Spinning with SweetGeorgia

Grab a few strands of wool, twist them together, and voila, you’ve got yarn! Magic! Many knitters, weavers, and crocheters find themselves exploring how to make handmade yarn, however, creating your perfect yarn is a whole craft in itself. The process of washing, preparing, spinning, and finishing steps can alter the feel and structure of the final yarn.

We set up this guide to help you along this journey and show that anyone can master this with a bit of time and practice. We would be delighted for you to be spinning with SweetGeorgia.

Download Our Guide to Start Spinning

Learning how to spin yarn doesn’t need to be that complicated. You essentially need two things: you need fibre and you need a tool to add twist. However, it can sometimes feel daunting knowing where to get started. We’ve compiled together helpful information both below and in a downloadable PDF as a reference tool to help you along the start of your spinning journey!

Equipment: Spindle, Wheel or e-Spinner?

This is where many people find themselves at a crossroads. Spindle spinning has a low-cost entry point. Its portability allows you to spin wherever you go; offering a remarkable yield of yarn due to the ease of quick access to spinning anywhere. On the other hand, the wheel presents many options, including castle or Saxony, and different tension systems of bobbin-led, flyer-led, or double-drive, making it a preferred choice for many spinners. While the wheel has stood the test of time, e-Spinners, a more recent addition to the market, offer a compact-size and portable alternative. They prove especially valuable for those who may face challenges with traditional wheel treading or spindle spinning due to physical constraints.

Feeling a bit uncertain about where to begin? No worries, everyone’s journey is unique. To assist you on your spinning adventure, here’s a curated list of articles to guide you along the way.

Spinning Equipment Articles:

Wheels

• Choosing Your First Spinning Wheel
• The Drive System on Flyer/Bobbin Spinning Wheels
• Keep Your Spinning Wheel Running Smooth With Daily Oiling 
• Refresh Your Wheel by Replacing the Polycord Drive Band

e-Spinners

• Spinning with the Ashford E-Spinner 3 vs the Nano EEW
• Daedalus Starling V3FP E-Spinner Unboxing & Video Review
• Considerations When Choosing an e-Spinner
• Choosing an e-Spinner

Spindles

• Choosing Your First Supported Spindle with Diana Twiss
• The Taxonomy of Spindles: Spindle Styles & Their Best Uses
• TurtleMade Review: A Sturdy Entry Point to the Turkish Spindle
• It’s Not You, It’s the Spindle! Finding the Right Spindle

Regardless of what spinning tool you use, we have an article to help gather any extras you may need along the way:

• Essential Spinning Tools & Accessories

Courses Focused on Equipment Exploration:

• Tension Systems
• Tuning Up Your Wheel
• Spinning with Supported Spindles
• Spinning with Suspended Spindles
• Next-Level Spindle Spinning
• Spinning with e-Spinners

Materials: Fibre, Fiber and More Fi-baaa

Equally crucial is the question of where to start with your choice of fibre. And what about non-wool options? In a market flooded with choices, the decision can be overwhelming. We’ve compiled a list of spinning articles and courses available to ease you into this fibre world.

Fibre Articles:

• Best Wool for New Spinners
• Combed Top vs. Roving: Same, But Different, Fibre Preparations
• The Nuances of Different Wools: Sheep Breed Classifications
• Spinning Camelid Fibres: Alpaca, Llama, Vicuña, Camel, & More!
• Handspinning Luxurious Fibres: Goats, Rabbits, & Yak!
• The Art of Handspinning Silk Fibre
• Why I Love BFL (Wool)

Courses with In-Depth Fibre Advice:

• Spinning Sheep Breeds
• Spinning Luxury Fibres: Silk
• Spinning Luxury Fibres: Camelids
• Spinning Luxury Fibres: Goats and Rare
• Spinning Bast Fibres: Tow Tops & Bast Blends
• Working from Fleece

How-to Spin Yarn: Spin, Twist, and Thwack!

You’ve got some fibre and something to spin on, now what? Let us guide you through the first steps of spinning! Whether you’re brand new or just looking to refresh your skills, we’ll help you get started with the basics and set you up for success.

Spinning Draws (Drafts):

• The Many Styles of Spinning Drafts
• A Closer Look at the Smooth Short Draws of Worsted Spinning
• Spinning Rolags Long Draw on a Wheel & Spindle is Magical! 
• Getting Bulky: How to Spin A Thicker Yarn

How-To Spin Articles:

• Stop Your Fibre from Pulling Away While You’re Spinning
• How to Avoid Those Irksome Pigtails in Your Spinning
• Knit a Wrist Distaff to Test Your Handspun Yarn’s Durability
• How to Use Your Handspun

Plying Your Handspun Yarn:

• How to Use a Niddy Noddy
• Top 10 Plying Tips for Handspun
• Plying Tips for Handspun Yarn Success
• From Singles on a Spindle to Plied Yarn in Your Hands

How-To Measure & Finish Articles:

• Ways to Wet-Set: How to Intentionally Finish Your Handspun Yarn
• The Dish on Grist: Yards Per Pound in Handspinning
• What is Angle of Twist & How to Measure Twist Gauge!
• Measuring Wraps Per Inch (With Downloadable PDF!)
• How to Achieve Grist & Avoid Skewing Your Count

Our Core Basic Courses:

• Spinning from Scratch
• Spinning with Supported Spindles
• Spinning with Suspended Spindles
• Spinning with e-Spinners

Deeper Dives Into Making Yarn

For those looking to tweak techniques, study the subtleties, and fine-tune your understanding of spinning the yarns you want, we have some amazing suggestions.

In-Depth Articles:

• Chain Plying: On a Wheel or a Spindle
• Bracelet Plying: One of the Coolest Tools in Your Spinning Toolkit
• Try a Controlled Release to Improve Your Plyback Sample Results
• Twist And Shout: Why Twist Direction Matters In Your Making
• Start Spinning Sock Yarn: Twist, Ply & Structure
• Spinning a Balanced Yarn: Marker or Milestone?
• Spinning From-the-Fold for Luxury Fibres
• Spin a Corespun Yarn that Jingles All The Way!
• Deck The Halls with Faux Popcorn Garland Handspun Yarn!
• Best Reference Books for Handspinners (from the School of SweetGeorgia Instructors)

Amazing ‘Next Steps’ Courses:

• Spinning Up a Level
• Spin-In Clinic
• Spin to Knit a Hat
• Spin to Knit Socks
• Spin to Knit a Sweater
• Next-Level Spindle Spinning
• Nuances to Spinning Better Yarns

A Twist on the Traditional!

Traditionally, spinners worked with raw wool. However, today, we have an abundance of colour options at our fingertips, along with equipment to enhance our fibre preparations. Interestingly, many enthusiasts view fibre and colour prep as a hobby in itself. And when you consider different art yarn techniques, the creative possibilities become limitless. Imagine adding embellishments like neps, optical mixing colours, or even creating loops in our yarns (boucle); there’s no limit to what we can create when we set our minds to it!

To get you started in fibre prep, check out the Essential Fibre Prep Tools & Accessories post! We also have the Swap Loose Notes for Organized Records with Our Fibre Prep PDF! article with a free PDF you can download to help you record your fibre preparations.

Fibre-Prep Articles:

• Making Beautiful Fibre Prep With Just Your Hands
• No Tools? No Problem! No-Tool Fibre Preparation for Spinners
• Which Blending Tools Should I Buy First?
• Hand Cards: Your First Fibre Prep Tool
• What is a Diz and Why Do You Need One?
• The Many Ways We Can Use Carding Tools 
• Comparing Blending Boards: Ashford vs. Loüet
• Secrets to Perfect Rolags on Blending Boards & Hand Cards
• Rolags and Punis: A Modern Spin on Traditional Carded Roll-Ups
• From Locks to Loft: Carded Roving from a Diz & Hand Card

Colour Articles:

• Using Neutrals in Surprising Ways
• Creating a Complimentary Colour Palette
• Creating a Triad Colour Palette
• Creating a Monochromatic Palette
• What’s the Difference Between Hue, Saturation, and Value?
• Spinning Colour! Possibilities for Stranded Colourwork Sweaters
• The SweetGeorgia Team Explores Colour & Texture in Fibre!
• Best Practices in Fractal Spinning

Popular Colour & Fibre-Prep Courses:

• Colour Play (free course)
• Colour Mastery
• Carding for Colour
• Colour and Fibre Play I
• Colour and Fibre Play ll
• Spinning Intentional Colour
• Spin a Hand-dyed Braid Five Ways
• Spinning Textured Yarns

Support in Learning & Building Community!

We understand that sometimes an article might not provide the support you need, and that’s okay. We have a few different ways to reach out for help or just have a fibre chat.

Community Resources:

• At the School of SweetGeorgia, we’ve built a vibrant and welcoming community of fibre-loving makers, passionate instructors, and dedicated staff. Whether you’re looking for guidance on a new technique or just need a little creative encouragement, we’re here to support you every step of the way.
• Not yet a member of the School? We invite you to come and see what it is all about! Use the code: EXPLORETHESCHOOL to save 15% on an All-Access monthly membership!
• We welcome you to join us in our SweetGeorgia Community. This is where we share projects that inspire, have fibre-filled conversations, host make-alongs, and participate in a variety of virtual meetings! We discuss all things knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, machine knitting, and more! 
• Want to stay in the loop? Subscribe to our newsletter! It’s a simple way to stay updated on what’s new at SweetGeorgia and the School of SweetGeorgia, catch up on the latest articles, watch new SweetGeorgia YouTube videos, and be a part of our community without any pressure to post. We value your presence, no matter how you choose to connect with us!

Next Steps

Further Explorations:

• Learn to create colour combinations, starting with our free course, Colour Play.
• Feeling adventurous? Consider trying to dye your own yarn. Acid, fibre-reactive, or natural dyeing, these techniques offer exciting new ways to add that special touch to your crocheting.
• If you are looking for a way to use your newly spun yarn, try knitting, weaving, or crocheting.

At SweetGeorgia Yarns, we thrive on the joy of creation and being a community of makers. Together, we explore new techniques, share the love of tactile crafting, and connect with fellow multicraftual makers. We’re delighted to have you join us on this spinning adventure.