch to sew all the pieces together.

The sewing was actually really comfortable. I loved holding the thick wool in my hands and the needle went through the thick material with ease. I used glue clamps to pin the pieces together. And of course I used my handspun yarn for the seams, a 2-ply worsted spun yarn from the black parts of a Shetland flecked fleece.

A woolen shopping trolley in a beech forest.
A personalized shopping trolley, ready for teaching adventures. Photo by Dan Waltin

The compartment was made of a front and a back, two sides, a bottom and a top flap. The top flap closed with velcro. There were steel reinforcement frames in the front and back pieces. I made extra pockets on the tops of the front and back pieces for the frames to fit in. A shorter handle on the back of the bag and a longer on the front. A closing mechanism for the handles, secured with velcro. Two horizontal straps on the back piece held the bag securely on the trolley. After the pictures were taken I got rid of the ugly foam handle on the trolley and replaced it with a cozier one in the same material as the rest of the bag.

All that was left of the original trolley bag was a sad and hollow bundle of polyester canvas.

Embellishments

Needle felted logo

Before I sewed the bag, though, I had some decorations to make. First of all I needle felted my logo to the front of the bag. I tried to pre-trace the logo onto the felted material first, but it was way to fuzzy, so I had to needle felt it all off the cuff. I used a handspun rya yarn I had used earlier for a logo embroidery on my spinning apron.

A needle felted sheep logo
A needle felted logo. Photo by Dan Waltin

A spinner’s quote

After having finished the logo I thought it would be a shame to waste such a blank and lovely canvas. So I embroidered a quote on the closing flap. I used the same handspun yarn I had used for the seams.

I chose a spinning quote from Mahatma Gandhi. He was a spinner and wanted to liberate India from the British by non-violent civil disobedience and spinning. I found it quite fitting.

A quote embroidered on a felted material
‘Every revolution of the wheel spins peace, goodwill and love’. Photo by Dan Waltin

I couldn’t pre-trace on the lid either, so I had to embroider all the writing off the cuff as well. I used a simple backstitch. Embroidering handwriting by improvisation was really a challenge, but when the quote was all finished I was really happy with the result. Despite the rather uneven ‘handwriting’ I am quite fond of it. It has sort of an animated touch to it.

A shopping trolley makeover success

When the shopping trolley bag was finished I just slid it over the trolley handle. I fit like a glove and I was happy as a clam of my beautiful and personal trolley bag. The walls of the bag are really sturdy and it actually looks professional. I can’t wait to board the next train with my new traveling companion!

A person pulling a shopping trolley.
Off to new spinning adventures. Photo by Dan Waltin

A spindle case

I also got another idea. It may have come to me on another bike ride. I had fallen in love with the felted material and I didn’t want to stop sewing in it. So I came up with an idea to make a spindle case. Just a tube with a bottom, a lid and a loop strap for hanging or holding in your hand or sliding onto your belt.

A woolen tube with an embroidered flower
My pretty spindle house, ready for a house-warming party. Or, rather, a spindle warming party. The house is already warm and cozy. Photo by Dan Waltin

In afterthought, the rim of the lid was a bit too short. It is 3 cm and I should have made it around 5 cm. The top of the lid is a bit too small, which makes the rim point outwards a bit and result in an unsmooth fit. I’ll make some changes for my next spindle case!

More embroidery

I have not embroidered much, but a spindle case is a perfect opportunity to practice. And I did love sewing in the material, so there was no hesitation. This time, however, I didn’t use my handspun yarn for the embroidery. Instead, I used thrift shop embroidery flax yarn I found in the back of a cupboard. This case needed colour and most of my handspun is undyed. The silky linen yarn was a perfect match to the matte and sturdy feted wool.

As in my previous embroidery adventures with the needle punched felt I couldn’t pre-trace anything, so I just started with the center ring of a flower and improvised from there. The beauty of being a beginner at something is that you don’t know the rules and I could just make everything up as I went along. And I’m quite happy with the result.

A woolen tube with an embroidered flower
Photo by Dan Waltin

The flower reminds me of a pansy. The dangling tentacles are inspired by an anglerfish. You know, the deep-water fish that has sort of an antennae on the top of its head with a flashlight on it to lure its bait.

Decadent lining

I also chose to line the spindle case, for two reasons. First of all, the spindle would get stuck in the entangled mess at the back of the embroidery without a cover. Second of all, If I would keep some spinning fiber in the case (which I most definitely would), it would stick to the felted surface if I didn’t line it. Of course I didn’t want a synthetic lining material, so I bought a decadently pink silk lining and hand-stitched it to the inside of the tube before I assembled the case.

A woolen tube with silk lining.
Decadently pink silk lining in the spindle case. Photo by Dan Waltin

As a final touch, I cut out a circle of wool to put in the case as protection. This way I can put a small spinning bowl or puck/disk in the bottom of the case. If I put the wool circle on top of the bowl and then slide in the spindle I don’t have  to worry about any damage on the spindle tip.

Josefin Waltin sitting on a log in a forest. A shopping trolley and a tube case beside her.
Wool, spinning and a beech forest in autumnal colours. Couldn’t ask for more. Photo by Dan Waltin

I’m ready for my next spinning teaching adventure!

Happy spinning!

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

Swedish fleece championships 2018

I wrote earlier about the Swedish spinning championships 2018. This post is about the Swedish fleece championships 2018.

A new dawn for Swedish wool?

On the one hand, it is sad that so much of Swedish wool goes to waste. Over 80 % of Swedish wool is wasted (here is a post about what I do with my wool waste). Partly because of the lack of profit for the sheep farmers and because of lack of an infrastructure for a fleece market.

But the knowledge, skills and love put in every single fleece at this event is truly astonishing and I see a strong will to cherish Swedish wool.

The competing fleeces

A table full of fleeces
The fleece table of the Swedish fleece championships 2018. Just look at that black rya at the bottom left!

Around 20 fleeces had entered the championships and with a wide variety of breeds, colours and mixed breeds. A silky rya fleece, black as the night, a fawn Swedish finull with unbelievably long staple, ridiculously soft Jämtland fleeces and so much more.

I spent a long time walking lap after lap around the fleece table just soaking it all in with all my senses (well not really all senses) – smelling the lovely sheep smell, looking at the different colours and structures, listening to the sound of my imaginary spindle spinning all the fleeces into their best yarns. And, above all, feeling the soft, springy, sturdy, silky, squishy, bouncy, creamy and beautiful fleeces with my happy hands.

A table full of fleeces
Jämtland fleeces at the end of the table.

An old friend

The light grey Jämtland in the picture above was ar real favorite for both visitors and jury – it received a silver medal and was sold for 140 € at the auction to two happy spinners who sisterly shared their loot. I have made its acquaintance before, though. The fleece is from the same sheep that provided me with the sweater I knit in my Slow fashion – from sheep to sweater video. The shepherdess Birgitta Ericsson got four awards for her fleeces – two medals, the people’s choice award and the best of all prize.

Finewool frenzies

I have a soft spot for Swedish finewool. The first fleece I ever bought and spun was a finewool fleece. Of course there were quite a few finewool fleeces at the championships.

A white finewool fleece
A beautiful and crimpy Swedish finewool fleece

I really loved the white Finewool fleece above. Long and crispy staples with a silky touch. This fleece got a gold medal. I can get high quality finewool fleeces at home, though, so I concentrated on other breeds at this event. But I can look and drool, can’t I?

A fawn finewool fleece
Finewool with an exceptional staple length

Another finewool fleece and silver medalist I just couldn’t take my eyes (and hands) off was this dreamy fawn one above. Look at that staple length! It must be nearly 15 cm, which is very unusual for this breed.

My precious

I did end up buying two fleeces at the auction. I had my eyes set on a few, but I could only get two home on the train (and into my fleece storage in the sofa bed).  My initial plan was to buy two white fleeces. I find it much easier to see white wool when I spin and I realize that this also goes for my videos and when I am teaching. White wool shows better on screen and will also be easier for my students to see.

The first fleece I bought was a white finull/rya mix breed with long and soft staples. Last year I also bought a finull/rya mix breed at the auction, and it was from the same shepherdess. She knows what she’s doing!

Finally, it was the amazing Åsen/Härjedal mix breed (25%/75%) in colours from chocolatey brown through rose grey to creamy white. The staples were amazing with their matte and sturdy looking cut end and wavy golden tip ends. And look at those sweet lamb curls! Just dreamy. I do realize that this fleece is not white. But can you blame me for wanting this beauty?

Ok, it’s time for a Swedish lesson. “Vill ha” is the translation to want. “Behöver” is the translation to need. Some genius came up with the fusion “villhöver”, which would translate into something like “I want it so much that I think I really, really need it”. I villhöver this fleece. End of story.

I just spent a couple of hours sorting the chocolate creamy fleece and I was constantly amazed by the colours and variations within the fleece and within the staples. The shepherdess didn’t really want to sell it, but she did part with it for me anyway. I hope she thinks I am a worthy spinner for her baby. The sheep’s name is Chanel.

Wool staples of different natural colours arranged in a Sul pattern.
Colour variations in one single fleece

To summarize, I had a few favourites and they all got medals. I guess I have some sort of feeling for what’s in a good fleece.

Spinning class

I was also at the championships as a spinning teacher. For the third year running I taught a class in supported spindle spinning at the championships. I had four eager students, some of whom had taken the class before. Two of them brought their own spindles, which they had bought from me two years ago. It felt good to see some of my first spindles again! The students were very happy with the course and they have all made great progress.

I love teaching. All my classes are for intermediate to advanced spinners and it is such a treat to just geek down in a subject with fellow geeks and really talented spinners. I learn something new every time and collect new pedagogical tools for my tool box. We dive head first into technique and function and my heart explodes with spinning joy.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and I can’t wait for the 2019 championships.

Happy spinning!

You can follow me on 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 miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other 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. The content I create is totally free from advertisement. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better posts and videos. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!