This year's Tour de Fleece ended last Sunday, and already I'm looking forward to next year's. It's a time when we can challenge ourselves and try new things - things we wouldn't normally have time for.
The last little challenge I set myself was to try and perfect coreless core spinning. Same principle as core spinning, but without a pre-spun core. I still had some of the baby alpaca left that I dyed for the first attempt at core spinning, so I added a bit of lichen-dyed merino and carded it into batts ready for spinning.
There's a bit of sparkle in there too.
I started off a bit shaky, but soon found I actually like this method better than ordinary core spinning.
So, how do you core spin without a core? Easy - create the core as you spin. You just separate a small portion of your fleece and let some spin enter before wrapping the rest of the fleece around it. Simples!! Well, it took a bit of getting used to. It's actually not as easy as people make it look on youtube videos.
By this point, I'd improved quite a lot. The trick is not to put too much twist in the fibre - just enough to hold it together. The finished yarn was still a bit twisty and energetic, but a whole lot better than the core spun. Think this will be my favourite method in the future . . . and there will be more of this, I really want to get it right so need more practice.
Core spinning and coreless core spinning usually come under the umbrella of "art yarn" - don't think I'm quite there yet though, mine's more "scribble" than "art"!!
The last little challenge I set myself was to try and perfect coreless core spinning. Same principle as core spinning, but without a pre-spun core. I still had some of the baby alpaca left that I dyed for the first attempt at core spinning, so I added a bit of lichen-dyed merino and carded it into batts ready for spinning.
There's a bit of sparkle in there too.
I started off a bit shaky, but soon found I actually like this method better than ordinary core spinning.
So, how do you core spin without a core? Easy - create the core as you spin. You just separate a small portion of your fleece and let some spin enter before wrapping the rest of the fleece around it. Simples!! Well, it took a bit of getting used to. It's actually not as easy as people make it look on youtube videos.
By this point, I'd improved quite a lot. The trick is not to put too much twist in the fibre - just enough to hold it together. The finished yarn was still a bit twisty and energetic, but a whole lot better than the core spun. Think this will be my favourite method in the future . . . and there will be more of this, I really want to get it right so need more practice.
Core spinning and coreless core spinning usually come under the umbrella of "art yarn" - don't think I'm quite there yet though, mine's more "scribble" than "art"!!
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