When I Want to Spin Thin .....

I use support spindles.  Yes it does take a much greater amount of time to finish a 4 oz skein of yarn using support spindles, but spinning isn’t exactly a race for the finish is it?


I experimented in the early days.  I tried Some Neal Brand Tibetan and Russian spindles, Bristlecone Goddess Spindles, and Glasspin Spindles.  I finally settled on Woodland Working spindles.

I had to find a spindle that worked with my right arm — many years ago I developed a problem called lateral epicondylitis in my right elbow and I have to be careful not to over work it.  I needed a light spindle with a decent sustain, but more importantly lots of twirl.

​This Neal Brand Tibetan spindle was a great spindle to learn on.  It kept going and there was plenty of shaft to wind on the fiber — I found that after about .5 oz of fiber it was getting a tad full — put I could push it to nearly an ounce.

• Whorl – Bois d’are (osage orange)
• Shaft – Mesquite
• 1.0 oz, 28 g
• 11” long
• 1.75” diameter
• Whorl to Shaft Density – 1.38

• Whorl Spalted Maple
• Shaft Spalted Maple
• 0.9 oz, 25 g
• 11 in long
• 1.75 in diameter

I liked this Neal Brand Russian as well.  It spun like the dickens and was ALMOST the perfect weight for my spinning style.

Then I tried some Bristlecone Goddess spindles.  They were pretty neat.  I loved the curvy waist — I would start to pile on the singles just at that point.  They were a little more work to get sustained spinning, though and my hand and elbow started to complain.  I made some lovely yarn with them though before selling them back into the Ravelry Spinning community.

I had heard about Bristlecone Glindles (a spindle with a hand blown glass whorl) from my friend Talia and wanted to try one out, but they are HARD to come by.  So I tried another spindle maker which made Glass whorl spindles as well.  I found that they were just too heavy for me.  BUT I have to say, those glass whorls are pretty awesome.  Since they are glass, there is virtually NO friction, so spin, spin, spin is what they do!

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What was I Learning?

Weight IS a factor, but SHAPE also has something to do with the overall spinning experience.  I gravitated to lighter spindles, so that when they filled up, they would not become unwieldy.
  
Then one day, while toodling around on Ravelry, I came across Woodland Woodworking.  I asked my friend Talia about them and wondered where I could buy one — Woodland Woodworking is SO popular that Carl (the spindle maker) has a weekly update and turns ON the shop at a specific time — within about 5 minutes — WHOOSH they are all taken!  Talia took pity on me and sold me one of her wand style spindles — I was immediately in love. 

I started looking for used Woodland Woodworking spindles on Ravelry and bought quite a few (4 bead spindles, 3 or so teacup spindles and a wand spindle)  I took careful measurements of these spindles and started working with them.  

I try to keep the weight around 20 grams.  One or two of my spindles are over 20, but they are what I call a pendulum style wand — the extra weight makes them spin better for a longer period – so as the spindle fills up with yarn, there is very little affect to the quality of spinning.  I only have a few spindles that are not wand spindles — They are lighter in weight (under 20 g) and have a low whorl to shaft ratio (1 or less) so they spin pretty much like the wand spindles. 
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Carl uses Walnut, Maple (mostly) Purpleheart, Cocobolo, Flame Birch, Padauk, Holly, Ebony, Rosewood … and many other woods.  He carves, does pyrography, dyes shafts, and even paints small figures/shapes on his spindles.  As you can see below, they are something to behold.  Most IMPORTANTLY — they all spin well!

Left to right, 4 Pendulum style spindles, 6 Russian spindles, 2 Carved Acorn spindles, the Elder wand (carved), a Carved Pinecone wand, 2 Cauldrons, a barely visible Teacup, another Cauldron and an Owl

What kind of yarn do I make — well — very thin, but not just thin,  The yarn has an airy quality, like feathers.  There is enough twist to hold everything together, but the fibers are a little more loose, the result is a yarn that is ethereal, light, feathery — just a pleasure to touch and to look at.
It takes around 8 spindles to produce a skein of yarn.  I put around 0.5 oz of fiber on each spindle.  I could put more, but the extra weight on the spindle affects the twist, so I leave well enough alone and grab another spindle.
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Why did I settle on Woodland Woodworking? ​

There were several reasons.  The tools are exceptionally well made and perfectly balanced.  I spend a lot of time spinning and balance is the key to a comfortable, issue-free spinning session.  These spindles are ALL wood, just wood, no polymer infusion to prevent warping — just the pure wood.  The maker chooses good stock and is a true artist.  If you EVER have any issue with his spindles, just email him and send them back (if necessary) — Carl will make it right.  How cool is that?  I love buying from one man shops – in this high tech, commercially controlled world — a single person, making a great product is well worth supporting.

It takes me a couple of weeks — spinning in 1 – 2 hour sessions to complete a skein of yarn.  It is a labor of love and it makes a fabulous skein of Lace to Cobweb weight yarn.  Sunflower (above) has 1536 yards — my highest to date.  I usually have a spindle spinning project running concurrently with other wheel based spinning projects.  It’s important to change up what you do with your body, to avoid repetitive stress injuries.
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Explore spindle spinning — especially Support Spindles — the lack of gravity on the spinning single will give you a product that will astonish you!