The Ashford Book of Hand Spinning

Contents

• Making handspun yarn
• The tools for spinning
• Spinning on a drop spindle
• Andean plying
• Spinning on a wheel
• Plying - two-ply, navajo
• Carding
• Fibre for spinning - wool, other fibres
• Novelty yarns
• Projects for knitting and weaving with handspun yarn
• Wheel maintenance
• Glossary

Not to be confused with the Ashford Book of Spinning by Anne Field, this is a new comprehensive spinning book from Ashford by a different author.

I rate Jo Reeve's Ashford Book of Carding because it's clear, practical and inspirational. She has written this book in the same clear, friendly and well-illustrated way.

The book has an updated feel. The quality glossy pages carry numerous colour illustrations. This is an extremely well-illustrated book.

The book is a great guide for beginners and improvers. It covers the basics of using a spindle and a wheel, then plying, drafting techniques (do you know your worsted from your woolen?) hand and drum carding. It covers the different types of wool with some wonderful illustrations of the sheep breeds discussed. Other types of fibre, novelty yarn techniques, maintaining your wheel and a glossary.

Like the original Ashford Book of Spinning, Jo includes five patterns (Anne Field included ten in her book). I'm not a big fan of patterns being included in books, but these are particularly appealing patterns. Missing is felting and dyeing, which did seem a little incongruous in the original book.

Predictably, Ashford do take the opportunity to promote their products, but not too gratuitously. Their wheels and specifications are shown alongside information about naming the parts and maintaining your wheel. The book is certainly just as useful to users of other brands.

Shiela Dixon, 20 April 2009

The Ashford Book of Hand Spinning - Jo Reeve

Jo, the author of the excellent Ashford Book of Carding, has twenty-seven years of spinning experience and will show you how to spin from the beginning through to advanced techniques. Includes five easy projects to use your handspun yarn.

Read my review of The Ashford Book of Hand Spinning

Great gift!

£15.35

Temporarily out of stock

Fast dispatch and reasonable or free postage
UK only

Hand Spinning Drop Spindle Starter Kit

A great but reasonably-priced general-purpose drop spindle for hand spinning. The whorl (top-whorl) is nice and chunky and keeps the spindle spinning for a long time. It has a long spindle (12" long), so a good capacity to store your yarn as you spin or ply it.

Contains:

• Ashford student drop spindle with leader attached and a little bit of spun wool
• Soft merino wool ready to tease out and spin, approx 100g altogether (3.5 oz) in Natural White. Enough to spin 200yds, depending on how thick you spin it.
• The Ashford Book of Hand Spinning.
• Copies of The Wheel magazine.

These items are all available separately. More spinning books, fibre in a selection of other colours and other types of drop spindle are also available.

Watch Shiela demonstrate how to use a drop spindle

Great gift!

£26Temporarily out of stock

Fast dispatch and reasonable or free postage
UK only