Many spinners start out with a drop spindle, a bit of fiber and the willingness to learn the art of spinning wool. Others skip the drop spindle in favor of a spinning wheel, with which you can spin much faster…. but wait a minute? Spin faster?… Who needs speed anyways, hand spinning is all about creating, loving what you do, and having fun. Hand spinning is a creative outlet, allowing us to literally “spin our dreams” into thread. Create unique fiber blends, color combinations and yarn textures. You are the designer and the master of your own yarn. Only your fantasy and the sky is the limit when it comes to spinning wool and fiber. The yarn you spin is yours by design!

And what about the countless times you could not take your spinning wheel with you? It was too big, to heavy or just not worth it. Ever heard of any one bringing their spinning wheel to spin on the bus, at the doctor’s office or during meetings? Well, a drop spindle will let you recuperate this lost time, thus making up for speed.

  Drop spindles also connect us with the past, thus spinning with this simple tool will in effect continue the thread of time that binds us to our ancestors. Just think of the thousands of years in which hand spindles provide the only way to obtain clothing from fibers. This simple device created every bit of yarn from coarse linen thread for sails, so that ships could explore the oceans, to the finest silks for royal robes. Since spinning wheels did not appear until the middle age, the drop spindle was one of the most important tools on hand. Everyday clothing, table linens, tapestry and embroidery yarns, everything was spindle spun.

Spindles come in a wide array of designs, weights and sizes. Keep in mind the lighter a spindle the finer yarn you can spin, meaning a heavier spindle (3 to 4 ounces) is most suitable for thicker yarns. Here a just a few of the spindle types available:

Bottom whorl spindle, most popular of all spindles, can vary in weight and designs. Many beginners start with a relative heavy (2 ounces or more) bottom whorl spindle, but you can also learn easily on a top whorl.

Top whorl spindle, some spinners prefer these, since with a little bit of practice the top whorl spindle can spin a lot faster than a bottom whorl, thus putting more twist in your yarn.

Turkish spindle, also called cross arm spindle this tool will let you wind your yarn into a ball as you spin. Pull out the cross arms when you are done and presto! You have a center pull ball.

Navaho spindle, traditional used for Navaho spinning. This is a supported spindle suitable for relatively coarse yarns and fibers. Navaho spun yarns are spun twice. In the first stage the fiber is soft spun, meaning just a little twist is allowed to hold the fibers. In the second stage this fiber is re-spun resulting in the final yarn

Support spindle offers a bead or disk shaped whorls. Taklis are used for extreme fine fiber spinning such as silk and cotton. Often used with a spindle bowl.