How to Prepare Fiber for Spinning

Wool Is the Easiest Material to Learn How to Spin

While you can spin many types of animal fibers, beginners will find it easiest to start with merino wool. Wool has a kind of Velcro quality to it that causes the tiny threads of the fiber to cling together easily, making wool spinning a little easier than other animal fibers, like silk. Merino wool is softer than some other types of wool and it is probably the easiest to come by. This type of fiber spins easily with either a top or bottom whorl drop spindle, a Navajo spindle, or a spinning wheel.

Things You'll Need

• Hand carders
• Raw Merino wool (or other animal fiber)
• Natural, wool-safe detergent
• Clean dish pan
• Wooden drying rack

Instructions

1. 

   Card the Wool to Straighten the Fibers

   Prepare a bath of cool water and wool-safe detergent per the instructions on the bottle. Submerge the wool into the solution. Agitate very gently, using your fingers to work out the excess oil and debris in the fiber. Wring out the wool and lay it out to dry in a cool, dry place away from the sun, such as draping it over a wooden drying rack.

2. 

   Spread a handful of dry wool across the needles (or teeth) of the one hand carder. Hold the hand carders in each hand and gently drag the teeth of the clean hand carder over and through the teeth of the carder covered in wool threads. Do this about a dozen times.

3. 

   Pull the wool fibers out of the teeth of the carder and gently roll the fiber against the top of the carder into a soft cylinder similar to rolling clay for a coil pot or rolling dough to make cinnamon rolls. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until all the wool has been rolled into roving.

4. 

   Fan the end of one strip of wool roving so it resembles the tip of a peacock feather (in spinning, this is called "drafting"). Draft the end of another piece and lay the two feather ends over each other. Give it a soft twist to lock the fibers together. Repeat until you have one long strip of roving.

5. Spin your fiber using any type of spinning device or using your hands (or finger-spinning). If the fiber splits while you are spinning it, draft the ends together again.

Tips & Warnings

• If working with silk, be careful not to card the fibers too vigorously.

• If using cotton, you may prefer to use a soft dish liquid instead of a wool-safe detergent.

• Wait to dye your fiber until after it is spun to avoid felting it.

• According to Roby Steel-Stickland, if wool is agitated too many times while wet, the fibers will mat together. If the fibers felt, you will not be able to spin it, so be gentle.

References

• "Felt"; Robyn Steel-Stickland, 2006
• The Joy of Hand Spinning: How to Prepare Fiber With Hand Carders
• The Art of Megan: Drafting Wool for Spinning