Mielke's Fiber Arts is here to help you weave, spin yarn, knit, tat, naalbind, felt, and more! From the necessary supplies, to friendly, patient instruction, our goal is to help you realize YOUR goal.
I never heard of a Nostepinne until today. Thank goodness there is a video for everything on RU-vid! This video is 9 years old, but it is perfect in explaining how to use a Nostepinne, so I'm glad it is still here. ❤
Thanks so much for your instructional video's. I love that they're concise and clear both visually and verbally: you're a wonderful teacher. I just started trying to spin 3 days ago, using a drop spindle. I don't have any other tools, so I will use your foot-skein technique and might try to ply my singles onto the drop spindle using this Andean demo as a guide. Question: when you say to let the singles relax and set for a few days before plying, do you mean: relaxing in a skein (my first small trial singles are currently in balls), and does 'set' mean the singles have to be washed in skeins as singles before plying? Many thanks
I let the singles set on the bobbin. It doesn't have to be done, it just makes the singles less likely to twist back on themselves, so plying is less frustrating. If you are spinning on a spindle, I would recommend winding the singles off the spindle and into a ball. Either around a tennis ball, or a ball of felt for the center, to speed the process up (starting from the very center with yarn can be tedious). Then after they have some time to set in ball form, you can ply off the balls and back onto your spindle. Best wishes for happy spinning!
If you want to, you can wrap the yarn around the entire stick to make the yarn like the companies do. And wrap the yarn the other way to make the cool overlap pattern in the middle. And make sure to not overlap the strands when wrapping. Do that, make yarn like the way companies do!😊
If the loops are at the back of the hand, the yarn will put pressure on the finger, pulling it backwards - this has caused quite a bit of discomfort and even pain for some folks. Loops on the front are much more comfortable, and allow the hand and fingers to be in a more natural state.
I’ve never seen it done like that, and I’ve always had problems getting my Kromski Sonata bobbins to fill up evenly. Now I want to see if I can get that to work on my wheel. Thanks for the tips!
First, make sure you have the skein supported somehow - have someone hold it up for you with their hands inside holding it open, or loop it around a chair back or some large cans set on a table. You want to keep the loop of the skein open while you work. Untie or clip each figure-8 tie. If you have removed them all without finding the end of the skein, look for another knot where the beginning and end of the skein may be tied together.
camera in wrong place so the initial maneuver cannot be seen. Then you move your hands waaay to fast... and then your hand is again below the camera position. VERY frustrating and nearly useless instructions. ALAS!
Thank you so much for this very helpful and clear instruction. I often end up with small lengths of spun yarn on a spool after plying, which I can now ply this way. Love how your yarn matches your shirt 😄
If, for some reason, you don't have the luxury of having access to a "nostepinne" then you can do what I do -- I use an old pill bottle, one that is a larger size, about 1 inch diameter by about 4 or 5 inches high. I find that it does an admirable job as a substitute nostepinne or ball winder. I began by being poor and living in a small coastal town and read about someone winding yarn on the centres from a toilet paper roll. In fact, that is how I started. If you want to try that, then one little trick is to put a small slit in one end of the tube which will hold the end of your yarn (it will eventually be the centre pull for your ball). Then you do just what she shows here in the video and start in the middle of the roll. When you are finished, you simply pull out the tube and it brings the yarn out with it which you put into the slit in the end of the roll. You can use the tube over and over or just toss it. You can even leave the tube in the ball, BUT -- be sure to crush the tube (squeeze the sides of the ball together) so that it releases any tension on the wool you have wound. If you choose to use a pill bottle, the ones with the child-proof lids, that are usually orange coloured, you simply start by taking off the lid and putting a length of the wool into the bottle, replace the cap (securing the beginning of the yarn inside the bottle), and start winding as the video demonstrates. I try to hold the bottle with the top facing away from my hand (not inside my hand). Because the pill bottle has a good diameter, it allows you to make a pretty good size ball. If you like the "egg" shaped ball, then it might not be able to take a whole ball/skein of yarn, but if you don't mind a "cake" type ball, you can definitely wind a whole skein of yarn. When you go to slip the yarn off the pill bottle, simply open the cap, slide the ball off the bottom end, and kind of gently squeeze the sides of the ball to release any tension. Hope this helps anyone who is reading this. I know it's kind of long winded. I just want to be sure my directions are clear. God bless you all. Have a wonderful day. :) <3
Oh! That twist at the end is how that Pantone yarn I bought on sale must be set up! Now I get it! (I haven’t found a use for it, I was a magpie and decided I wanted the pretty yarn lmao.)
This is a great video. No one shows you actually how to wind to get the shape you want or explains the different types of balls you can make. Now I can tackle winding my hanks like a pro.
I was about to move the hook when I saw on my Ashford that the reason they are positioned that way on the flyer is that the hole on the side of the oriface (spindle) would not have lined up! They have a hole on each side directly across from each other so when threading the yarn from the bobbin to the oriface that hole is set up for the flyer arm. Unlike the matchless where you can just move from side to side (I'm guessing it's entrance must be centered on top and serve both sides equally).
Thank you. I have used a nostepinne for a LOT of years. SOmetimes I got an Egg and sometimes a flat top but never figured out why. Now I can get the one I want. How amazing.
