How to Make Yarn Bulky on a Drop Spindle

Start with wool roving to make bulky yarn on a drop spindle.

When you make yarn on a drop spindle, the fat spots in the yarn are called slubs. These are typically considered mistakes. However, if you want a bulky yarn, you can make slubs on purpose by adjusting the tension as you go. You can alternate thin and bulky yarn for a handmade novelty look or you can make a uniformly bulky yarn.

Things You'll Need

• Wool roving
• 18-inch piece of yarn

Instructions

1. Tie an 18-inch piece of yarn to the shaft of the drop spindle above the whorl, which is the circle weight at the top or bottom of the drop spindle, depending on the type. This is your leader.

2. Pull a two-foot long piece off of the wool roving and lay it over your left hand, holding it in place with your thumb and forefinger.

3. Pick up the spindle with your right hand and catch some of the fiber in the hook of the spindle while twisting the shaft of the spindle clockwise with your thumb and forefinger. As the spindle twists, it will pull the fiber and twist it, forming the yarn. When the newly formed yarn is about a foot long, wrap it around the shaft and keep going.

4. Loosen your tension. This lets more of the fiber go at once so it forms a thicker yarn. However, the yarn won't be as strong as it would be if you used more tension to get a thinner yarn.

Tips & Warnings

• You could also combine two or more strands of thinner yarn to make a bulky yarn. This process is called plying.

References

• The Joy of Handspinning: Spinning Yarn With a Drop Spindle
• Knit Six: Spinning Step by Step: How to Use a Drop Spindle

Resources

• Knitty: Got Spin?