Spin Dye Stitch: How to Create and Use Your Own Yarns [Paperback]

Jennifer Claydon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2009

Spin Dye Stitch features everything the fiber artist needs to know to turn wool roving into beautiful one-of-a-kind handspun yarn and dyed fibers. Instead of a boring ?how-to? book, author Jennifer Claydon shows you how to work with the fibers in a practical format, with clear step-by-step photos and beautiful projects featuring knitting, weaving, embroidery and needle felting.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jennifer Claydon?s passion for the fiber arts began at age six when she picked up her first pair of knitting needles. While she is currently focused on spinning and knitting, her diverse experiences in the fiber arts also include dying, weaving, quilting, felting, embroidery and embellishment, crochet and lace-making. Jennifer works as an editor for the Krause Publications craft team where she finds unending inspiration for her work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 1 edition (July 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600611559
• ISBN-13: 978-1600611551
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #362,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Wonderful, Fabulous Book for Beginners, September 8, 2009

By 

K. Anderson "andersox" (Aliso Viejo, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spin Dye Stitch: How to Create and Use Your Own Yarns (Paperback)

I cannot say enough good things about this book.

What I love about this book:

- Step-by-step instructions for spinning on a spindle and spinning on a wheel.
- Instructions for plying yarn.
- Instructions for setting and storing handspun yarn.
- Troubleshooting for handspun yarn.
- Step-by-step instructions for single-color dying on the stove, in a crockpot, and in a microwave.
- Step-by-step instructions for multiple-color dying on the stove, in a crockpot, and in a microwave.
- Instructions for making handpainted yarns.
- Clear photographs that illustrate every step of every technique.

What I don't love: the knitting projects are kind of lame, but they're a great jumping off point for the type of projects a newbie spinner should consider for handspun yarn. Quite frankly, I'd search Ravelry for "bulky yarn" for more inspired knitting projects.

What other people might not love: this isn't for an intermediate/advanced spinner, dyer, or knitter unless you want to teach a class and want to use it either as a textbook or how to break down steps for beginners.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I get it, July 13, 2010

By 

C. Gervasio (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spin Dye Stitch: How to Create and Use Your Own Yarns (Paperback)

I'm an experienced knitter, but never understood why anyone would want to spin their own yarn. Well, after reading this book, watching a video (Start Spinning: The Video Presented By Maggie Casey with Eunny Jang) and a little practice, I spun six yards on a drop spindle. It's a nice, balanced, lumpy, two-ply yarn. Now I understand why a knitter would want to spin.

Here's what I like about this book:
* Spin Dye Stitch reinforces what I learned on the video. It's like the smartest student in class took notes from a lecture and captured all of the important parts. So this book is a great reference.
* Jennifer Claydon explains how to fix mistakes. Just like any beginner, bad things happened when I tried spinning. But with the clear pictures and text, I was able to fix my mistakes (mostly broken fiber and kinks during plying).
* There are projects that use very few yards of handspun yarn, sometimes combined with commercial yarns. There are knitting projects, which appeal to me, but also simple weaving projects and other craft projects.
* There is a beautiful gallery of handspun yarns which shows the fiber that the yarn was spun from as well as the finished yarn. The author even includes pictures of her first yarns.
* The pictures are so good that they gave me a sense of the movement for each step. Each step is explained in words and pictures.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars spinners out look on this book, January 2, 2011

By 

Misty L. Chandle "bookdragon" (western Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spin Dye Stitch: How to Create and Use Your Own Yarns (Paperback)

this book is fabulas for the beginer spinner or some one just getting to indie dyeing ~ .
I am advaced spinner dyer and i find the info a refresher course !