Saturday, 26 September 2015

Guild Skillshare - Spinning Techniques

There is a wide range of skill within the Guild, some of us are relative newbies, with more enthusiasm than skill, and others are professionals or have many years of experience to share. Whilst we share skill and experience, as well as a few giggles and cakes at every meeting, our Guild skillshares are hosted by an experienced member bravely volunteering to host a more formal session.

This September, we held a spinning technique session, hosted by one of our highly skilled spinners.  Our tutor had done a lot of preparation and didn't seem at all fazed by the sea of eager pupils.

Everybody came away having gained something valuable from the session - its all too easy to get stuck into a rut - so our tutor's idea was to teach us to spin what we want. 

Our tutor showed us several ways to draft, spin and determine the thickness.  We would be shown a new technique, with lots of questions answered, and then sent off to play.

After spinning, came plying,  Again many different techniques to get a different outcome.

Below a before and after from one of our newbies ...


Two ply - thick and thin
Navajo ply - a firm DK/Aran
We only tapped into a little of our tutor's knowledge, so we're hoping for another session in the near future to expand on what we learned.  Hint, hint ......