Yarn Spinning with a Modern Twist: How to create your own gorgeous yarns using a drop spindle (Paperback)
Want to spin your own beautiful yarn? Expert spinner Vanessa Kroening shows you how in this easy introduction to spinning with a drop spindle. No need to invest in an expensive spinning wheel!
"The bounty of photos ensure readers will know how every step should look, and Kroening’s knowledge of the craft impresses. This makes yarn spinning easy." - Publishers Weekly
Expert spinner Vanessa Kroening shows you how to spin in this wonderfully accessible introduction to spinning with a drop spindle. Vanessa explains how to:
"The bounty of photos ensure readers will know how every step should look, and Kroening’s knowledge of the craft impresses. This makes yarn spinning easy." - Publishers Weekly
Expert spinner Vanessa Kroening shows you how to spin in this wonderfully accessible introduction to spinning with a drop spindle. Vanessa explains how to:
- clean and prepare fleece for spinning
- what to look out for when choosing a fleece
- how to card, blend colors, and make rolags and batts.
- use a drop spindle
- ply your yarn and how to add beads, sequins and other elements, as well as how to dye your yarn
Vanessa Kroening is an expert in spinning with a drop spindle, and acquired her knowledge through reading, researching, experimenting and meeting with like-minded crafters. She has exhibited as The Spinner’s Stash at craft and fibre shows such as The British Wool Show, Kirsty Allsopp’s Handmade Fair, Yarnporium and Textiles East and now exhibits at yarn shows in the US such as Stitches Midwest and Southeastern Animal and Fiber Fair. Additionally, she offers lessons and workshops in both spinning and felting.
Vanessa is married with one child and has recently moved back to Valdosta, GA after 15 years in the UK. Formerly an aircraft mechanic in the United States Air Force, Vanessa's online shop, The Spinner’s Stash, specializes in handmade drop spindles, and spinning and felting fibres. Samples of her work can be found on her website, thespinnersstash.com and on Instagram @thespinnersstash.
Vanessa is married with one child and has recently moved back to Valdosta, GA after 15 years in the UK. Formerly an aircraft mechanic in the United States Air Force, Vanessa's online shop, The Spinner’s Stash, specializes in handmade drop spindles, and spinning and felting fibres. Samples of her work can be found on her website, thespinnersstash.com and on Instagram @thespinnersstash.
Publisher's Weekly, 11/17/22
The colorful debut from spinner Kroening teaches crafters how to make yarn using a drop spindle. The author breaks down how to use the simple instrument to turn raw fleece into thread, helping readers get started with advice on how to choose a fleece (matted wool is hard to spin, and kemp doesn’t dye well), clean it (tease the fibers apart and soak them in warm water), and card it (she prefers using a blending board, which resembles a small easel with sharp-toothed tines on it). Step-by-step photos show how to use the spindle, which dangles in the air from a strand of wool that tightens into yarn as one spins the tool. The author’s variations on drop spindle technique are a highlight, showing how to incorporate beads, sequins, and other embellishments. She also shows how to adjust the way one feeds wool to the spindle to create different yarn textures; for example, intermittently adjusting the angle of one’s wrist downward as one pushes the wool creates a “thick-and-thin” thread that leaves tufts in the yarn. The bounty of photos ensure readers will know how every step should look, and Kroening’s knowledge of the craft impresses. This makes yarn spinning easy.
The colorful debut from spinner Kroening teaches crafters how to make yarn using a drop spindle. The author breaks down how to use the simple instrument to turn raw fleece into thread, helping readers get started with advice on how to choose a fleece (matted wool is hard to spin, and kemp doesn’t dye well), clean it (tease the fibers apart and soak them in warm water), and card it (she prefers using a blending board, which resembles a small easel with sharp-toothed tines on it). Step-by-step photos show how to use the spindle, which dangles in the air from a strand of wool that tightens into yarn as one spins the tool. The author’s variations on drop spindle technique are a highlight, showing how to incorporate beads, sequins, and other embellishments. She also shows how to adjust the way one feeds wool to the spindle to create different yarn textures; for example, intermittently adjusting the angle of one’s wrist downward as one pushes the wool creates a “thick-and-thin” thread that leaves tufts in the yarn. The bounty of photos ensure readers will know how every step should look, and Kroening’s knowledge of the craft impresses. This makes yarn spinning easy.