Spinning Wool

If you are interested in exploring the infinite possibilities of making your own yarns, veteran spinner and teacher Judith MacKenzie McCuin offers insight, understanding, and invaluable information about your craft in The Intentional Spinner with DVD. The Intentional Spinner with DVD is a compendium of spinning wisdom, with a fun blend of technical knowledge, history, tips, and gently opinionated narrative. Yarn making is approached in three fundamental areas: Understanding Fibers: Compare the rich historic traditions of plant and animal fibers with the fascinating scientific advances in synthesizing fibers. Managing Yarn Structure: Step-by-step instructions and photographs demonstrate the range of possibilities in yarn, from sturdy plied yarns to playful novelty yarns. Practical Uses: Learn how to make yarns that precisely match your needs with decision making and planning to create the exact project you want from the beginning. The Intentional Spinner with DVD includes four projects that demonstrate how handspun can be used in weaving and knitting. The projects explain how to choose material, techniques, and finish the processes. The enclosed DVD features detailed information on yarn diameter, plying, novelty yarn structures, and finishing. Blending technical expertise and fascinating lore, The Intentional Spinner with DVD is a must-have reference for every spinner.

Inspire and unleash a passion for hand-crafted color! "Unapologetic" is how Felicia Lo always describes her obsession with color and craft. In Dyeing to Spin and Knit, Felicia, founder and creative director of SweetGeorgia Yarns and highly sought after teacher and lecturer, provides clear and accessible guidance for creating gorgeous hand-dyed yarns and spinning fibers and an understanding of how dyeing affects knitted yarn and handspun yarn. Fiber artists will learn the fundamentals of how color works, how to combine and coordinate colors, and how to control the results when dyeing wool and silk yarns and fibers. Spinners will learn how to subdue intense and bright colorways or prevent muddiness in handspun. Knitters will gain the knowledge to avoid or maximize the effects of pooling. And finally, this book will include 10 patterns that use hand-dyed and handspun yarns and fibers to their most exciting advantage in knitting projects. Complete with detailed photographs from Felicia's own dyeing studio, Dyeing to Spin and Knit offers a master class in preparing hand-dyed yarns and fibers. Ignite your love of color--unapologetically!

For spinners and weavers alike! Get in-depth information on fiber properties and color choices, as well as beautifully photographed samples. Spin to Weave is not simply a how-to-spin book, but a how-to-spin-exactly-what-you-want book. Weavers who spin their own yarns have the ability to choose fiber type, method of twist insertion (woolen, worsted), twist amount and/or direction, finishing methods, and grist. Author Sara Lamb focuses on the process of spinning for specific results, providing detailed instructions, a sampling of projects, variations, and a gallery of pieces by other spinners. Sara takes the reader to the very source of woven fabric--introducing the thought processes and concepts related to choosing fibers and how to spin them with finished fabric in mind.

An essential book for all spinners who want to get the best out of their craft. This revised and updated edition, now in full colour, is intended for spinners who have mastered the basic spinning techniques explored in the author's The Ashford Book of Spinning.

For knitters, crocheters, and weavers ready to make their own yarn, this handy guide provides detailed instructions for spinning both on a spindle and a wheel, and offers a special section devoted to troubleshooting and wheel maintenance that keeps projects on track. It offers a comprehensive look at the various available fiber options, choosing and preparing each type of fiber for use, and crafting these materials into ready-to-work pieces. A final chapter on the various uses of spun yarn focuses on project planning, with definitions and context for measuring wraps per inch, determining yards for specific projects, and choosing a yarn size.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to the current trend of DIY crafts, the hand spindle remains one of the most productive, versatile, and convenient tools for creating stunning fiber arts from home, as this beautifully illustrated guide from a veteran spinner and spindle aficionado demonstrates. With step-by-step instructions, this essential manual details the basic steps of spinning and then advances to the more complicated spinning wheel, showing how to use the spindle to make specific types of yarn, explaining traditional spindle spinning techniques, and detailing five simple projects designed to instill confidence in creating a variety of yarns with this simple tool. Combining fascinating historical narratives, traditions, and cultures from around the globe with vivid photography, this all-encompassing tour of the spindle also boasts easy-to-follow, contemporary techniques and styles that affirm the tool's enduring legacy.

Have you ever tried spinning painted top or roving only to be disappointed with the color outcomes in your yarns or finished projects? This book will clearly and artfully walk you through understanding color theory making it less intimidating for both novice and expert spinners alike. Never before has a book presented the same dyed roving worked up into 20+ different approaches accompanied by easy to follow directions so you can see how the techniques look in both a skein and a knitted swatch. Plus there are photos of finished products accompanying the techniques to make envisioning the spinning application even easier. After reading this book you will be inspired to delve into your stash with a new eye and excitement for color in your spinning. In addition to writing books, Alanna also offers workshops both online and in person on spinning and dyeing. You can visit her website www.alannawilcox.com to learn more.