I can't remember wildandwooly whether or not you have done any spinning before. If not, then you could save yourself a lot of money by waiting until you have some idea of what you are doing and the equipment you need before you buy.
For example, if you roo your Shetlands by hand, then you can do it by pulling out a tuft at a time. Then you will have a basket full of tufts and you can spin direct from them sometimes, without even combing or carding them, or you can use cheap dog combs or carders (the wire paddle brushes for dogs). Learn about fleece and how it works, how its scales cling together as you draw out a thread and twist, how you can make your practice tuft into a short length of singles thread just in your hands, then fold it back on itself to make a stable double yarn. You could do this with tufts of fleece from each of your sheep, and compare the fineness and crimp of each animal; you could do this with tufts chosen from various parts of the body, to learn how in many animals, the fleece is coarser and finer depending on whereabouts it grows. An example of this is that often and in many breeds but not all, the fleece over the haunch and back legs, and perhaps over the back, is designed to withstand the worst of the weather, or for sitting on, so is coarser than the fleece which protects the neck, shoulders and flanks. Basically, just play around with the wool your own sheep produce to familiarise yourself with those individuals. This is not something you can learn easily from someone else. Get used to having fleece in your hand and drawing out fibres smoothly. Once you've done that, watch a whole load of youtube clips about people spinning, learn the names for the equipment people use and the actions they carry out, ie familiarise yourself with the craft. Then could be the time to join a guild, or to take some lessons, but leave plenty of time to practice on your own. Your body has to learn the movements of your hands by constant repetition - there's no short cut. Above all, relax as you play with your fleeces, don't spin when you are tense as it just won't work, and settle in for a lifetime of enjoyment and achievement.
You may want to learn using a spindle, or you may want to go directly to a wheel. I wish I had started with a spindle - you can take it anywhere and it's amazing how quickly you can build up a cop of lovely homespun yarn.
As you have mentioned peg looming, you don't even need to card or spin the fleece for that, you can just draw out thick 'yarn' by hand and put it straight onto the loom.
If you already know all this, just tell me to shut up
Topic: Carding/Peg Loom advice needed! (Read 4526 times)
