Color in Spinning [Hardcover]

Deb Menz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1998

Written expressly for the handspinner seeking new adventures in color, this comprehensive manual combines an accessible approach with technical savvy. Starting with the basics of the color/fiber relationship, Menz presents step-by-step photographed demonstrations of immersion dyeing, painting rovings, blending colors and fibers, multicolor combing techniques, and spinning and plying multicolored preparations.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this day and age, when we are deluged with titles purporting to be "the complete book of...," here is a book that might accurately have been titled The Complete Book of Color in Spinning. Drawing on 20 years of experience learning and teaching color techniques for handspinners, Menz has created an essential manual for any handspinner who wishes to add color to handspun yarn through immersion dyeing, painting rovings, blending, carding, and/or plying yarn to create a product unavailable in any store. Included are 150 color photos, line drawings, and a gallery of pieces incorporating techniques discussed in the book. A very practical book, with step-by-step instructions, dye formulas, and a good selection of self-study exercises at the end of each chapter; highly recommended for textile collections.?JZ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"This book is a must for spinners. It is also good for knitters interested in dyeing their own yarn for knitting."  —Knitting News

"This comprehensive guide is absolutely essential for the handspinner who wants color in his or her work."  —KnitNet

"All I can say about this one is WOW! I learned way more than my money's worth with this treasure trove of information."  —Spindle and Wheel online magazine

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883010373
• ISBN-13: 978-1883010379
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,831,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A invaluable read for any fiber enthusiast, September 23, 1998

By 

Urbanspinner (Cambridge, Mass) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Color in Spinning (Hardcover)

Deb Menz offers wonderful information on creating multi-colored yarns for knitting and weaving. As a graphics professional, I thought I had a good grasp on color theory -- until I started to dye fibers for spinning. The interaction of colored fibers is very different than what you'd expect from paints (and I have a big basket of ugly yarn to prove it!) This book helped me understand what was going wrong and gave me new princples to explore. And the range of techniques used by the author (painted rovings, blending colored fibers by carding and combing) are very inspiring.

My only reservation about the book comes the examples used throughout the text. The photography is lovely but there are very few closeups. I have often stared at the images and wished I were about two feet closer to see how the colors interacted and how the yarn structure affected the final product. Additionally, I found the range of examples to be surprisingly limited. Deb Menz has a particular style to her work and after a while I found the examples got a little repetitive. Her color theory covers a huge and complex range of possibilities, but the examples seemed to use the same palette of colors over and over again. A little more exploration and contrast between sets of examples would have been welcome.

But overall, this book is absolutely invaluable for any yarn designer. There is no other that covers this important topic in such detail and I'm delighted to have it as part of my library.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and inspiring book, August 15, 2000

By 

Susie LaFever (Santa Ynez, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Color in Spinning (Hardcover)

I received "Color In Spinning" as a gift and have found it to be one of the best, if not the best book on the subject of color blending that I have read. I was especially intrigued by the section on producing multi colored rovings using a hackle or combs. The many colored drawings and photographs throughout the book make her well written directions very easy to understand.

I am now making some wonderful multi colored yarns using the techniques explained so well in Deb Menz's woderful book and I highly recommend it to any hand spinner who wants to create their own unique one of a kind yarns.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why all spinners need this book!, May 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Color in Spinning (Hardcover)

If you've ever wondered how to work with color, this is the book for you! Deb does a wonderful job explaining color theory and how to use that theory with fibers. She explains how to blend fibers for specific colors using both drum carders and combs. There is also a section for dyeing roving using Sabraset dyes. The instructions for each section are clear with great illustrations. She also includes self study exercises.

In every way, this is a book that will improve your color skills. I can't recommend it highly enough.