Wrap and Roll
November 22nd, 2008I’ve always dreamed of being able to make the fantastical yarn that lives in my imagination, the kind of yarn that takes over my dreams and haunts my waking hours.
When I realized I could open my heart and let paint move freely across the page, I wondered I could spin as freely. I was thinking too much when I sat at the wheel, worrying the fibers into position, examining the twist and forcing the yarn to BE something in particular.
This was quite different. I carded locks of wool into slightly lumpy bats, placing the colors in the intake tray very quickly. Then, I spun them as they wanted to be. Thick. Thin. Whatever the fleece wanted.
Years ago I read an article about wrap and roll spinning. It sounded physically impossible. You ply the wool with a fine core yarn, sliding the wraps up to completely cover the core. The core is twisted by the wheel and untwisted by a drop spindle at the same time. Surely I needed at least three hands.
What the author didn’t say was that the core yarn takes care of itself. You don’t work the drop spindle in the usual way. You gently nudge it into motion. You make the yarn inch by delicious inch.
But, don’t listen to me. Listen to your fleece.




