Spinning

The spinning of fibres to form yarn or thread has been carried out for over 30,000 years. Whilst the earliest yarns were made without tools where the fibres were twisted together rather than drawn out and spun, for millennia most spinning has done using a spindle and often a distaff. With the suspended spindle, the spindle is twisted with the fingers with one end supported and the yarn is created by pulling the fibre away from the spindle. The addition of a weight to the spindle shaft creating the drop spindle, means that the free hanging spindle can turn for longer with each twist with the help of gravity. The spinning wheel was introduced to Europe in the late Middle Ages with the development of the great or walking wheel and later the Saxony or flax wheel and the upright or castle wheel which having treadles to drive the wheel meant the user was able to use both hands to manipulate the fibres. Spinning was mechanised in the mid-eighteenth century with the invention of the spinning jenny which was pivotal within the textiles industry at the time of the Industrial Revolution.

All fibre types need skilled and often time consuming preparation before they can be spun. 

Fleece must be cleaned, washed and carded or combed before the fibres are ready to spin. Flax fibres must be retted, scutched and hackled before the distaff is dressed. Cotton can be hand spun straight from the boll but is usually deseeded first, silk cocoons are soaked and then opened out to form caps or hankies. 

While sheep or alpaca fleeces are readily and often cheaply available, many people today spin from roving (cleaned and combed fibres) or carded batts (which are often blends of different fibres), and all of which can be dyed or bought already dyed. For convenience, many fibre types are available in the form of roving or tops. Hackled stricks of flax are harder to come by but many people in the UK and Ireland are now growing and processing small quantities of flax which is available to the hand spinner.

Today, hand spinning is largely done for personal use for weaving, knitting, crochet and other textile arts but increasingly hand spun yarn is available to buy for those who haven’t the skill.

Different fibres and the different preparations of fibre require different techniques to be employed in the spinning stage.

Flax is most often dressed on a distaff, the fibres drawn down and wetted before being spun. Silk caps and hankies must be drawn out to sliver before they can be spun.

There are two distinct methods of wool spinning; ‘woollen’ is most suitable for shorter fibres (up to 3 or 4”) and results in a lofty forgiving yarn whilst ‘worsted’ (using fibres approximately up to 6” long) results in a smoother, closer yarn ideally suited to weaving but also giving drape to knitted garments. Most hand spinners will often fall somewhere between the two.

• Carding
• Combing
• Dyeing

• Hand spinning is largely an amateur or semi-professional pursuit nowadays, with relatively few people earning their main living from spinning.
• Training issues: Whilst The Association of Guilds of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers education programme includes certificates at different levels and for all disciplines, training is often found at individual guild level where best practise is willing shared among members. The AGWSD holds a biennial Summer School which offers a wide range of residential courses in spinning and the associated crafts.
• Market issues: Good quality hand-spun yarn is a premium product and professional hand spinners find it almost impossible to find markets which will pay a fair wage, although the rise in authenticity within the film industry is offering a growing market. Most hand spinners will supplement their income with teaching their craft.
• While whole fleeces are readily and cheaply available, changing lifestyles mean that people often don’t have access to an open area to dry their fleece once they have washed it However, a large fleece can always be washed in smaller quantities. 
• Any loss of the key skills associated with preparing and spinning of fibres, due to the availability of commercially prepared roving, is often addressed at guild level.

• Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers
• Nationwide guilds whose details can be found on the AGWSD website

Whilst professional spinners are fairly thin on the ground, interest in hand spinning is thriving with a lot of engagement and skills sharing happening through guilds and social media.

The renewed interest in knitting and crochet, particularly among younger people, has led to a resurgence of interest in hand spinning and it’s allied crafts.