A new issue of Spindle and Wheel was published recently, and it’s got a very informative article about preparing handpainted fiber for spinning. The article explains how to pre-draft or strip your fiber into the thickness you want for spinning, but more importantly, shows you how much difference the fiber preparation method you choose makes in the finished yarn you’ll end up with.
I encourage you to look at the article – you may be surprised at how dramatic the differences are between the pre-drafting, stripping, and combined pre-drafting/stripping methods. The pre-drafted sample shows a lot of color blending which more subtle color variations (although it’s hard to tell exactly now much because the single made from the pre-drafted sample as plyed with a white single), the stripping method resulted in a self-striped yarn, and the combined method resulted in longer, more distinct, stripes of color.
If you want to see the differences for yourself, buy some handpainted roving you like, prepare small portions of the fiber using the pre-drafting, stripping, and combined methods, and spin a sample from each of the small portions you prepared. Preparing small samples really is the best way to learn new techniques.
If you’re looking for a place to buy handpainted roving, check out the current auctions on eBay:
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Handpainted Roving Soft Wool Blend "Spellbound" US $10.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 8:51:00 PDT Add to watch list |
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Handpainted Roving Soft Wool Blend "Shamrocks" US $10.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 8:55:55 PDT Add to watch list |
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Roving! - Handpainted Yearling Mohair - FLAMENCO! US $34.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 14:49:30 PDT Add to watch list |
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Spinning!-Roving! Handpainted Merino -CACTUS FLOWER! US $38.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 14:50:28 PDT Add to watch list |
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Roving! - Handpainted Yearling Mohair - SIERRA SUNSET! US $34.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 14:51:18 PDT Add to watch list |
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Spinning!-Roving! Handpainted Merino -SIERRA SUNSET! US $38.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 14:54:04 PDT Add to watch list |
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Spinning!-Roving! Handpainted Falkland - SIERRA SUNSET! US $32.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 14:55:27 PDT Add to watch list |
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Handpainted Soft Wool Blend Roving "Hyacinths" US $10.95 End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 8:56:32 PDT Add to watch list |
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CRAZY Handpainted BABY SURI ALPACA Roving/Top SugarPlum US $11.40 End Date: Friday Mar-19-2010 21:51:57 PDT Add to watch list |
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CRAZY Handpainted Novelty MILK PROTEIN FIBER top "BB" US $10.92 End Date: Tuesday Mar-30-2010 20:13:59 PDT Add to watch list |
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