Just in time for the holidays, I thought I'd share some of the books that are currently sitting on my bookshelf. They are the books that taught me how to understand and use my spinning wheel!
These books are packed with tons of pictures that really helped me figure things out, as I am a visual learner myself. I must see it and do it myself for things to really start making sense, so if you are in the same boat these books will delight you!
Teach Yourself Visually Handspinning by Judith MacKenzie McCuin. This is the first book I bought when I first got interested in learning to spin. It's a very easy to understand, with clear instructions and good photos. It describes novelty spinning (sometimes called art yarns) and it has a chapter on working with exotic fibers which was helpful when I was working with alpaca and other interesting fibers for the first time.
The Intentional Spinner by Judith MacKenzie McCuin. This is a wonderful resource,with lots of information about fiber characteristics, different types of spinning (woolen vs. worsted) and more. It also talks about the history of spinning and gets into the technical aspects of things in a way that won't make your eyes cross and your brain go numb. (You can buy this book with a DVD included on Amazon, but I just have the book itself so I can't personally comment on the DVD.)
Having gotten a pretty good grasp on the basics, I'm always looking for new ideas, inspiration and techniques, so I turn to these books!
Spin Art: Mastering the Craft of Spinning Textured Yarn by Jacey Boggs. One of the newest out there, this book is incredible and inspires me with the beautiful photography and colors. It's filled with fun stuff to spin and teaches you how to make coils, bobbles and all sorts of funky art yarns. It comes with a DVD, too!
Hand Spun: New Spins on Traditional Techniques by Lexi Boeger. This is another fun book that talks about different techniques for making art yarn. It talks about how to card fibers to spin, has how to's and patterns for your unqiue yarns. I like that it includes Q & A with spinners like the creator of Pluckyfluff and Loop.
I hope this proves useful to anyone looking for information on the subject of handspinning and fiber arts. There are quite a few books on the subject, but these four are some of the best, in my personal opinion! That being said, there are quite a few books on this subject and as your learning style might differ from my own (a hands on, visual learner) I encourage you to seek out and read as many as you can!
These books are packed with tons of pictures that really helped me figure things out, as I am a visual learner myself. I must see it and do it myself for things to really start making sense, so if you are in the same boat these books will delight you!
Having gotten a pretty good grasp on the basics, I'm always looking for new ideas, inspiration and techniques, so I turn to these books!
I hope this proves useful to anyone looking for information on the subject of handspinning and fiber arts. There are quite a few books on the subject, but these four are some of the best, in my personal opinion! That being said, there are quite a few books on this subject and as your learning style might differ from my own (a hands on, visual learner) I encourage you to seek out and read as many as you can!
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