Spinning Yarn by Hand: A How-To Guide for Beginners

This is a very exciting week for the Glover Cottage Grove homestead because we are adding Angora rabbits to our farm! As someone who has been a fiber enthusiast for her whole life, I cannot wait to finally have my own source of raw fiber. We are primarily getting rabbits so we can spin their raw fiber into beautifully soft yarn that we will use in various knitting and crochet projects. Spinning your own yarn is a therapeutic hobby that anyone can pick up with a little practice and the necessary supplies.

Materials needed for spinning yarn

Spinning wheel or spindle

A spinning wheel or a spindle is an absolute necessity because it’s what twists your fiber into yarn! There are tons of different options, all varying immensely in price. If you’re on a budget, I recommend starting with a secondhand spinning wheel or a drop spindle.

I currently use a secondhand Saxony-style spinning wheel from the 1800’s. Every wheel has its own quirks, so if you can find a spinning wheel, it’s important to research the type, style, and brand to learn all of the techniques other spinsters have found success in using.

Carders or wool combs

Carders and wool combs are used to brush out the fibers, which untangles and cleans the fiber while making it workable for you to spin your yarn. If you use different fibers or colors, the carders also allow you to blend the fibers seamlessly. Carder types can include hand carders, drum carders, and blending boards.

Niddy Noddy or Swift

Once you’re done spinning the yarn, you’ll need a way to easily unwind it from the bobbin. That’s where niddy noddies or swifts come in. They both help you unwind the bobbin with ease and keep your new yarn tangle-free.

Fiber

There are many types of fibers to choose from, each with its own feel, look, and staple length. For beginners, I would recommend starting with a Merino wool because it’s easy to card, draft, and spin. Along with this, it also creates a strong, beautiful yarn.

Dye (if desired)

Don’t forget to grab some wool dye if you want your wool to be a fun color! I prefer using plant dye from around our garden or on Etsy. I use natural dyes in my fibers because they are safer than the chemical dyes that are popular today.

Prepping fiber for use

Once you have the wool fiber, you will need to wash it and remove any debris. You’ll need laundry detergent, a large bucket or sink, gloves, and very hot water. Let the fiber soak for around 15 minutes and then drain the water. Continue this process with the detergent and hot water until the water runs clear. It’s also important to note that you don’t want to move or touch your fiber if possible during this process to prevent it from felting and matting.

Dyeing fiber

You can dye your fiber either before drafting or after spinning and relaxing it. It depends on the effect you want to achieve! If you want to blend different colors, dye your fiber before drafting. Then, alternate on your wool carders to create a beautiful blend of different colors. If you want distinct colors where each ply is different, dye your fiber after spinning a single-ply yarn. Then, you can spin multiple colors together to create a spiralized color effect.

There are a few ways to dye your fiber depending on whether you use natural or chemical dyes. Either way, the dyeing process is fairly simple; presoak the fiber in room temperature water for at least 15 to 30 minutes, then mix the dye into the water. Make sure to add alum if it isn’t already included in your dyes. The alum helps spark a chemical reaction between the dye and the fiber so that the color will stick to the yarn.

Carding

Once the fiber is dry, you can start carding it. There are multiple ways to do this, but the most common are hand carders, wool combs, blending boards, or card drums. Once you’re done, you’ll be left with batts, rovings, rolags, or tops depending on your carding method. These are all brushed and fluffed-out fibers that are now ready for spinning.

Drafting fiber

Drafting is where you take all of the fibers and gently pull them apart to create air in the fiber. It’s always a good idea to pull one piece of the fiber until it breaks. This broken strand is your staple length, the furthest the fiber can be pulled apart before breaking. You can use it as a guide while drafting and spinning to ensure you don’t break the yarn by pulling it too far apart.

Spinning fiber

Now comes the fun part! For this, I’ll cover the general approach on how to use a spinning wheel. Each spinning wheel has its own quirks, especially regarding its setup and tension. Check out some tutorials on your specific wheel and reach out to any local or online spinners if you have any questions that aren’t answered by the tutorials.

Once your wheel has been set up, you’ll want to add some scrap yarn and tie it around your bobbin. This will be your lead yarn. Feed your lead yarn through the orifice of the flyer and watch how it feeds onto the bobbin. Adjust the tension as needed (tighter to have it feed through quicker, looser if it’s feeding too quickly or over spinning). Then, grab your fiber, place it onto the lead yarn, and start spinning. You’ll find that the fiber will automatically twist and grab onto the lead strand. Use your right hand to draft your fiber, and control the twist and feed with your left. If your strand does break, you can fluff out the end of your spun yarn and put an end of your carded fiber on top. Gently treddle your wheel, and you’ll notice that the two strands will naturally spin together, closing the break. Now you can just keep spinning and practice, practice, practice! It will take a couple of rounds of spinning before the process starts to feel natural.

Relaxing the fiber

Once you finish spinning the yarn, you will need to unwind the yarn from your bobbin onto either a swift or niddy noddy. Tie the yarn with a different piece of yarn in at least two places to prevent it from unwinding. Then, put your skein into a lukewarm vat of water and let it soak for an hour or two. Once it finishes soaking, thwack it as hard as you can against a hard edge (countertops work great for this). This helps relax your yarn and stretch it out a bit. Do this a few times while rotating your skein. Once satisfied with the result, hang the yarn to dry.

Creating a skein or yarn ball

Once your yarn is dry you can leave it in a skein and give it a little twist or wrap it into a ball! You can use a yarn winder for this or do it by hand. After this, your yarn is ready for use!

Creating your own yarn may look complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes like riding a bike. The hardest part will be learning the quirks of your spinner. After that, everything is, for the most part, easy sailing. Spinning yarn is an extremely rewarding process that can be used to create wonderful gifts for your loved ones. We hope you enjoyed learning more about the process of spinning your very own yarn. Comment below to tell us about your experience with spinning!