Phoenix Knitting Forums

As mentioned in the Not Knitting thread, DH bought me an Ashford Traveller for Christmas (hurrah!!! ). He also bought me some uncarded fleece (1kg in total!) and some Ashford carders, but I need to get to grips with using the wheel first.

So.....

what fibre/roving's a good choice for a beginner? There seems to be a wealth of choice out there and to be honest, it's all a bit confuddling. I've got a bit of roving I bought when I got my drop spindle, but I can see that getting used up quite quickly as there's not a huge amount of it.

Also, are there any books you'd recommend, or is there enough info on YouTube/other websites?

Thanks in advance.

i started with corridale as it has a long staple lenght and trust me i needed it!

I bought some Falkland roving fromBlack Cat Fibres and it is excellent for a beginner on the wheel, 100g actually goes a long way and once fluffed up a bit Falkland is a joy to spin, it has a wonderfully long staple and isn't as super-fine (read: sheds stuff everywhere until you're used to it) as merino.

By "fluffed up" what I mean is you break off a length of about 6-12 inches and then gently pull it sideways until you get a wide web of fibre, the falkland expands about 4 to 5 times, this way when you spin it's all loose and easier to control. If it's hard to draft then try taking the piece and gently pulling it lengthways a small section at a time (usually a section is the length of the staple) and that will loosen the fibres for you.

When I started I was told to just sit and treadle until I could do something else at the same time. No fibre, just keep the wheel going steadily in one direction while talking to someone/watching a film/knitting something plain, that way when you come to drafting your foot already knows what to do and you have more "spare brain power" to dedicate to the drafting.

Don't worry if it comes out all different thicknesses down the length, it's normal! As you already know from spindle-spinning, practice makes perfect.

Also, try applying some bike lubricant to the bearings, any part where metal rubs on wood, the oil you put on the wood will lubricate that and the bike lubricant sees to the metal.

That's all the help I've been given and worked out for myself

Thanks Fluzz - I've just ordered some

You're doing better than me in that case! My biggest obstacle at the moment is having a 10-year-old and a 7-year-old who are both showing immense interest in the wheel and want a go

I would also suggest Corriedale or Falkland, both have good long staple, but buy undyed rather than falling in to the trap of getting pretty dyed rovings as dyed is often harder to cope with as a beginner than undyed. Then move onto the pretty hand dyed when you're feeling more confident that you can get an even yarn.

When you get the roving then, as Fluzz suggested, pull off a length then split it in half & half again so you start with a thinner piece, then give it a gentle tug along then length so that you get a feel for how it slides when you start to pull it out. As a beginner it's easier to spin a bit more evenly from a thin piece.

If you're practising treadling, try singing the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty to yourself to get an even rhythm & stop yourself treadling too fast & after the holidays find your nearest Guild where you will I'm sure find someone who will help you get started

Thanks for all your help I've now got 200g each of undyed Corriedale and Falkland on order!

A good practicing tip I was given to get used to the wheel itself - is to use any ball of yarn and feed it through as if you were spinning it. It helps you to get used to the pace and reaction of treadling and the pull of the wheel. I found it useful as it helped me to learn to stop without it flying in reverse!

Sadly I can't do any fibre spinning for a long while it wouldn't be good to get fibres flying up my nostrils after just having an op! Oooch....
Guess you will be watching out for the postman eagerly! Have fun

I'll have to remember this rhyming tip!