Dear Tabby,
I’m a new spinner and I am getting extremely frustrated when I sit down to spin!! My yarn is all squiggly and is getting kinked up. What is happening?!?
Help!
– Wound-up Wanda
Hi Wanda,
This a common problem for new and experienced spinners alike! Generally, when the yarn overtwists, it kinks up and eventually results in yarn breakage.
The cause of this problem is that your yarn is over-twisted. This means that there is more twist in the fiber than is necessary to create a balanced yarn. Here are a few ways to mitigate over-twisting.
- Check to see if your yarn is caught anywhere on your flyer – this may reduce or prevent yarn from taking up onto the bobbin and result in over twisting.
- Use a larger whorl – this will help slow down your flyer, so less twist enters your yarn.
- Slow down your treadling speed – if you feel like you’re treadling at a quick clip, take a few deep breaths, put on some relaxing music and treadle slower.
- Increase your tension – it may be that your yarn isn’t feeding onto the bobbin quickly enough, so an increase in tension will solve that.
I hope these tips help!
Happy Spinning!
– Tabby