How to use a drop spindle in 7 easy steps

Some spinners feel that a drop spindle should be mastered before moving on to a spinning wheel. Here are seven easy steps to help you use a drop spindle in no time.

Begin by tying a leader (a scrap of previously spun yarn) to the base of the spindle shaft.

• Wrap the leader around the base knob, then bring the leader up to and around the shaft tip of the spindle as shown.
• Fan out the leader's end.

• Fan out the carded wool and lay the end of the leader to overlap it by four centimetres (1 3/4 inches).
• Hold the ends between the thumb and forefinger of one hand as you start turning the spindle with the other hand.

• As the wool twists around the leader, shift your lower hand up to hold the juncture of ends.
• With your top hand, start drawing out the fleece until only a few fibres remain between your hands.

• When the ends are joined, move your lower hand up again to pinch the fleece at a point just below your top hand.
• The twist can now run further up the wool but not above the point where it is pinched.
• Maintain the pinch until the filaments below your lower hand are twisted as tightly as you wish.

As you pinch, use your top hand to pull out more fibres.

• The aim is to thin out the fibres so that the yarn will be as fine and even as desired.
• Repeat steps four and five, pinching with one hand and pulling out fibres with the other.
• As the whirling slows, reach down and twist the spindle shaft with your fingers.
• Do not spin the carded wool all the way to its end. Instead, add new wool as in step two.

• When the spindle reaches the floor, wrap the spun yarn in a figure-8 around the thumb and little finger of one hand.
• Do not release your grip at the end of the spun yarn or it will untwist.

• Unwrap yarn from the tip of the spindle and wind it onto the shaft.
• Wind more yarn at the shaft base and less above so the yarn will form a cone.
• Rewrap the yarn as in step oneand continue to spin.

The drop spindle does make wheel spinning easier to learn; the principles of spinning are the same in both cases and a drop spindle is much less expensive to buy. However, it is a slower method of spinning and can be laborious if you are setting out to spin a lot of yarn. Keep these simple instructions in mind and try using a drop spindle today!