Customer Reviews

Hands on Spinning

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been spinning on and off for a few years now, and I still refer back to Hands On Spinning as my primary source. This book originally taught me to spin on a spindle, all by myself, with no teacher. Ms. Raven's instructions allowed me to pick it up quite quickly, and after working a couple of hours with some rough wool, I soon found myself making some very nice silk singles yarn. Later, I had two hours of instruction on a wheel, and used the book at home to help me through those awkward first hours of wheel spinning.

Ms. Raven assumes you know nothing, and provides enough information to cover each topic thoroughly without giving you too much to ponder. Thus the book is not too big, but just big enough. She starts you out by having you roll wool on your lap to twist it into a short length of yarn, which is probably how the first threads were made.

Then she proceeds into the chapter on spindle spinning, which is clearly written and well organized. Moving along, she explains the parts of the spinning wheel, what they do, and how to tension them properly. Her chapter on learning to spin on the wheel is as good a verbal description of how to do this as any I've read. Other chapters include: Fiber Preparation; Drafting and Spinning Techniques; Plying; Finishing, and more. There are numerous diagrams and color photos in this book, plus many simple but attractive projects to start you off. If you are new to spinning this is a wonderful book to begin with.

After reading the chapters in this book on how to use a drop spindle, I was literally able to produce yarn in 10 minutes after purchasing a spindle & wool. Very clear and easy to understand and follow.

I had not spun in about 25 years prior to this fall, so I knew that I needed a refresher book to get me going again when I got my spinning wheel. This is an excellent book. It has good photographs, clear text, and very nice projects for novice spinners and knitters intersperced in the text. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in spinning and needs information and confidence building.

The book is very educational. I learned alot about different methods of spinning. I also learned how to process yarn and storing it. The book also has many different projects you can do after you are done spinning the yarn. It is a good book to have around the house. Glad I purchased it.

I should've bought this book about a year ago or so when I first became interested in spinning. Don't know why I didn't but it really is a good starter book. It touches on a good variety of subjects and had I bought it previously, might not've made some of the choices I did.

This is an excellent book for learning to spin yarn. A lot is covered in this book, but it is not cumbersome. While taking spinning classes, I found it very helpful as added explanations to what I was learning - like my own personal tutor. This book was recommended to me and I, too, would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn to spin wool into yarn. It would also make a great reference source to someone who has learned to spin. Patterns are included to knit items with the yarn you spin.

I did not find this book as helpful as I had expected to. I guess if I was using a wheel, it would be better. But the instructions for using a hand spindle were pretty sketchy, I thought.

This is the best spinning book I have read. I have borrowed several other books from the library, including those by Judith Mackenzie McCuin and this is the only one that I actually BOUGHT. It is definitely worth owning. I love it. Clear explanations, good pictures, and overall a wonderful spinning book.

This is a wonderful book, especially for the new spinner. Great photographs to help identify the wheel components. There is a section on drop spindles and I found that information very helpful. So much fun I taught my granddaughter to do it! This is a great addition to my craft library.