It's time to look beyond wool, with The Practical Spinner's Guide: Rare Luxury Fibers! The go-to expert for fiber artists, Judith MacKenzie shares insights into working with uncommon (but readily available) luxury downs in this comprehensive, yet practical, guide for today's spinners. With her natural voice for story telling that is both engaging and informative, she discusses the history of each of these downs, how they are used today, characteristics unique to each, and where to find them. She also dives deep into the specific spinning techniques for each fiber, knitting and weaving rare fibers, and dying them once spun. From angora to bison, camel to cashmere, there's a whole world of rare luxury fibers just waiting to be spun!

A one-stop guide to preparing and spinning cotton, flax, and hemp! Over the last few years, focusing on specific types of fiber or spinning techniques has become more and more popular. In The Practical Spinner's Guide: Cotton, Flax, Hemp, author Stephenie Gaustad offers a detailed overview of each plant, the fiber it produces, and how to properly prepare, spin, and finish yarns made from each fiber. Cotton, flax, and hemp behave very differently from wool, and special handling is required. Stephenie discusses how each fiber behaves and how best to work with them, specifically touching on trouble spots such as drafting and adding twist. She also covers finishing yarnsâ€"cleaning, setting twist, and plying--as well as what dye processes are best for adding color. Finally, she includes a discussion of spinning for both knitting and weaving, covering fabric properties of each fiber, and what spinners need to take into account when using the yarn in a subsequent project.

Explore silk--an alluring and exotic fiber for spinners! The Practical Spinner's Guide: Silk teaches spinners how to create smooth lustrous yarns from a gorgeous but tricky and sometimes intimidating fiber in this second installment in a series of fiber specific books. Author Sara Lamb discusses the various forms in which silk is available--combed top, bricks, noils, hankies, and bells--and how best to card, prep, and spin them, specifically touching on trouble spots such as drafting and adding twist. She also covers finishing yarns--cleaning and degumming, setting twist, and plying--and even touches on what dye processes are best for adding color, as well as how to blend silk into other spinning fibers. Sara includes brief discussions on spinning for both knitting and weaving, the properties of woven and knitted fabric, and what the spinner needs to take into account while creating yarn for a subsequent project.

All you need to know about spinning wool--from sheep to knits! Spinners have been creating beautiful yarns from wool for thousands of years, but we still have unanswered questions. How do you choose a fleece? Should you process your fleece by hand or send it to a mill? What kind of prepared fibers are available, and what should you do with them? Fiber artist and shepherdess Kate Larson answers these and many other questions in The Practical Spinner's Guide: Wool. Topics include: • An overview of sheep breeds and the characteristics of their fleece • Washing, carding, combing, and blending fibers • Purchasing and working with prepared fibers • Techniques for spinning and plying wool to achieve the right yarn for your projects • Advice on caring for fibers to protect them from unwanted pests and other problems Whether you're working with fleeces sheared from your own flock or spinning indie dyed fibers, you'll find a wealth of useful, valuable, and practical information in The Practical Spinner's Guide: Wool.

A Beginner Spinner Guide For Learning The Intricacies of Spinning Wool Fiber Into Yarns Spinning is an ancient technique that is gaining popularity among contemporary crafters. It allows them to create distinctive, personalized, and uncommon yarns that may be utilized in modern crocheting, knitting, weaving, and embroidery, to mention but a few. It's an incredibly creative technique that's also simple to master by anyone. This book, Yarn Spinning Handbook, takes a newbie on an adventurous journey in the art of spinning across what they need to take active steps, with step-by-step instructions included. This book covers a range of learning points such as: 1. An explanation of the yarn spinning process 2. The tools and supplies (e.g., spindles, spinning wheels, fibers, etc.) to get started, their mode of operation, and how to choose the right tools and supplies for spinning 3. How to spin wool fiber into yarn using a drop spindle 4. How to spin wool fiber into yarn using a spinning wheel 5. How to pre-draft and draft wool fibers to produce yarn consistency 6. How to ply your yarn, using the 2-ply and Navajo/ chain ply technique as well resolving yarn plying problems 7. The methods to finish your handspun yarns (winding, washing/ steaming, drying, and twisting for later use in crocheting, weaving, knitting, etc.) 8. Troubleshooting yarn spinning problems 9. Tips for maintaining the spinning wheel And a whole lot more! So, what are you waiting for? Get a copy of this book RIGHT NOW to get started

The characteristics of fleece — its structure, grease content, and fiber diameter — vary widely depending on the breed of sheep the fleece comes from. In this comprehensive guide, Beth Smith profiles 21 types of fleece, from bouncy and pliant to lacy and lightweight. A sheep-by-sheep reference describes the best way to wash and spin each fleece into rich, soft yarn. You’ll soon be confidently choosing the right fleece, spinning it to perfection, and enjoying the perfect yarn for your next fiber creation.