I got myself a drum carder with 72 tpi. I want to order some Lincoln locks, but now I am unsure if the tpi I have will be ok to work with that type of wool.

Any tips and tricks for drum carding would also be appreciated 🙂 I’m fairly new to spinning and I’m determined to learn as much as I can from the ground up. I don’t want to have to order new comb top every week with how much I want to be spinning if I can just make unique roving myself lol

Any tips on dying would be awesome too, I’d love to do natural dyes 🙂

I mean no offense to companies/individuals that sell them, but is there a difference between a brand-name Schacht drive band and run-of-the-mill cotton kitchen string?

I just read that it's recommended to swap out the cotton drive bands on Schacht wheels every ~month depending on how often you spin. Maybe I'm stingy, but $3 for a ball of kitchen string vs $36 every year? I'll save $30 and buy a nice braid instead!

(If I'm committing a grave sin, I repent. But really... Is there a difference? What do you use, if not?)

So I have been harvesting my dogs fur for spinning after brushing them. I have a decent amount, but I need to wash it and remove the top coat hairs. After that I assume I need to card it?

But I have zero idea how to wash it without it getting matted and tangled. I’ve never prepped fiber before, just bought comb top off of Etsy. I would love some help getting started!

It’s like I know what to do but there are gaps in my knowledge of how to do it.

I feel like there is probably another sub that is more specific to the preparation of fiber for spinning but I figured you guys would also know. But if you think I should go to another sub I’d be happy to be redirected 🙏🏻

I’m considering getting a drum carder. I’d like to start processing fleece, and also I mostly spin woolen, so I’d want to use it to make batts and rolags as well. I’ve used hand cards and a blending board but haven’t had the opportunity to use a drum carder. How much does motorized matter versus manual?

Are there any drawbacks to getting a motorized one (other than cost)? Does having the motor not actually make much of a difference? I’m considering going for motorized as I sometimes have trouble with my joints (EDS + Lyme arthritis), but as I haven’t used a manual one, it may not actually be a problem. My shoulders are usually fine (though that could change at any time), but I have trouble with my wrists and hands—spinning doesn’t give me trouble (obviously) but hand carding is not great.

The one I’m considering is the Fancy Kitty Little Tom: https://www.fancy-kitty.com/store/p31/Fancy_Kitty_LITTLE_TOM_motorized_drum_carder.html

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I recently recieved to small skeins of yarn from my aunt and i thought theu would look cute yogether if they were one skein instead of two but i cant figure out how to do it or if its even possible, sprry if this is a dumb questio

I'm learning to spin with a spindle. My first two tries, I spun small amounts, and then I wound a center pull ball and plyed from each end of the ball. Now I am spinning 100g of BFL. I know all 100g won't fit on the spindle. What is the best way to store my singles and ply in this situation? I have a ball winder and a swift, but no other useful equipment.

Anyone have any thoughts on the new ashford Elizabeth they are releasing this year? Anyone have any experience with ashford Elizabeth wheels? I’m considering it as an option.

Alternate title: Should I get this really cool antique wheel? (E-spinner edition)

So I mostly use a spindle, but as of late I've been wanting to spin a bit faster. Due to lack of space and body coordination, all signs point to an e-spinner. I am also on a tight budget so this search has proved rather difficult; EEWs are scarce and won't be back in stock until May when I expect they'll sell out in the blink of an eye.

Today I found this eBay page with several USSR-era e-spinners. Since I have zero expertise in this area, I would greatly appreciate some advice as to whether any of them look acceptable; if not, reasons why I shouldn't get one. (I am currently leaning towards either the 1985 BEP or the 1990 Charunitsa, as those are the quietest of the bunch.)

Thanks in advance!

I have 4oz of undyed BFL that I want to dye/paint before I spin it. I don't want a solid though so what are some good ways to dye multicolors that will make it fairly easy to spin variegated yarn out of? Bigger sections? Smaller? Just go wild with it and see what happens?

I thought about just dyeing random sections of color and then do a fractal spin (which I've also never tried) but most of the finished samples I've seen of those tend to self stripe and I do NOT want any kind of self striping or gradient. Is there a way to do fractal without that effect? Or would another way be easier? I'm wanting a true variegated yarn with maybe 3-4 colors total. I also like fluffier bulky yarns so my other idea was to still dye in random (but larger) sections and then make a bunch of rolags on a blending board and spin from those.

I'm not too particular about the finished product beyond no self striping/predictable pattern though as I'm mostly just wanting to have fun and try some new techniques without getting too crazy.

Anyone ever spin hemp? I don’t often/if ever see it here.

Any special tricks or tips?

Do you break it up into the individual chunk's of colour (if it has them) and spin each colour one by one. Do you dizz it from the top so you're getting a bit of colour in a strip. Do you rip off handfuls and go for it? Is it completely dependent on the type of batt? Are there other ways to go about it? What makes you decide to core spin it versus regular spinning?

There's a line of yellow between the top and bottom of the fleece here.

https://preview.redd.it/83ga571a9rtc1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f782f793968b4096f2fed9b632fa455bb20ef77a

I grew up with Samoyeds but didn’t know how to spin when we had them, and I’ve always regretted not having any of their fur to turn into yarn now that they’re gone. I have a mini Australian Shepherd now, who is much smaller, but very fluffy and definitely sheds and I’m looking for the best way to collect her for because it doesn’t come off in clumps the way it did on my Samoyeds.