# Spinning: Mother Earth News article



## amoamarone (Feb 21, 2015)

I don't agree with all of this (I rarely add weight when drying my yarn), but this is interesting and a good overview.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/handspinning-zmaz77sozgoe?pageid=1#PageContent1


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## Reba1 (Feb 5, 2012)

Good article. I don't weight my yarn either. As I was reading it, I was thinking "she must be left handed", then I see she says to switch if you are left handed. I hold my fiber in my left and pinch/draw with the right, just the opposite of her discription, and I am right handed. I guess we all have what is comfortable for us. 

I am somewhere between long draw and short draw - I would like to get closer to a long draw as I believe it would help me be more consistent. 

Thanks for sharing the article.


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## amoamarone (Feb 21, 2015)

Reba1 said:


> Good article. I don't weight my yarn either. As I was reading it, I was thinking "she must be left handed", then I see she says to switch if you are left handed. I hold my fiber in my left and pinch/draw with the right, just the opposite of her discription, and I am right handed. I guess we all have what is comfortable for us.
> 
> I am somewhere between long draw and short draw - I would like to get closer to a long draw as I believe it would help me be more consistent.
> 
> Thanks for sharing the article.


Me too, on all of your comments! I have been trying long draw, but with little success. Of course, I sit on a comfy couch with lots of pillows behind my back so I have less room to draw. But, for me, it isn't a race!


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## desireeross (Jun 2, 2013)

I also hold my fibre in my left and draw with my right. Also never weight my wet yarns. I feel if you need to do that you've done something wrong to start with


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## Spooly (Oct 22, 2011)

Interesting article. I will try working on the long draw.


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## wordancer (May 4, 2011)

I too, need to practice the long draw...all good info, except as noted, weighing the yarn while drying.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Interesting read...thank you. I didn't know there was a left and right handed way to spin. I just took hold of the fiber in my left hand and drafted with my right because it was the comfortable way to spin. I am trying to learn long draw.


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## RobynMay (May 14, 2012)

I have a weird way of spinning with very little hand movements and my efforts at long draw have been totally unhelpful so far. I have to do more practice. Thank you for the link.


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## IndigoSpinner (Jul 9, 2011)

amoamarone said:


> I don't agree with all of this (I rarely add weight when drying my yarn), but this is interesting and a good overview.
> 
> http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/handspinning-zmaz77sozgoe?pageid=1#PageContent1


Is the Mother Earth News just reprinting this? https://smile.amazon.com/Handspindles-Bette-Hochberg/dp/0960099026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483618182&sr=1-1&keywords=Bette+Hochberg


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## Teardrop (Oct 23, 2011)

I too hold and draw my fiber with my right hand. I do a sort of medium long draw, but it also depends on the fiber. Since I mainly work with the fiber I grow there is a big difference between length of fiber and crimp. Right now I'm spinning some very short black Alpaca and it is a VERY short draw because there is no crimp, it is very slippery, and very short. For some reason this girl doesn't grow much length in a year's time so I am letting her go for 2 years to get some length. Also, according to Interweave Press, a spinning wheel was uncovered and carbondated from a dig in China to 7000BC. Just thought I'd add that tidbit. Enjoy your spinning ladies, no matter how you do it, it is satisfying and peacful!!!


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## Goodshepfarm (Jul 20, 2014)

I am right handed and hold the fiber in my right hand. My left hand gently pinches the fiber and glides over the fiber as it is being spun, acting like a brake system and only allowing what I want to be released through the orifice. 
When the spun fiber has reached about a foot in length I release it all to be drawn through the orifice and wrapped around the bobbin then immediately start the draw again with my right hand. I cringed a bit when I read "push" because I've been taught never to push the yarn into the orifice. 
The right hand draws and the left hand always follows in the same direction, then holding the spun fiber, release it into the orifice in one long draw. 
I am trying to learn long draw and at times have drawn the fiber 3 feet rather than a foot, but I have never been properly taught so I'm not sure if I'm doing it all properly. 
I'm still trying to understand worsted vs woolen and if the pinching or gliding movement of my left hand riding over the fiber as it is being spun, essentially flattening all the fibers, is a major factor in the end product. 
Wish I could take a class as I've been learning as I go for the past 15 years. 
Perhaps I need to visit the library again for books on spinning. Maybe I'll do that today!
Any suggestions?


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## IndigoSpinner (Jul 9, 2011)

If you feel like you need to "push" the just-spun yarn into the orifice, it's telling you that you need to adjust your take-up!


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## spins2knit (Jul 29, 2013)

Saw this. It was interesting to go back in time to read Bette Hochberg again. She was one of the primary sources for handspun when I started. Her guidelines were very helpful when there was so little published information for us. It was magical when Spin-off was first published in its newspaper format and things really took off.

It is always helpful to get someone else's take on how things should be done but experience is still the best teacher


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## Condia (Jul 24, 2012)

I was taught, MANY years ago that when you are a beginner just learning to spin you may have yarn that has to much twist. Which is true for almost all new spinners until they get the rhythm of treadle and draft. If you have yarn that is over spun you can reduce the "kink" if you wash it and then weight it. It does help. Thank goodness that was over 30 years ago, lol.


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## amoamarone (Feb 21, 2015)

IndigoSpinner said:


> Is the Mother Earth News just reprinting this? https://smile.amazon.com/Handspindles-Bette-Hochberg/dp/0960099026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483618182&sr=1-1&keywords=Bette+Hochberg


Perhaps Mother Earth printed highlights since the pamphlet is over 70 pages and this is only 5.


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## amoamarone (Feb 21, 2015)

Goodshepfarm said:


> I am right handed and hold the fiber in my right hand. My left hand gently pinches the fiber and glides over the fiber as it is being spun, acting like a brake system and only allowing what I want to be released through the orifice.
> When the spun fiber has reached about a foot in length I release it all to be drawn through the orifice and wrapped around the bobbin then immediately start the draw again with my right hand. I cringed a bit when I read "push" because I've been taught never to push the yarn into the orifice.
> The right hand draws and the left hand always follows in the same direction, then holding the spun fiber, release it into the orifice in one long draw.
> I am trying to learn long draw and at times have drawn the fiber 3 feet rather than a foot, but I have never been properly taught so I'm not sure if I'm doing it all properly.
> ...


I took a class from Judith MacKenzie McCuin on Intentional Spinning. I was too much of a beginner to really take it all in, but I also have her excellent book. My goal is to someday understand it and be able to do it. 
https://www.amazon.com/Intentional-Spinner-aa/dp/B008SM1HYK


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## Goodshepfarm (Jul 20, 2014)

amoamarone said:


> I took a class from Judith MacKenzie McCuin on Intentional Spinning. I was too much of a beginner to really take it all in, but I also have her excellent book. My goal is to someday understand it and be able to do it.
> https://www.amazon.com/Intentional-Spinner-aa/dp/B008SM1HYK


Thank you very much for the suggestion! I'm going to see if I can get it through the library!


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## ilmacheryl (Feb 3, 2013)

I'm confused by the "first twist, then pull" mantra mentioned in the article. If I twisted the fiber before pulling when I'm spinning, no fiber would ever get pulled out of what was in my hand & I would be spinning rope instead of yarn.


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## dtjacobson (Mar 25, 2012)

A real "blast from the past". :sm09: Fortunately, spinning had moved on by the time I learned to spin in the mid-1990s.


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