{"id":947,"date":"2018-01-27T10:03:19","date_gmt":"2018-01-27T09:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=947"},"modified":"2018-02-06T18:47:51","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T17:47:51","slug":"spinning-direction-part-1-self-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/spinning-direction-part-1-self-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Spinning direction part 1: Self-study"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an earlier post about learning how to spin on a medieval spindle<\/a>, I mentioned that I have switched hands for this technique. Usually my left hand is my spinning hand and my right hand my fiber hand. Since I got a cramp learning in-hand spinning I decided to try switching hands. Almost all the illustrations I have seen of medieval spinners have been with the right hand as the spinning hand. A reader, Stefanie, commented on my post, saying that she had had problems similar to mine and that switching hands had made a big difference for her. This made me think about how I spin and what role spinning direction and spinning hand play.<\/p>\n

Blog series of spinning direction<\/h1>\n

Spinning with a spindle can be done with either hand and I don’t think anyone argues with that. You can choose to push the first and second fingers outwards or pull them inwards, with either hand. Nothing spectacular with that either. But if you want to spin in a certain direction, there will be different hand movements depending on whether you are spinning with your left or right hand.<\/em>\u00a0Most commercial yarns today are spun clockwise and plied counter-clockwise and it is how I have learned to spin. So, if you want to spin clockwise you will push with your left hand and pull with your right, right?<\/p>\n

In this and some upcoming posts I will investigate spinning direction further. So let’s dig deep into the world of spinning direction and get geeky!<\/p>\n

Testing my spinning hands<\/h1>\n

My first step is to investigate how I spin clockwise with both hands and with different spinning tools. By learning to use my right hand as spinning hand I will hopefully be able to see what it is I do. By breaking down the steps of the spinning technique I may see what is happening when and how.<\/p>\n

In-hand spinning<\/h2>\n

As I have mentioned, I started to learn in-hand spinning my usual way, with my left hand as spinning hand. This was just before Christmas. I did get a cramp. \u00a0Thinking about the illustrations of medieval spinners with the spindle in their right hand, I knew I had to try to switch hands. Since the technique was all new to me, my muscles weren’t set in their ways and the change went fairly painless. And I didn’t get a cramp. In-hand spinning is so much more controlled than for example supported spindle spinning. This may have made it easier to learn with my right hand.<\/p>\n