dianemulholland.com
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Get Started Spinning
Especially for Beginners |
When you first start learning to spin, there is so much new information that it can be overwhelming. Take it slow, practise, and you will soon find that things all begin to make sense. The tips and links below are all specially selected to answer questions and provide useful information to Spinners who are just starting out. I hope you find them helpful, Happy Spinning!
Golden Rules
1. Practise little and often. When just starting, it's easy to get frustrated. Practise a little bit each day and you will see improvement and results quicker than you think.
2. Have some time with a real teacher. There are many great books, articles and videos available for new spinners, but nothing can compete with the value of some real lesson time.
3. Use quality materials. You can't produce nice yarn from rubbish fibre, and you won't enjoy the process. Also, you will never know whether it's you - or if maybe the fibre is just un-spinnable. Use something nice, your learning is worth it.
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Amy
From Spin! Series 1, is especially aimed at beginning spinners and has lots of information and tips for improving your yarn.
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Resources
Invest in some good resources right from the beginning. Many of them cost less than a fancy spindle.
Books for Beginners
Start Spinning by Maggie Casey, Interweave Press, 2008.
Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning by Judith McKenzie MacCuin, Visual, 2007.
And if you want a really hefty tome with loads of detail:
The Big Book of Handspinning by Aldon Amos, Interweave Press, 2001.
Magazines
Spin-Off Magazine is published quarterly by Interweave Press and is well worth a subscription. Check out their website too for lots of free pdf files of past articles.
Spindlicity Magazine at www.spindlicity.com has great articles, videos, reviews and interviews with spinners.
The Inside Loop at www.theinsideloop.com includes spinning articles and patterns for handspun yarn as well as knitting and crochet content.
Videos
Be wary when surfing free video sites for help and information. Some of the videos are fantastic, others may contain misleading information and poor technique. Follow the links below for some great videos for beginners.
Introduction to Spinning Part 1
Introduction to Spinning Part 2
Two fabulous videos by Abby Franquemont aimed specially at brand new spinners.
Maggie Smith SOAR Spinning Scholar
Maggie Smith demonstrates spinning on a spindle.
Tying a Leader on a Spinning Wheel
Beth Smith demonstrates an easy, non-slip method of attaching your new leader.
More videos are linked from the Tutorials page here, covering a range of techniques.
Blogs
Many of the articles that I post on Needles on the Move are relevant to beginners, look for the Get Started Spinning icon, or click on the button in the sidebar to view the whole category. Check out some of these posts if you're just starting:
Plying from your Spindle
A handy technique for efficient spindle plying.
Click here
Carders, Combs and More
A run-down on popular equipment you might like to add to your spinning stash.
Click here
Spinner's Bookshelf
My favourite spinnerly books.
Click here.
The following blogs also contain a wealth of fabulously useful material: