words and photos by Donna Kay I love preparing fiber – whether it is handcombing lustrous locks or carding puffy rolags. But sometimes we forget about the oldest tools of all: our hands. Consider getting “back to the sheep” and spinning hand-prepared (literally) locks into a rustic lofty yarn. It is a fitting and extremely […]
reviewed by Sukrita Mahon If you have been spinning for any length of time, you have probably heard of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson or maybe own it yourself. If not, you probably should – it’s a collection of over 200 varieties of fibre from around the world, methodically […]
Mix Moodboard (Summer 2022) Much of the time we’re happy spinning along doing our regular thing, but sometimes we just want to mix it up! What about you? What do you like to mix up in your spinning? Do you mix fiber, preparation, draft, color, types of yarn, or types of crafts? If you do, we want […]
This month, Margo asks, “How do you control overtwisting and setting the take up on a scotch tension?” Well, Margo, this is a super common question. Overtwisting is something that happens to everyone, both in the beginning, the middle, and well into our spinning careers. Honestly, every time I switch to an unfamiliar spinning implement […]
words by Jacqueline Harp and photos by Joseph Harp When a fiber artist chooses to separate and process a dual-coated fleece by hand, it is like unlocking two fleeces from one. A dual-coated fleece is an intertwined combination of a short-stapled, soft, downy undercoat and a protective, longer-stapled, coarser, hair-like outercoat. Once these integrated coats […]
Two of the articles in the Spring 2021 issue (Double-coated) contained a number of helpful references. References from “What Is Primitive? What Is Double-Coated?” by Deborah Robson Christiansen, Carol Anne. “Primitive Wool and Early Textile Production in Shetland,” diss., University of Manchester, 2003. Dýrmundsson, Ólafur R. “Four–Hornedness: A Rare Peculiarity Still Found in Icelandic Sheep.” […]
reviewed by Sukrita Mahon First published 27 years ago, Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth and Society in Early Times by Elizabeth Wayland Barber is still considered essential reading for contemporary textile artists. Its importance cannot be understated, considering that thread- and cloth-making have been so vital to our civilisation from the very […]
Spring 2021 Sneak Peek The Double-coated issue is twice as full and gorgeous as whatever you’re reading now! In fact, it’s so full we had to add extra pages (it comes in at a whopping 136 pages). From the softest sheep to “carpet sheep,” from Norway to Arabia, from woolen to worsted, from North Ronaldsay […]
This month’s Ask Jacey question comes from Elaine, who asks, “It seems like it’s easy for spinners to spin fine but harder to spin more bulky…any secrets?” Hi there Elaine, Thanks for asking a question I think half the spinners out there are also asking (because the other half are asking for secrets to spinning […]
