Response to Any spinners out there?

Rachel,

I would not consider myself an experienced spinner, as I have only been spinning for about six months on my Ashford Traditional. I also have a great wheel that I have dabbled with over the last year. However, my Traditional is my wheel of choice and I, too, had some of the same problems you are describing when I first started. It won't take you long to figure it out if you just keep practicing. I don't have any trouble adjusting my brake and have not had to change from the spring to a rubber band, but I know of others who do do this. I have mine adjusted so that it pulls the yarn on gently - not so hard that it grabs it right out of my hand. If it grabs it right out of your hand, then you have the brake too tight and you should loosen it up some because you will probably find that you do not get enough twist because it won't be there long enough to twist. However, if it is grabbing it right out of your hand and you are not letting it and are holding onto it too long, then it would have a tendancy to overtwist. You certainly shouldn't have it adjusted so tight that it is hard to treadle. I actually measured how long my spring is with the tension on it, and the spring itself (not the rings that hold it on) is only 1/2 inch long. Of course, this may not be good for you, but it works great for me. And, you will find that as you fill a bobbin, you will have to adjust the tension on your brake.

Most spinners just starting out tend to overtwist their yarn. I found that if you hold onto the yard too long while you are spinning it and don't let it feed onto the bobbin, then it will overtwist, as I mentioned above. You must draft your yarn out with one hand and, with your other hand, glide your fingers along at a steady pace as the yarn twists. Let the twist catch up with your fingers, pinch, draft out some more with your other hand, and then glide your fingers down the fiber again. Just repeat this process. One thing you may be doing is treadling too fast. If you treadle too fast, you will have a hard time keeping up with the twist and, again, will probably overtwist your yarn. It is best to start out at a slower pace and get the feel of your wheel, the feel of the fiber and the routine of drafting, gliding your fingers down the fiber, pinching, and drafting again. Also, you want to make sure that you don't let the fiber twist beyond the fingers that are gliding down the already drafted fiber because then it will be very hard to draft it out and it won't be consistent at all. You must make sure that you don't let go with the fingers that are gliding down the fiber, as this is what stops the twist from going beyond and into the fiber that you are drafting out with the other hand.

Just keep practicing....you will find that it gets easier every time. I did also find that the thinner I drafted out the fiber, the easier it was to get the hang of it. I don't know if any of this helped you or not, as it is kind of hard to explain it in cyberspace, but I hope so. Feel free to e-mail me directly if you have any other questions. I just love to spin and am spinning up some Romney right now and will be making some Christmas gifts over the summer.

Happy spinning,

Tammy

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