When I really want to surrender to spontaneity and playfulness, I take out my cake-decorating supplies and start dyeing yarn with food coloring.
Are you afraid to wash handmade sweaters? Deb is here to share her best tips and her secret weapon: the washing machine.
While speed is relative in the world of fiber prep, blending boards and drumcarders will do their jobs more quickly than handcards or combs.
A spinning teacher taught me to tape my control sample to an index card, noting down the wheel, whorl size, takeup method, and other key details.
After completing my first handspun vest, I wanted to use up the last bits of vest yarn in a pair of socks. Here's how I planned the pair.
Trial and error taught me a lot about dyeing yarn when I made my first handspun vest, and about plying when I made my first handspun socks. These lessons helped me on my second handspun vest, and then textured knitting stitches disguised less-than-perfect
I hit the jackpot in Christmas 1997 or 1998: my mother gave me a lace flyer for my spinning wheel, and my fiber dealer friends sent me a few ounces of superfine merino top—the perfect fiber for spinning laceweight yarn!
My handspinning journey took some interesting turns after I moved to Kansas in 2000 and began teaching at a small university. Since the university’s art department offered textile classes, I now had access to new some new toys and expert advice.
much control over our raw materials, we can incorporate colors before, during, or after spinning.
I spun semiworsted to create a 2-ply bulky yarn, checking twist carefully—there’s a sweet spot for alpaca where yarn holds together without feeling stiff or harsh.