Help Me Before I Burn My Spindle

[super geek]

Hi, everyone! Today I got my first spindle, and some pretty pink/orange wool to spin.  The only problem is, it has no hook!  It is a drop spindle, with a low whirl and I am having trouble.  I am getting a lot of conflicting advice on how to start, and they all involve a hook?  Can anyone help me make my first yarn??

[Soth]

Hi super geek (nice nick  )

first of all, you have to fasten a thread of wool as a starter. Tie it directly above the whirl and wind a few times around the pin. Then you have to do kind of a sailing knot. I don't know the right word in english, so I made a quick drawing.



Leave app. 10 inch of the thread and cut. Then you have to fray the end of the thread and try to get the roving to connect with the thread. Start spinning the spindle and the rest is just patience, patience and most of all, patience.....

[Ambrosia_luv]

Thank you so much for posting this I've been trying to figure out how to do this for a while.

[Soth]

I was in the same position, when I got my first spindle. Took me forever to figure it out 

[misshawklet]

I had one of those too, without hook and I ended up just drilling a hole and adding a small one.  It worked well!

[Soth]

Now, that's a smart solution....

[super geek]

Hope you all don't mind my stupid noobie questions.  Just one more :
My yarn doesn't spin down onto the shaft.  The spindle keeps unspinning itself.  How can I fix all this, but is it just normal for begining?

[Vildhavre]

No questions are stupid! We've all been there

You have to wind the yarn onto the shaft yourself. You loosen the loop and wind it on, then you do a new loop and continue spinning. When you are spinning the spindle stops after a while (and then starts spinning in the opposite direction because of the twist in the yarn) if you don't spin the spindle some more. You have to watch both what you're doing and the spindle . But in the beginning it can be easier to use a method called 'park and draft'. I'm bad at explaining things and since I've never used it myself I won't even try.. But, here is a website that explains it: http://www.icanspin.com/parkdraft.htm

Good luck!