Learning to spin

So, my 2 drop spindles have finally arrived from poland and I've started spinning my angora wool I'd stocked up before.
I really like the first bit, spinning the initial tread, but I'm struggling to 2 ply it. My original spin wasnt even so it's making it tricky to have a balanced yarn.

Can you guys give me your opinion on what I've done so far?

I can't tell for sure from the photo, but if you're having a tough time plying, why not ply from a center-pull ball instead of straight off the spindles? Or at least make a cheap lazy kate out of some shoeboxes? That way you don't have to fiddle with 3 independent spindles at the same time.

Your first yarn looks a lot like mine, so I think you're doing fine. Don't worry, it's a pretty good learning curve once you get a feel for it. You'll be making consistent yarns soon enough.

Congrats and welcome to the new hobby!

What i'm noticing is that my first treads seem to be spun too much, so they have those rly thight coil sections that overcoil over themselves. When plying it then, it doesnt uncoil enough maiking the yarn very rough to the thouch and uneven. So what I've been doing for the last bit so far is to first let a section of single tread unspin a bit until it feel smooth and even. I do that with both singles and then ply em together. Seems to be helping. Though the yarn is thicker then I'd like. <br /><br /> __________ Mon Oct 23, 2017 12:36 am __________ <br /><br /> So, my spindle was getting too full and heavy so I decided to stop spinning more. Took off what was done and started anew.
The technique of unspinning the curled over areas has made it much much easier to work with and my yarn is getting more and more even and balanced.



I also started the crochet project I want to make for my dad with the ball that was finished. It's just a neck warmer made with a basic stich but I wanted to keep it simple. Once I finish the next ball it should be enough to finish it.

I'll be dying it blue using rit dye since it's my dad's favorite color. I know I technically shouldve started with dying it as the raw fiber isnted of dying the finished project but I was afraid of wasting the fiber and ending up with not enough or too much blue fiber as leftovers. I don't mind if the color is not even in the end so I think doing it on the finished neck warmer will be fine.

Btw how much does angora wool shrink when washed? I'm a bit afraid of that too x.x

You're doing well for just starting out!

The singles should twist up on themselves a bit when they're relaxed. Not real tightly, but enough to sort of make themselves into yarn a bit.

Plying them together, if you have really tight singles, then you need to put a lot of spin into the yarn to balance that. Which can sometimes end up with too much spin over all, so it's best to get just enough spin into the singles.

Sometimes it's easier to put a paper cover over the spindle and then you can slide it off when the spindle is full. That lets you empty the spindle to keep spinning. If the singles are made into balls, they can be dropped into jars to keep them contained while plying.

Washing angora as fiber doesn't work all that well. It mats and clumps and becomes a mess. Dyeing it as fiber has the same issues. Usually angora is dyed as yarn.

It doesn't shrink much on washing if it's washed in cold or lukewarm water. I'll generally handwash with shampoo or dish soap and then lay flat to dry. Angora will felt if it gets the chance. A washing machine will felt it and hot water with agitation will felt it. Although making something a little larger than you'd like and felting it down in size a bit does make it a bit more solid. Usually I only do that for the woven things, but it'd also work for knitting and crochet.

Thanks for when to wash/dye Hotzcatz!

I finished it and dyed it as I said I would. I washed it on a short gentle cycle and dried it partly on gentle in the dryer, it's been laying on an arm rest all night and its still not very dry, kinda icky to put on but I did to get a picture.
The dye isnt perfectly even as I figured it wouldnt and I couldve made it a bit taller, but I think it's not too bad.



Forgive me for the messy hair, I took that rifht after being woken up by Nikita's 2 babies running all over me. Best gentle alarm clock ever, cuteness overload x.x

Good job on the scarf and the bunny cuteness is adorable, too!

Once it's made into a scarf, it can be felted a bit to make the fabric tighter, although angora will also felt entirely if you're not careful. If it worked on gentle cycle, then that's a plus! I've never been brave enough to toss angora things into the washing machine. The woven scarves do get hand felted, though, since the loom isn't warped closely. I'm sure there's a loom term for that, but I don't know loom terms very well.

What are you going to make next?

I havent rly decided I'm still spinning my wool, started working so I didnt have much time left. Now that I quit said work and plan on getting part time somewhere nearby that'll let me have more time. Curently working on a coat for myself with some acrylic yarn I bought, I'll decide later what happens with the angora.
Why is angora felting such a problem? I dont mean why it happens I mean why felted angora is regarded as so bad? <br /><br /> __________ Tue Dec 19, 2017 2:53 am __________ <br /><br /> So my dad asked for a beanie. It took all the wool I had, literelly only 10cm left of the white :/. I just hope it fits him, if it's too short he'll have to wait a couple months for my next wool harvest. Hopefully he likes it anyways. The black and navy blue is white yarn I dyed using rit dye. WHat do you guys think?

I have Jersey Woolies and want to spin their wool. Is that possible or will it not turn out well?

Hi RandomElf,

Welcome to RabbitTalk! :welcome:

It's usually best to start a new thread if you have a question, that way it doesn't get glossed over or lost in someone else's topic.

As a short answer to your question, though, yes I think you'd be able to spin fiber from Jersey Woolies just fine... but start a new thread and maybe you'll get some better advice on how to harvest, or spinning techniques and tips that may help!

Best of luck!
:good-luck:

You can spin bunny fluff from Jersey Woolies, they've got fiber long enough to spin. I think the main reason Jersey Woolies aren't one of the major breeds kept for wool production is because they are so small and don't produce all that much fiber.