PLY article index – mobile friendly

At a celebratory gathering of spinners in Chinchero, Peru, the author reflects on the humble spindle—its timeless simplicity, global variations, and enduring importance in the creation of yarn and civilization itself. Despite modern alternatives, the spindle remains beloved for its portability, versatility, and deep cultural resonance, symbolizing both tradition and community.

This glossary-style article introduces key terminology used by suspended spindle spinners, offering clear and often humorous explanations of essential terms like backspin, cop, whorl, and thigh-roll. Aimed at helping both new and experienced spinners, it highlights the unique vocabulary and techniques that bring the art of spindle spinning to life.

This collection showcases the rich diversity of spindle types from around the world, highlighting their distinctive structures, spinning techniques, and historical or cultural uses. From whorl-less tools like the Dealgan and French handspindle to highly specialized forms like the Turkish and Victorian lace spindles, each type offers unique advantages for spinning different fibers and yarn styles. Together, they reflect the ingenuity and artistry of spinners across time and geography.

This article offers an approachable guide to selecting a suspended spindle based on yarn weight, fiber type, and desired twist. The author breaks down how spindle size, weight, whorl placement, shaft shape, and hook design all influence spinning performance, with practical advice and personal insights on matching the right spindle to the right project. The piece encourages test spinning and experimentation to find the most enjoyable and effective tool for each unique yarn.

This article emphasizes that the hand spindle is far more than a beginner’s tool—it is a versatile, meditative, and deeply personal instrument with surprising complexity. While its design is simple, its interaction with the spinner creates a dynamic relationship that blends art and physics. A table on spindle performance offers a starting point for understanding how elements like shaft size and whorl weight affect the spinning experience.

This article delves into the various types of spindle hooks and their characteristics, such as the Shepherd’s Crook, Diamond, Pigtail, Open Circle, and Crochet Hook, each with unique features that affect yarn centering and spindle performance. It also covers how hooks are made, how they interact with other spindle components, and how the placement of the hook influences the spindle’s balance and yarn alignment. Proper hook placement and minor adjustments can improve spinning performance and reduce wobbling during use.

This article discusses how spindle spinners can adapt techniques from wheel spinning, focusing on the fundamental principles of drafting and twist control. It emphasizes the versatility of spindle spinning, especially the ability to draft in multiple directions, and offers tips on improving ergonomics and efficiency, such as drafting horizontally rather than vertically. The piece also explains how concepts like ratios, tension, and uptake in wheel spinning have corresponding effects on spindle spinning, helping spinners choose the right spindle and technique for their desired results.

The article shares the author’s experience spinning on the New York City subway, where the rare sight sparks curiosity and conversation among commuters. The act of spinning draws attention due to its motion, color, and process, often evoking nostalgia and stories of cultural traditions. Through these interactions, the author highlights how spinning connects people, fosters meaningful exchanges, and provides a calming escape during the daily commute.

This article explains the difference between worsted and woollen yarns and how to spin them using a drop spindle. Worsted yarn is smooth and consistent, while woollen yarn is airy and warm, with both techniques being adaptable to different fiber preparations like top, rolags, and batts. The article provides detailed steps for spinning both yarn types on a drop spindle, with emphasis on the unique techniques for pinching, drafting, and adding twist, ultimately encouraging spinners to experiment and practice these methods.

This article explores various methods of winding a cop on a spindle to improve the spinning and plying experience. The author describes techniques for bottom whorl and top whorl spindles, as well as a fancy crisscross method for a more decorative cop, emphasizing the importance of neatness over perfection. Proper winding not only prevents tangling but also allows for better control, consistency, and easier plying.

The messy cop technique allows for quick, informal winding of yarn on a spindle, ideal for busy spinners or those who prefer a less meticulous approach. Using a paper quill or tube to keep the yarn centered, the method focuses on wrapping the yarn quickly and without concern for perfect alignment, resulting in a functional center-pull ball. This technique is flexible, portable, and helps prevent tangling, making it easier to spin in short, interrupted sessions, while still producing usable yarn for later plying.

The author shares their journey of rediscovering spinning by using a spindle, which allowed them to incorporate spinning into their busy life with young children. Despite initial doubts, they embraced a #spin15aday challenge, leading to consistent progress, and eventually spun an entire 1.5-pound fleece into 1600 yards of 2-ply yarn. By breaking down the project into small, manageable tasks, they found that the spindle helped them maximize their available time and transformed their approach to spinning.

The article discusses various methods for managing and plying yarn spun on a spindle, emphasizing the importance of tension and storage. It highlights the plying ball method as a simple, portable technique suitable for beginners and those without extra equipment, allowing for the creation of different yarns without needing additional tools. The article also covers other techniques like plying directly from spindles or using a kate, helping spinners choose the best approach based on their available tools and project needs.

Ply on the Fly (POTF) is a technique where spinners chain ply yarn directly on the spindle, combining spinning and plying in one step to create a continuous 3-ply yarn. This method offers a more efficient way to produce high-quality yarn by always plying freshly-spun singles, and although it may seem fiddly, it can be adapted to any type of spindle. The process involves spinning singles, creating a plying loop, and then continuing the process, making it a portable and dynamic technique that allows spinners to manage longer lengths of yarn with ease.

A challenge to recreate the ultra-thin yarns used in the 1200-year-old Oseberg burial ship’s woven bands led to a journey of experimentation with Viking-style spindles and ancient techniques. The project required spinning yarns as thin as 1100-1200m per 100g with a high twist, using wool from the Old Norwegian sheep breed for its strength and quality. Along the way, the author discovered the intricate history and tools of Viking textile production.

The journey to study Florida Cracker sheep began when the author acquired a flock that included the rare breed, starting with the purchase of a sheep named Babette. These sheep, descended from Spanish Churra sheep brought to Florida in the 1500s, have adapted to the harsh climate and developed unique traits, including resistance to parasites and the ability to breed year-round. Today, the breed is critically endangered, with efforts focused on preserving its genetic lines and improving fleece quality, even as development pressures threaten their traditional grazing lands.

The author, excited to share her knowledge of fiber arts, offered to teach a group of Montessori students about spinning yarn as part of their South American studies. Despite initial challenges with spindle making and adjustments to her curriculum, the kids eagerly embraced the activity, creating their own yarn through a technique called “park and draft.” The experience was a joyful lesson in learning, simplicity, and the joy of discovery, with the author reflecting on how much more fun she had than the students.

The article discusses the concept of “Whorlicity,” a proposed property to quantify how spindles behave based on their spinning characteristics, such as how long they spin after being set in motion. While traditional spindle measurements often focus on weight, the author argues that factors like the Moment of Inertia and aerodynamics also play a crucial role, which Whorlicity seeks to simplify and measure experimentally. Through testing various spindles, the author demonstrates how Whorlicity values align with the spinning experience, offering a more accurate way to compare different spindles.

The article explores the characteristics and performance of four different Turkish spindles, each with distinct weights and designs, to determine which types of yarn they excel at producing. By experimenting with both worsted and woollen spinning techniques, the author finds that spindle weight and the distribution of mass significantly affect the spin speed and yarn thickness, with lighter, more compact spindles being ideal for finer yarns and heavier spindles suited to thicker yarns. The article provides insights into how different spindles can be selected based on yarn preferences and fiber types.

The article highlights the relationship between wood type and the performance of Turkish spindles, explaining how different woods affect the spindle’s ability to store and transfer energy for efficient spinning. Denser hardwoods, such as Osage Orange and English Holly, are preferred for their superior energy storage, while variations in wood density and aerodynamics influence the spindle’s balance and spin quality. The piece also discusses the importance of aesthetics, function, and wood selection when choosing a spindle, emphasizing the craft of spindle making.

This article explores various methods for winding yarn onto Turkish spindles, focusing on different styles of “fancy turtles” that create visually striking cop shapes. It discusses techniques like the God’s Eye and Basketweave wraps, which offer both aesthetic appeal and efficient use of spindle space, enhancing the spinning experience. The piece emphasizes how these intentional wraps contribute to smoother, longer spinning and greater satisfaction in the crafting process.

This article details a project in which the author spins the same yarn across a variety of Turkish spindles, ranging from 3.28g to 41g, to explore how different sizes and weights affect spinning consistency. The project, called “Spin on All the Things,” involves spinning identical yarns on each spindle, checking for consistency, and then plying the results into one skein. The author reflects on how the challenge improved their spinning skills and deepened their understanding of their tools, resulting in more consistent yarn despite the varying spindle sizes.

The article introduces the dealgan, a small, whorlless spindle originating from Scotland, known for its simplicity and portability. Historically used for spinning wool and linen, the dealgan has recently gained renewed interest among spinners. The author describes personal modifications to the traditional design, resulting in lightweight, decorative spindles that are functional, easy to store, and ideal for travel, even taking them on various journeys around the world.

This article provides detailed repair and restoration techniques for spindle and fiber arts tools, focusing on fixing common issues like pits, splits, and breaks. The authors explain how to fill or sand out pits, join clean breaks, and handle ragged breaks, using materials like CA glue, wood filler, and brass pegs for reinforcement. They also offer tips for finishing repairs, including sanding, oiling, and polishing, as well as recommending alternative methods for fixing other household items like chess sets or chair rungs.