Spinners Choice
Create! Relax! Enjoy!
Spinning Books and DVDs
NEW! The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook
More
than 200 Fibers from Animals to Spun Yarn. Check out this great sourcebook.
Learn about the abundance of animals and the fiber they produce. The Fleece and
Fiber Sourcebook covers almost every sheep breed in the world from the longwool
breeds of the United Kingdom to the Tasmanian merino, the Navajo churro, the
northern European Faroese, and dozens and dozens more. It also includes goats,
camelids (such as alpacas, llamas, and vicunas), bison, horses, musk oxen,
rabbits, and even dogs. Each entry includes photographs of the featured animal;
samples of its raw fleece, its cleaned fleece, and yarn spun from the fleece;
and samples of the yarn knit and woven. You'll find everything you want to know
about each animal and its fiber, including the fiber's color, density, strength,
and staple length, and recommendations for processing and using it. This is the
essential reference no fiber-lover can be without.NEW! The Ashford Book of Learn to Spin
There
are many spinning books, this one's a keeper! Easy to follow step by
step instructions will help you master the art of spinning. Learn to
prepare fleece, worsted and woolen spinning methods, adjusting
tension, treadling, skeining, drafting and blending and much more.
Find out how to prepare a wide range of fibers and spin these so
that they show off the characteristics of the fibers to their
advantage. The Ashford book of Learn to Spin offers a wealth of
information for the beginning spinner including many projects for
your spun yarn and advice about spinning wheels and how they work.
208 pages
NEW! DVD Color Works for Spinners - 2 Disk Set
L
earn
simple tricks to create your own unique fiber colors! There’s magic
in color, but creating wonderful color for spinning and felting is
what you might call “practical” magic. Start with colored fiber –
natural or dyed. Add a blending tool (a drum carder is Deb’s
choice). Mix and play using some simple, basic color principles –
and there’s no limit to the possibilities. With Deb’s relaxed,
enthusiastic guidance, you’ll learn basic blending techniques, the
language of color, which is the key to successful blending, how to
work with hue, value, and saturation and much more. Watching the colors roll
off Deb’s drum carder is endlessly fascinating, and every new
exercise suggests a hundred more that you’ll want to try for
yourself. It’s an endless adventure.
NEW! DVD Spinning Cotton
Cotton was perhaps the most important fiber of the ancient world, clothing more people throughout history than any other. It remains one of the most important fibers today -- blue jeans, sheets and towels! Yet cotton has been largely neglected by contemporary spinners in the developed world. Stephenie Gaustad aims to change all that. In this Spinning Cotton DVD, you'll learn: How to prepare cotton, from boll to batt; How to spin cotton with ease and efficiency on a wide range of tools, from tahkli to flyer spinning wheel; How to boil off and set twist in preparation for weaving, knitting, or what have you. Along the way, you'll be treated to fascinating historical asides, to inventive tricks for devising and adapting tools, and to an array of splendid made goods from socks to smocks to household cloths.
NEW! Know your Wheel DVD - 2 Disk Set
Learn how to tweak your wheel! Spinning Wheel Experts Alden Amos and Cindy Lair will show you how to: Quiet that annoying clunking sound, stop the drive band from jumping off, lubricate your spinning wheel and much much more. Feel confident knowing how your spinning wheel functions, and learn special tricks to deal with common maintenance problems.
NEW! Handspinning Rare Wools DVD
How
to spin them, why we should care. You'll learn that washing,
carding, spinning and finishing these fibers is a never-ending
experiment filled with surprises! Deborah Robson explores 38 rare
and endangered sheep breeds such as Northern European short-tailed
sheep, Old British breeds, rare English Longwools, Classic English
Down Breeds, Welsh and Border Breeds, American Originals and more!
NEW! Spinning Luxury Fibers DVD- 3 Disk Set
Spinners today have such an abundance of fiber choices, sometimes
it’s hard to know where to begin – and to know how to handle these
precious materials once you have them in your hands. Let Master
Spinner Judith MacKenzie show you what she’s learned from deep
experience in both craft and industry, with a hands-on teaching
style that will give you inspiration, confidence, and good results.
This three-disk set covers: Silk, from cocoon to top to noil to
magnificent blends, Alpaca, both Huaycaya and Suri, Camel, Llama,
Paco-Vicuña, Yak, Bison, Cashmere and Quiviut
With Spinning Luxury Fiber you’ll learn how to prepare each fiber, how to spin it, how to
finish your yarn, and the fascinating history and lore of each.
NEW! Spinning for Lace DVD
Do
you really want to spin cobweb-fine threads that are both lively and
durable? Meet Margaret Stove! Her methods might seem
counterintuitive, but they work! A great advocate of the fine
Merinos of her native New Zealand, Margaret is fearless in creating
plied blends using silk, angora, qivuit, and more. Learn how to
handle a fine fleece without felting it, wash by the lock, adjust your wheel tension for
exquisite delicacy, and ply a balanced yarn, or tweak your hand
positions for plying different fibers together. Plus, see how to
choose and sort a fleece, separate spinnable staples, dissolve the
grease, manage the staple to avoid felting and maximize durability
and “bounce.” Using high magnifications of the fibers and spun
yarns, Margaret explains just how it all works.
NEW! A Spinners Tool Box DVD
Master
Spinner Judith MacKenzie had done it again! As a spinner, your most
important, versatile tools are your own skilled hands. With those eight
fingers and two opposable thumbs, plus a half-dozen simple techniques for
manipulating the fiber supply, you can spin a full suite of yarn styles.
Learn how to spin: Worsted, Semi-worsted, Woolen, Semi-woolen, Slub and
Boucle yarns.
You’ll begin by seeing the unlikely possibility of spinning the six
different yarns styles with a single fiber preparation. You’ll end by
witnessing this revered master spinner, in a miracle of energetic
ambidexterity, draft two fiber sources simultaneously into a single strong,
lofty, funky novelty yarn. And so can you!
NEW! How I Spin DVD Set
A
common sense approach to great productivity and creative joy. What can you learn from someone who spins all day, every day (except during
gardening season), and who produces her own handspun shirts, sweaters,
blankets, rugs, table linens, bath towels, aprons, even gardening shorts?
Short answer: A lot! Rita Buchanan has spent more thoughtful time preparing
fiber, spinning yarn, and making fabrics from her handspun than perhaps
anyone in the developed world. In this set you’ll learn: How to control yarn
size with your hands, not with wheel adjustments, how to create the most
wonderful preparations using cards, combs, and more. How to spin cotton
while reading your favorite book And so much more. Play time: 1-65 min, 2-90
min.
Spinning Wool: Beyond the Basics
Building
on the basics presented in the author’s previous book, Ashford Book of
Spinning (find it further down the page), this handbook provides more
advanced spinners with information extending beyond the act of spinning—how
to spin an adequate yarn and extend the range of yarns produced, what
happens during the spinning process, and the relationship between the raw
materials and the final output—for greater mastery of the craft. This new
edition features up-to-date information about spinning wheels, new color
photos, and seven new projects. Organized in four sections—wool, spinning
wheels, yarn design, and projects—the text provides examples of a global
range of fleece types, a detailed examination of the functions of bobbin and
flyer wheels, a step-by-step analysis of spinning yarns of a predetermined
size and twist count best suited to the properties of the fleece, and
informative explanations of different spinning materials.
The Intentional Spinner with DVD
A
Holistic Approach to Spinning Yarn. Judith
MacKenzie McCuin's educated, gently opinionated, and fun to read
blend of technical knowledge, history, tips, and narrative takes the form of
a compendium of spinning wisdom. Yarn making is approached in three
fundamental areas: understanding fibers, managing yarn structure, and making
yarns that precisely meet the spinner’s needs. The Fibers section of The
Intentional Spinner with DVD blends the rich historic traditions of
plant and animal fibers with the fascinating scientific advances in
synthesizing fiber. The Yarn Structure chapters use step-by-step
instructions and photographs to demonstrate the range of possibilities in
yarn, from sturdy plied yarns to playful novelty yarns. The Intentional
Spinner also includes four projects that demonstrate how handspun can be
used in weaving and knitting. Projects explain how to choose material,
techniques, and finish the processes.
Start Spinning: The Video, 2 DVD Set
Yes, this is a DVD, even though the title is strange, you will find a wealth of information in this unique DVD set. The Two DVD's of Start Spinning will teach you how to pre-draft and why, how to adjust your spinning wheel, how to spin a good single yarn and how to ply. Start Spinning will also show your how to master carding and combing, spinning the long draw, spinning worsted yarn, spinning from the fold and much much more! Play time 78 minutes and 66 minutes. Grab this one! Also see the book "Start Spinning" below.
Respect the Spindle Book
Portable
and productive, the hand spindle has been responsible for creating the
world's yarn for millennia. In Respect the Spindle, veteran spinner Abby
Franquemont teaches spinners old and new how to create incredible yarn with
the amazing drop spindle Respect the Spindle offers step-by-step
photography with detailed illustrations, making the spindle spinning
techniques clear to even the novice spinner.
Profiles of drop spindle spinners
from various traditions are presented in sidebars throughout the book, which
introduce heartwarming and historical fiber stories from around the world.
Five simple projects give spinners practice in creating a variety of yarns
and patterns.
Respect the Spindle the Video DVD
Never
mind the title, it's a DVD.
Veteran spinner and spindle
aficionado Abby Franquemont shows spinners old and new how to create volumes
of incredible yarn with the amazing drop spindle. You’ll learn how drop
spindle spinning works and how to spin on a simple stick, how to make a
functional spindle out of almost anything, how to spin a lot of excellent
yarn in an amazingly short time and how to manage the yarn supply, to ply
efficiently, and to finish appropriately.
Drafting: The Long and the Short of It DVD
What’s
the difference between woolen and worsted spinning? IS there a difference?
How do you decide when to use what method? Why should a spinner care? Here
to make common sense out of it all is Abby Franquemont.
NEW! The Gentle Art of Plying DVD
Plying
is not an afterthought. It’s your gateway into the vast world of yarn
design. Informed and skillful plying can make all the difference between
“just another yarn” and “just the yarn you want.” In this engaging video,
master spinner Judith MacKenzie presents not just the basics—how to hold
your hands, where to put your kate—but an extensive adventure into the
endless possibilities. You will learn how to use organize your hands (the
best tools of all), avoid errors, customize and enhance commercial yarns.
Popular Wheel Mechanics, 2 DVD Set
How
to Choose the Wheel you Want, Love the Wheel You've Got, and Truly Master
the Machine. In this far-ranging video, Judith MacKenzie looks at
several of the popular wheels available to spinners today, dissects their
differences, gives pointers on get the best from them, and shares tips and
hints on making your wheel as efficient and versatile as it was designed to
be. You'll learn how the drive wheel size influences spinning, why your
hooks are on the same side of the flyer, or why you might want them to be
,how to spin six different yarns by making simple wheel adjustments and much
much more.
NEW! Start Spinning: The Video DVD
Yes, this is a DVD, even though the title is strange, you
will find a wealth of information in this unique DVD set.
The Two DVD's of Start Spinning will teach
you how to pre-draft and why, how to adjust your spinning wheel, how to spin
a good single yarn and how to ply. Start Spinning will also show your how to
master carding and combing, spinning the long draw, spinning worsted yarn,
spinning from the fold and much much more! Play time 78 minutes for first
dvd and 66
minutes for second DVD. Grab this one! Also see the book "Start Spinning" below.
Color in Spinning, Deb Menz
A
paperbound edition of Deb Menz's classic guide to color for handspinners
is finally here! Menz draws on 20 years of experience teaching and
experimenting with color techniques to offer a technically savvy yet
accessible tutorial on working with color and fiber. Color in Spinning was
written expressly for
the handspinner seeking new adventures in color, this comprehensive manual
presents in-depth discussions and step-by-step photographed demonstrations
of immersion dyeing, painting rovings, blending colors and fibers, and
spinning and plying multicolored preparations. And for
those spinners who are color challenged, a useful chapter on understanding
color principles will give you the skills needed to easily work with
color. Whether you're a novice or an expert, no spinner's library is
complete without Color in Spinning.
NEW! Creative Spinning
Learn
to create appealing multi colored yarns with Alison Daykin and Jane Deane,
who have decades of experience spinning, weaving, and dyeing. Let Creative
Spinning show you how easy it can be to create personalized and gorgeous
skeins of one-of-a-kind fibers. Designed for complete beginners, Creative
Spinning offers 30
beautiful projects that teach a repertoire of skills on both the hand
spindle and spinning wheel. Creative Spinning starts with simple, basic combing, twisting,
plying, and finishing, then goes on to offer a primer on working with
fibers. All the chapters are organized by yarn type, including short wool
and down, medium fine wool, long wool and luster, hill and mountain, rare
wool, animal hair, silk, and vegetable fiber.
Hands on
Spinning, Lee Raven
Want to teach yourself how to spin? Look no further, Hands on Spinning has all the spinning instructions you need. Learn how to card, spin, ply and learn how to achieve a balanced yarn. Bonus: Section on fiber selection and preparation. Fun projects for handspun yarns included! Hands on Spinning is one of the best spinning books for teaching yourself! 8 1/2 x 10 3/4, paperbound, 120 pages, color and b&w photos throughout.
High Whorling, Prescilla A Gibson-Roberts
Subtitled
A Spinner's Guide to an Old World Skill,
this book will teach you to spin with a high whorl spindle.
High Whorling is a comprehensive guide to drop spindle spinning.
So jump in and spin. Priscilla will guide you well.
Learn To Spin Silk on a Top Whorl Spindle
From
all the spinning books on the market today this is the only one with
all the information that you need to learn to spin silk! Ruth Mac Gregor's brand 38 page book will teach you about the
different types of silk, how to spin them, ply and make a skein.
Drop spindle instructions includes trouble shooting tips and instructions on how to spin
alpaca and Tencel as well.
Projects for Alpaca and Llama
The
newest book from this popular author. Projects include crocheted,
felted, knitted and woven items such as vests, hats, mittens, scarves,
baby booties and socks.
Putting on the Dog, Carol Kroll
Dog and cat lovers, this one's for you! Once you have seen, and touched, the lovely samples inside the front cover spun from the hair of samoyed, chow, collie, and Newfoundland dogs, and a Persian cat, you will want to know how such nice yarn was made. The author explains it all. Instructions for making simple drop spindles and an improvised yarn winder are included.
Based on Maggie's time-tested Spinning 101 workshop,
which she has taught for twenty-two years, readers will learn to spin
the yarn of their dreams. Start Spinning begins with an introduction to the various
types of fibers available, choosing and preparing (or buying) fiber with
which to spin, and detailed instructions for both spinning on a spindle
and spinning on a wheel. Start Spinning also offers a special section on
troubleshooting and wheel maintenance, plus tips and tricks for creating
better yarns. Then Start Spinning moves into plying, setting twist, using a niddy
noddy, and woolen and worsted spinning. Start Spinning concludes with a chapter
on uses for spun yarn, which covers wraps per inch, measuring yards for
projects, and size of yarn.
Start Spinning: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great Yarn
covers all the basics newbies need to spin their own fabulous yarn.
Using yarn handspun to your own specifications is like tasting a
delicious strawberry from your own garden; once spinners get comfortable
creating new and wonderful yarns, anything is possible! 120 pages, 125
photographs, 5 illustrations.
Spindle Spinning, Connie Delaney
Many
spinning books come and go. This one is a keeper! Subtitled " From Novice to Expert", this
spinning book will guide you
thru all stages of spinning and more. Let master spinner Connie Delaney
introduce you to spinning with a drop spindle. Find out how to select
spinning fiber, how to prepare it, spin and ply it. Learn about the
different spindle types and how to make your own drop spindle and wrist
distaff. A must have for spindle spinners, this book will answer any
"drop spindle" questions. Contains extensive drop spindle
spinning
instructions for a wide variety of spindles.
A
great new way to learn how to spin! Teach Yourself Visually,
Handspinning offers detailed color photos
and instructions. Teach Yourself Visually Handspinning is a book filled to the brim with
information. Short two page lessons are easy to master and
allow you to build your skills at your own pace. Less
reading thru dry text, more pictures and faster results.
The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning is a classic! Great reference
book for every spinner will leave no questions unanswered. Wheel
designer and maintainer of textile traditions, Alden Amos will guide
you thru the many aspects of spinning, spinning wheels, fibers This is
truly a BIG book offering decades of experience in making and handling
yarn. He’ll change your spinning for the better. Spinning books come
and go, The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning is a
keeper with it's in depth spinning instructions.
480 pages, hardcover
ford Book of Carding, Jo Reeve