Issue 11 - in and out by Liza Laird

Spinning yarn can seem a daunting craft, requiring arcane tools and techniques, but the fundamentals are simple. It is about adding twist to fibre, which gives it the strength to not pull apart. Most preparations of fibre will require drafting – that is, continuously pulling the fibre so fewer strands (or staples) are twisted together to make a thinner yarn. Drafting and adding twist are all that are needed to make yarn.

You might hear about woollen and worsted spinning, and the long- and short-draw methods associated with them. While interesting, and good to understand when improving your skills, the beginner spinner doesn’t need to worry overmuch about these terms. 

We’re going to look at the tools and fibre you’ll need before you start spinning yarn.

Learning to spin yarn comes with a huge array of new jargon, and a lot of these terms relate to how the fibre is prepared. Whether animal or plant fibre, there is a variety of ways it can be processed from raw material into something you can spin into yarn.

We’re going to look at some of the common formats available to hand spinners, what their characteristics are and the kind of spinning techniques they’re suitable for.

Hi lovelies! Spring has sprung here in Berlin – as I am typing this (mid March), the buds on the chestnut tree out the window are a few days away from bursting, the forsythias are in full bloom, and our strawberry plants have started their comeback as well (leaves so far, but Aurin checks every day for berries :)).

So it's no surprise at all that today's blog post is very much inspired by the sun and the warmer days to come! I have put together a sweet roundup of 6 joyful spring knitting patterns, all of which I'd love to have on my needles soon. (If someone can get me an extra day or two per week to knit (oh, and to spin), I'd love that!)

The three yarns I've paired them with are my favorite spring / summer yarns: De Rerum Natura's Antigone, a delightful sport-weight linen yarn, Wooldreamers' Saona, a 50% Spanish cotton, 50% Spanish wool blend, and Natissea's Pernelle, our newest spring yarn: A 100% European hemp yarn!