Drop Spindle

Drafting out from Wool Roving to spin on a drop spindle?

Ok so heres my problem. Im trying to teach myself how to spin. I have some washed Carded Wool roving. After I get it started on my spinner and go to draft out more wool, the wool roving starts to bunch up. What am I doing wrong? Its really hard to keep spinning when I have this roving with bunches in it. I end up with yarn that have big fluffy areas and is very uneven. Help please...All Im doing is pulling back on the roving to let more out to be spinned....But when I pull it bunches up behind my fingers that are hold the roving....Ive looked All Over online and can't find anywhere that explains what Im doing wrong.

Drafting is an art in itself. One thing you should do is pre-draft, or attenuate, your roving. First of all, most roving is itself much thicker than you want, so you should break off a piece about 3 feet long, then split it in half from one end, pulling it apart gently, then split each half again. Take one section that you've pulled out and pull out a few fibers to see the length of the actual fiber. Hold the section of your split roving between your hands just a bit further apart than the length of the fibers. Tug it gently, or pull it gently, until you feel the fibers start to slide past each other. Work your way, sliding the fibers like this, from one end of the section to the other. When you've done this, wind the lengthened section around your hand, maintaining the loft--pouffiness--you've created by doing this.

I usually take this wound roving and put it on my wrist, using my wrist as a distaff, to spin from. Other spinners use bracelet style distaves to hold their fiber while they spin. Bring the end of the roving over the back of your hand and pinch it between thumb and forefinger for spinning. It's ok to wind on, and then *park* your spindle between your knees, and draft more wool before twirling the spindle again, too. Pinch the point of twist while you draft more out, though, so the twist doesn't run into the drafting triangle.

Places that were too thick in the roving where the twist jumped over it, can be fixed, too. Pinch off the twist on each side of it, and roll your fingers on the spindle side in the opposite direction you were spinning with, unspinning the fiber a bit, draft the unspun section thinner and let the lower twist run up into it. If you still need more twist, roll back the other side and let the twist run down.

If your drafting hand is bunching up fibers, stop, park, and draft that section out again, even if you have to break off and rejoin.

Go out to YouTube and search for spinning videos. Abby Franquemont has some really good ones out there.

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