Honestly, there comes a point for everyone who knits or crochets where the local craft store just gets frustrating. It used to be fun, but now it feels limiting. Like, you’ll have this great idea for a color scheme—maybe a stormy grey fading into a bright teal—but all you can find on the shelf is a boring, flat navy blue. Same with the texture. You want something that feels rustic but is still soft enough to wear, but everything in the store just looks too perfect and machine-made.
If you are tired of compromising your vision because the yarn manufacturing industry decides what is trendy this season, it is time to look backward to move forward. Spinning your own yarn is not just a historical reenactment; it is the ultimate act of creative rebellion. It turns you from a consumer of supplies into a creator of raw materials.
This isn't about saving money—let’s be honest, it rarely is—it is about total control. When you control the twist, the ply, and the blend, you stop crocheting with what is available and start stitching with exactly what your art demands.
BEYOND THE STORE-BOUGHT SKEIN: WHY SPIN YOUR OWN?
The primary reason to pick up a spindle has nothing to do with necessity and everything to do with limitation. Commercial yarn manufacturing is a miracle of consistency. A ball of Red Heart purchased in Ohio will match a ball purchased in Oregon. But for the artist, consistency can be the enemy of character. Commercial mills are designed to eliminate the "flaws" that actually give handmade items their soul—slubs, slight variegation, and unique halo textures.
Custom Color Control. When you spin, you become the painter. You can blend fibers on a carding board to create heathered tones that do not exist in nature or factories. You can create a "fractal spin" where the color repeats align mathematically to create complex striping patterns in your final crochet fabric. You are no longer hunting for the right shade; you are engineering it.
Texture Architecture. Do you want a yarn that is thick and thin to create organic texture in a simple single crochet scarf? Or perhaps a high-twist, smooth yarn that makes your cable work pop? When you are the spinner, you determine the diameter and the density of the yarn. You can mix silk with wool for sheen, or angora with merino for a halo effect that softens the rigid lines of crochet stitches.
UNDERSTANDING FIBER: CHOOSING THE RIGHT FLEECE FOR YOUR FIRST SPIN
Walking into a fiber festival or browsing an online wool shop can be overwhelming. You will see terms like "micron count" and "staple length." For your first spin, you need a fiber that is forgiving. If a fiber is too short, it will drift apart; if it is too slick, it will slip out of your hands.
The Beginner's Best Friend: Bluefaced Leicester (BFL). Many beginners rush straight for Merino because it is famous for softness. However, Merino has a very fine crimp and can be "sticky" to draft, or slippery if it is superwash. BFL is the Goldilocks fiber. It has a long staple length (the length of individual hairs), which means you don't have to spin as fast to keep it together. It has a beautiful luster and takes dye with a vibrancy that can make Merino look dull by comparison.
The Luxury Trap: Alpaca and Silk. Avoid these for your first pound of fluff. Alpaca lacks "memory" (elasticity) and is incredibly slippery. Silk is like trying to spin water. Save these for when your hands have learned the muscle memory of drafting.
Wool Characteristics Comparison Guide
| Fiber Type | Staple Length | Beginner Friendliness (1-10) | Tactile Experience | Best Used For |
| Corriedale | Medium-Long | 9/10 | "Grippy" and substantial. Easy to draft evenly. | Outerwear, bags, robust hats. |
| Bluefaced Leicester | Long | 8/10 | Lustrous and smooth. Drafts like butter. | Shawls, garments, definition. |
| Merino | Short-Medium | 5/10 | Soft but dense. Can be tricky to manage twist. | Next-to-skin cowls, baby items. |
| Alpaca | Long | 3/10 | Heavy, drape-heavy, and slippery. | Flowy garments (once experienced). |
| Cotton | Very Short | 1/10 | Difficult. Requires high speed and precision. | Dishcloths, summer tops. |
THE PREP WORK: SCOURING, CARDING, AND COMBING RAW FLEECE
There is a primal satisfaction in buying a raw fleece—literally shorn off the sheep, smelling of the barn, and full of lanolin and vegetable matter (VM). However, it requires work. If you buy "top" or "roving," this step is done for you. But if you want the full experience, you must prep the fiber.
Scouring the Grease. Sheep produce lanolin, a wax that protects their skin. To spin a fluffy yarn, this usually needs to be removed. This involves soaking the fleece in very hot water (hot enough to melt the wax) with a scouring agent or strong dish soap. The cardinal rule here is: do not agitate. If you stir hot, wet wool, you are making felt, not yarn. You simply press it down, let it soak, and drain.
Carding for Loft. If you want a "woolen" yarn—one that is airy, warm, and light—you use hand cards. These look like large dog brushes. By brushing the wool between them, you jumble the fibers in a controlled way, trapping air. This preparation is ideal for winter garments where insulation is key.
Combing for Durability. If you want a "worsted" yarn—smooth, dense, and strong—you use wool combs. These look like lethal medieval torture devices. You lash the wool onto long metal tines and pull it off. This aligns every fiber parallel to its neighbor, removing all the short bits and air pockets. This prep creates the kind of yarn that withstands abrasion and shows off stitch definition beautifully.
Patricia's Pro-Tip: "Don't obsess over getting every single speck of vegetable matter (bits of grass or hay) out during the prep stage. As you draft and spin, a lot of that dried vegetable matter will naturally fall out of the fiber. What remains creates character. If you want perfection, buy acrylic. If you want a story, embrace the occasional speck of hay."
TOOL TALK: DROP SPINDLE VS. SPINNING WHEEL
The barrier to entry for spinning is surprisingly low, or remarkably high, depending on your choice of tool. Both tools do the exact same thing: they introduce twist into fiber. The difference is purely about mechanics and speed.
The Drop Spindle. This is essentially a stick with a weight on it. You can buy one for $20 or make one out of a CD and a dowel. It is portable; you can spin on the bus, in the park, or while waiting for pasta to boil. The downside is speed. It is slow. You spin a length, wind it on, spin, and wind. It is a stop-and-go process. However, it is the best way to learn the physics of twist without a machine fighting you.
The Spinning Wheel. This is the investment piece. Wheels range from $400 to over $1,000. They use a foot treadle to rotate the flyer, allowing you to draft fiber continuously while the wheel winds it on for you. It is fast and efficient. If you plan to spin enough yarn for a sweater, you will eventually want a wheel. But a wheel requires coordination similar to driving a manual transmission car—your feet maintain the speed while your hands manage the fiber.
Equipment Investment Analysis
| Feature | Drop Spindle | Spinning Wheel (Single Treadle) | Electric Spinner (E-Spinner) |
| Average Cost | $15 - $40 | $450 - $1,200 | $250 - $600 |
| Portability | Fits in a purse. | Trunk of a car. | Fits in a tote bag (needs power). |
| Production Speed | Low (approx. 50 yards/hour). | High (approx. 200+ yards/hour). | Very High (Consistent speed). |
| Learning Curve | Moderate. Teaches mechanics well. | Steep. Requires limb coordination. | Moderate. Hands only, no feet. |
| Space Required | A drawer. | A corner of a room. | A tabletop. |
THE ANATOMY OF A SPIN: DRAFTING, TWISTING, AND MANAGING TENSION
Spinning is a balancing act between two forces: the twist entering the fiber and your hands holding it back. If you let too much twist in, the yarn kinks. If you don't let enough in, the yarn drifts apart.
The Inchworm Draft. For beginners, the most reliable method is "park and draft" (on a spindle) or the inchworm method. You pinch the fiber supply with your back hand and pull a small amount of fiber forward with your front hand. Then, you release the twist from the front hand, allowing it to rush into that newly drafted section. Pinch, pull, release. Pinch, pull, release. It is a rhythm that eventually becomes meditative.
Twist is Glue. Imagine the fibers are hairs. Without twist, they just slide past each other. Twist binds them. High twist creates a hard, durable yarn (great for socks). Low twist creates a soft, lofty yarn (great for cowls). As a crocheter, you need to be aware that crochet stitches generally require a bit more twist than knitting stitches to prevent the yarn from splitting when you insert your hook.
THE MAGIC OF PLYING: BALANCING YOUR YARN FOR CROCHET STITCHES
When you spin a single strand, it has "active energy." If you try to crochet with it, your fabric will bias—it will slant diagonally. This is because the twist is trying to untwist itself. To fix this, we ply. Plying involves taking two or three singles and twisting them together in the opposite direction of the original spin. This neutralizes the energy, creating a balanced yarn that hangs straight.
Structure Matters for Stitch Definition. The way you construct your yarn directly impacts how your crochet stitches look. A 2-ply yarn is often oval-shaped, which can make stitches look slightly textured. A 3-ply yarn is rounder, which provides incredible stitch definition for complex textural work like popcorns or post stitches.
If you are obsessed with the mechanics of how yarn behaves within the stitch itself, understanding the structure of your materials is vital. If you want to dive deeper into how loop structure affects your final fabric, check out Yarn Under vs. Yarn Over: The Structural Guide to Crochet Stitch Anatomy. The way you ply your yarn can actually compensate for, or accentuate, the differences between those two stitching techniques.
SETTING THE TWIST: WASHING, BLOCKING, AND "THWACKING"
You have spun a bobbin full of yarn. You have plied it. It looks like yarn, but it isn't finished yet. It is currently "under tension." To transform it into a stable textile, you must set the twist.
The Soak. Submerge your skein in warm water with a no-rinse wool wash. You will see the fibers relax. The warm water causes the scales on the wool fibers to open slightly and interlock with their neighbors, settling into their new twisted configuration.
The Thwack. This is the best part. Take the wet skein out, squeeze out the excess water (roll it in a towel), and then beat it against the wall or the side of the bathtub. Thwack! This violence serves a purpose. It fluffs up the yarn, evening out the twist distribution and encouraging the fibers to bloom. It transforms a wiry, stringy skein into a fluffy, cohesive yarn. Hang it to dry under a little bit of weight to ensure it dries straight.
FROM SKEIN TO STITCH: ADJUSTING CROCHET TENSION FOR HANDSPUN VARIATIONS
Handspun yarn is rarely perfectly consistent, and that is its beauty. You will have sections that are slightly thicker and sections that are thinner (thick-and-thin). When crocheting with handspun, you must be adaptable.
Hook Selection. Be prepared to go up a hook size. Handspun yarn often has more "air" in it than commercial yarn. If you use a small hook, you will crush that air and make a stiff fabric. Give the yarn room to breathe.
Pattern Choice. Simple stitches often shine best with complex handspun. If you have spent weeks spinning a chaotic, colorful art yarn, don't hide it inside a complex cable pattern. Use simple rows of half-double crochet or moss stitch to let the yarn be the star.
Once you master the art of creating consistent, high-quality yarn, you possess a product that is highly coveted in the fiber art world. This isn't just a hobby; it's a potential revenue stream for the discerning artist. For those looking to elevate their craft into a serious income, you should read the High-End Crochet Business Guide: Pivoting from Etsy to Art Sales. Your handspun yarn could be the "Art" that differentiates you from the mass market.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SPINNING YARN
Is spinning expensive to start?
Not necessarily. You can make a drop spindle for under $5 using hardware store parts, and fiber can be purchased by the ounce. You can start for less than the cost of a pizza. The expensive part comes later, when you "need" a $1,200 wheel.
How long does it take to spin enough yarn for a sweater?
A long time. For an average sweater quantity (1,200 yards), an experienced spinner on a wheel might take 15-20 hours of pure spinning time, not counting prep or plying. It is a slow fashion movement for a reason.
Can I spin dog hair or cat hair?
Technically, yes (it is called "chiengora"). However, pet hair has no scales, so it is very slippery and incredibly warm—often too warm for a sweater. It is best blended with wool to give it structure and memory.
Why does my yarn keep breaking?
You are likely not putting enough twist in, or your hands are moving faster than your feet (if on a wheel). If the fibers aren't twisted enough, they will just drift apart. Try treadling faster or drafting your hands slower to allow more twist to build up in the fiber.
The transition from buying yarn to making it is a shift in perspective. You stop looking for what is available and start asking what is possible. It requires patience, a tolerance for failure, and a willingness to get your hands a little greasy. But the first time you pull a loop of yarn that you created through a stitch, realizing that no one else on earth has a skein exactly like yours, you will understand. The hook is just the tool; the yarn is the soul. Go find some fleece and start spinning your own story.
