First video I've seen that explains the mechanics of drafting and give an understanding of how to control the fiber in such good detail. I just finished my first yarn ball (about .5 Oz I think). I wish I'd seen this first so it wouldn't be quite so uneven. Great tutorial!
THANK YOU, This is exactly what I needed being a newbie spinner, my brain was not comprehending the drafting thing and thank you for being so detailed! This is exactly what I needed! Love your videos and explainations
Thanks for the great instruction! It’s funny, I kept pausing the video bc I thought I was hearing my kids hollering in the other room, then I realized it was the ambient sounds on the video! Here’s to all the moms getting things done while the kids are being kids!
@hippiechick73 oh no. I didn’t think you were being unkind. I’ve had several other comments that have been but yours was just funny. My daughter was 6 when I made this video and I’d rather she get to be a kid than have a silent home! 🤭
late to the party, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU I finally understand what to do. The close up view and detailed explanation of what and why is so helpful in actually applying the tips.
I’ve read three books, watched an online class, took an in-person class, watched tons of videos - nobody made me understand this until you, now. Thank you!!! Can’t wait to spin again in the morning.
I have struggled in my drafting and could not find a video that focused on the hands. I’m so grateful for your video! It’s exactly what I was looking for the whole time. I made sure to subscribe!
As a newbie spinner this was the best possible tutorial, thank you so much! This really helped solve a particular frustration; now I know WHY I was getting thick and thin seemingly randomly, and have already drastically improved my consistency.
Wonderful video. Really appreciate the close up of your hands. I needed to see what your fingers are doing and you let me do that. Couldn’t find one like this. Thanks.
I agree with miobrien172. Nearly all videos are shot with the camera facing the spinners, you are watching the footage mirrored. As a novice, you have to think hard about that, which hand does what, etc. And you get to see the spindle -when you get to see it- full on. After a few viewings to understand what you were teaching, my downfall, I could follow your tutorial while spinning along with it, everything was in view when it was exactly needed, from the spindle to the fibre, from the spinning to the drafting. And it is nice, no offence meant to other very good tutors with different approaches, to hear your calm, clear voice. I felt like an adult again which helped a lot. You gave the essentials without obscuring behind unrelated chatter. Thank you so very much. Chloe
Thank you so much! I was having a lot of trouble with consistency until I watched this video. I'm still not completely consistent, but I'm at least a lot better and know what to do to adjust my thickness.
Thank you so much for doing this Sara! I can hardly believe some people complain when a person takes time to do a free tutorial! I found this SO helpful! I’ve been spinning for a few years and even though I instinctively developed a method, understanding staple length and drafting is of tremendous help to maintain control. I never understood the importance of staple length but after watching this I now understand that determines how thick you can spin your wool! Obviously you can’t draft longer than your staple length! Awesome! So if I get a short staple length that fibre is better suited to thin yarns and a longer staple length is better for thicker ones. I can’t thank you enough for this lightbulb moment!
I remember the master spinner trying to teach me to spin cotton with a spinning wheel, in the 70s. It felt so awkward, keeping the speed the same with my foot, pulling the cotton off the supply, etc. I wish she'd tried with your method. This was at the living history museum in St Augustine, Fl, 1979
Wonderful video. I have been frustrated with my poor spinning technique and inconsistent yarn. I am motivated to try spinning again. I love that you use a drop spindle. I can see so many things that I have been doing wrong. Thank you!!!
Thank you for this video. New spinner (February of this year) and I have been able to get thinner and thinner (last yarn I made was approximately fingerling when 2-ply) and I couldn't figure out how to get thicker again! This is a huge help!
Thank you so much for this video. Ive been spinning lumpy yarn for ages, getting annoyed with my lack of progress, studied a lot of videos, and none of them showed exactly how to determine and then draft. Now I'm following your advice and the improvement is startling! This is great.
Thank you for this. I learned to drop spindle at my LYS 2 weeks ago and could not figure out why my yarn is all over the place. Your videos are the first spinning videos I have found that the instructions finally clicked, maybe you show it the way my brain can understand. Plus you are great with camera angles showing what I would see.
Very clear and informative video, thank you. I ordered my supplies today and came on RU-vid for tutorials and yours is the only technique-focused one I found.
Hi, I am a Newbie Spinner Thankyou so much for this video, your explanation & the closeness of your hands really helps to see what I've been going wrong. This is much appreciated.
Bravo!! Excellent, expert explanation! :-D I have been trying to get the hang of hand-spinning plant fibers for my channel and skill set. This video of yours may have helped me crack the code. Thank you!
Thank you so much. This just explained so much of what was happening in my spinning. Now I have some concrete steps to practice and get more intentional about the thickness of yarn I am creating. Your videos are excellent, I hope you haven't given up making them!
2 years on, and a few spindle spun sweaters later, this is still the best video on drafting out there. I learned so much from this video. So thankful you took the time to make this.
Than you thank you thank you!💜 I've been trying to find a video that explains this for a few months now and this just randomly popped into my recommendations! Instant subscribe! Now off to see your other videos 😄
Thanks so much for this video! I haven't been spinning very long, and I've had such a hard time learning how to draft properly. I don't have anyone to show me in person so I've had to rely on RU-vid videos where it's really hard to see what people are doing. Until now anyway! This video was super helpful. :)
Thank you for going into detail and showing exactly what you were doing with your hands to change or maintain yarn thickness. This helped a few things click for me.
Thank you!! Of all the videos I’ve watched, this one was the best explained. I’m like 7 week into my spinning journey. I see now why my spinning is inconsistent. Can’t wait to put into practice what you’ve taught!
I've just started spinning with an eel nano 1.1 electric spinning wheel. I think I understand the process a little bit more now. Thank you for your time!
I’m very happy I came across your video in my first few days of looking for drop spindle how-tos because my drafting is mostly consistent even though I’ve only been spinning for less than a month. Thanks a bunch.
I liked your technique for drafting so I gave shout out to this video on my video as my inspiration that has helped me spin a more consistent size yarn on my spinning wheel.
I am so happy that I found you. You are showing me how to spin, with the details I need. I have not seen this information anywhere else explained so clearly. I am a subscriber. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Eileen! I’m so glad the video helped!! Please let me know if there is something else you’d like to or need to see.
I really enjoyed your video. You have explained the process of spinning a consistent yarn better than any video I have watched on the subject from RU-vid! Thanks again! I hope you’ll come back with more videos
Your videos are so informative! I guess if I requested anything it would be a video showing how you make a two ply. I just end up with a tangled mess most of the time. Thanks again
This si mega helpful, thank you so much for making this! This is the only breakdown of consistency I've seen on drop spindle resources on YT. Thanks!!!
This is a fantastic video! I have watched so many videos as I try to learn spindle spinning, but yours is the only one that really teaches about this essential technique. I feel like I understand what I am actually trying to do now and will have much better results. Thank you!
BLESS YOU! my draft is my biggest issue as a first time spinner (got my first spindles in the mail today!!) ; i draft really thick + inconsistent and also kept ending up with twist in my fiber supply. this really helped!!!!!
This was so helpful! I can’t use wool and have generally fiber with a shorter staple and didn’t understand how that affected my drafting appropriately. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this video. I've been collecting spinning tools since a few years-- because they're so darned cute and I really do want to learn to spin fibre--but I only spent a very few hours on actual spinning. This video topic is the exact issue that frustrated and stopped my earlier efforts. It's like you opened the curtains and let the sunlight in. I can do this now. :)
Thank you for this video. I'm a pretty new spinner (~3months) and this video articulated several things that I've kind of worked out on my own, but now I can do them consciously rather than by trial-and-error. Hopefully I'll be spinning closer to what I'm trying for in the future :)
Just to make sure I got it: 1) pinch and pull right at the tip of the drafting triangle to get thin yarn and keep the thickness consistent, and 2) pinch and pull further inwards in the triangle to get thick yarn, and continue drafting at that same inner spot to maintain that thickness? I noticed that the positioning of your left hand holding the fiber doesnt change, but your right hand does relative to your left. Closer to your left hand creates thicker yarn, but farther away from your left hand creates thinner yarn? I really appreciate the close-up view of your hand movements! I see you're twisting the yarn a bit in between your thumb and first finger as the spindle rotates!
The key to consistency is to pinch at the same spot each time you draft. If you want thin, you draft just from tips. If you want thicker yarn, you pinch further into your supply. Getting to the thickness you’re looking for might take a few subsequent pinches farther into the supply. Then be consistent with where you are pinching the keep the thickness
Part of long-drafting is to allow just enough twist in to start binding that half-staple into the twist, and then feed another half, which means having a really loose floofy feedstock. I card mine, rather than draw straight from the roving.
This fiber was combed top, which is definitely not ideal for long draw. I only used a carded prep when I am spinning long draw. This was for demonstration purposes only.
THANKS 😊 I was doing the exact opposite. Thinking I needed to widen the gap between my hands to get it thinner. Today is the first time I have ever spun, and have a new electric spinner.. As soon as I watched your video, as I was doing it (half the bobbin already full of varying thickness) it all made sense. Bless you for making it clear and too the point. What i am using: Eew 6 and corriedale white.
Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. I am finally understanding the drafting. You are a very good teacher. You said what others have showed me and explained but finally it’s sunk in. I’ve practiced without the spindle first with good results and no longer feel I don’t know what I’m doing. Thank you again. Bless you
I’m just starting with spinning, and I was really struggling with drafting. This video helped sooooo much, and helped me get to a point where things clicked! I can now (mostly) do continuous draft & spin instead of always parking to draft. Thank you!
I started spinning for fun on a diy drop spindle literally like an hour ago and this is SO valuable to find early on! I was wondering about how to correctly draft to get what I wanted
This is wonderful, thank you! I feel like I now have something to work with in order to practice.I had taken a break for a bit because I was having a hard time. I didn’t know enough to know where or how to start trying to improve, if that makes sense. Exited to get back to practicing now.
@@SpinningSara . Actually, there is another thing I can't seem to find anywhere. I'm not sure if this is within your purview, but I would love to know how to combine fibers with spinning. I am specifically interested in combined fibers for socks, and what the best fibers are to make strong socks. For example, how best to incorporate nylon into your wool, what natural alternatives work as well as nylon to strengthen your yarn, and how best to incorporate those. Is it best to re-card the fibers together in the first place, or is it fine to just spin them together at the same time (and how best to do that)? Or does it work equally well to spin that other fiber separately and then ply it with the wool?
Thank you :) I did not find any videos like that in my own language, so I am really happy I found yours:) Now I only need to adapt that to my spinning on the spinning wheel
