What's the difference between thread and yarn?
The difference usually comes from size. Both are made of plant, animal, or manufactured fibers twisted together for strength. Both can be made by machines or by hand. Both are...
Select Your Topic Below:
Warping, Winding, Other Tools FAQs
Warping, Winding, Other Tools FAQs
FAQs
-
-
Measuring and Describing Handspun Yarn for Your Records
Good records can save you a lot of time (or aggravation when you've let a project sit for a while). If you like a yarn you've spun, you can re-create...
-
What do drop spindles and spinning wheels do?
Handspinners can use a drop spindle or a spinning wheel to create yarn from unspun fibers such as wool fleece, hair from goats/dogs/llamas/alpacas, cotton bolls, or flax stems. Though these...
-
Spinning Wheel Ratios
When you look at a spinning wheel on this website, or our spinning brochure, you'll see tables that list the wheel's ratios. What are all these numbers? But first, why...
-
Spinning Terms
General Spinning Terms default yarn: the yarn you most often make, usually when you're not deliberately trying to make a specific yarn—what your hands default to as they draft...
-
Troubleshooting Your Handspun Yarn & Adjusting Your Wheel
Every spinner will create yarn that just doesn't work, and even experienced spinners have bad spinning sessions. Let's say the yarn won't hold together, or it's overspun (you see little...
-
Spinning Equipment
You want to become a handspinner, and you've chosen a spindle or spinning wheel. What other tools—besides spinnable fiber—will you need to get started? Basic Equipment scrap yarn for...
-
A Quick Guide to Fibers and Fiber Preparations for Handspinning
Spinners have a lot of fiber options for their yarns. They can choose the type of fiber and fiber prep best suited for a particular project. As you decide on your...
-
General Spinning Wheel Troubleshooting
The flyer won’t turn. The poly or cotton drive band is not over the flyer whorl—set the drive band in a groove of the whorl. The cotton drive band is...
-
Caring for Your Spinning Wheel
Try to keep the wheel in a dry, moderate climate. Try to avoid temperature extremes (i.e. keep out of direct sunlight and really damp and cold climates). Do not use...
-
My spinning wheel bobbins are noisy—how do I fix?
To fix noisy bobbins use white grease lubricant (available at most hardware stores). Place the bobbin on the flyer shaft. Then place a small amount of white grease on either...
-
How do I replace the drive band on my spinning wheel?
You can purchase drive bands for all Schacht spinning wheels here. Schacht-Reeves: See the assembly manual or watch this video. Matchless: See the assembly manual or watch this video. ...
