Drop Spinning whorls – a real eye opener.
Introduction
Join me, start your journey into drop spinning. I am going to be putting up a few blogs discussing my progress into drop spinning and making a spinning wheel.
Last year my husband asked me what I would like for my birthday. As you all know when you reach an older age, presents of something you don’t already have can be hard to find. Luckily I had been following a lovely USA ladies blog on drop spinning, spinning, and weaving. You can watch her videos here
I asked for a drop spindle and some fibre to give the drop spinning a try. Being a very handy man in the workshop he set about researching the designs and weights and made me a handful of different ones. He used wood from our trees in the garden which he had cut and dried. I was really very happy when he gave me them as well as some coloured fibre from our local sewing shop to start my drop spinning journey. I am going to be putting up a few blogs discussing my journey and progress into spinning so please subscribe to the news letter and keep checking back.
We have whorls in our shop, please take a look.
This is a very addictive past time
- It is relaxing – take care not to drop spin for hours as your hands will feel sore the next day short bursts work best for me.
- I have learnt a lot by buying different fibre in 100 gram packets to try. I love elpaca it is leading my favourite list.
- Sheep become an interesting topic, learning about fleece, staple length and all the other words which go with spinning is exciting. I don’t look at sheep in the same way any more and when out walking pick up fluffy fleece bits on fences to bring home and spin.
- Plying is very satisfying using the yarn to knit something an easy hat with you very own yarn feels amazing.
- Learning takes time, this is perfect for a retirement hobby as we have time on our hands, so enjoy the process and learn, create and explore this new world of spinning.
What is a drop spinning whorl?
A drop spinning whorl has a shaft to wrap the yard around and a weight to enable it to spin and twist the fibres. It is used to spin fleece of any kind into knitting yarn by twisting the fleece fibres to form a strong string. All yarn on the spindle is considered 1 ply, by twisting 2 yarns together in the opposite direction to which the were original wound you can ply then into 2 ply yarn. There is strength in the ply as well as thickness.
Do I need a special whorl for drop spinning at home?
- A top spinning whorl is weighted at the top of the shaft. It is ideal for beginners.
- The bottom spinning whorl is weighted at the bottom of the shaft. It is more suited to those who have the knack at spinning with a whorl.
- For plying you need a slightly heavier whorl with a longer shaft to take the yarn.
2 Good places to purchase fibre / fleece in the UK
- I use the World of Wool website to buy my fibre. They have a good selection of natural fibres as well as some which have been dyed in awesome colours to suit everyone. This company sells starter packs as well as individual whorls.
- The Fibre Hut is another of my firm favorites. The blog is very interesting and there is a download to show you how to drop spin.
