A drop spindle lets you turn prepared wool into yarn a short length at a time. The challenge is coordinating three actions: drawing out fiber, adding twist and winding the yarn away. You do not have to learn all three at once. Starting with the spindle stopped between drafting movements makes the process easier to understand.
This guide covers choosing a spindle, setting up with wool and practising a first length of yarn. It is a modern educational resource, not the former farm’s store page. We do not sell or describe its historical Drop Spindles products, and no personal testing or spinning experience is claimed.
Choose a spindle for the yarn you want to make
A drop spindle hangs from the yarn while it turns; a supported spindle rests on a surface. This distinction matters when following a demonstration. Start with instructions for the type of tool you actually have.
Balance and weight come before decoration
A spindle should rotate smoothly rather than wobble markedly. Schacht’s beginner spindle guide identifies balance and weight as key buying considerations: lighter spindles suit finer yarn, while heavier ones suit thicker yarn. Its suggested beginner weight is a recommendation for its own range, not a universal rule.
Ask the maker what wool and yarn thickness the spindle is intended for. If buying in person, ask to see it spinning with a leader attached. Online, look for the actual weight, clear photographs of the hook or yarn fastening, and instructions. A decorative photograph alone does not tell you how a tool handles.
Top whorl or bottom whorl?
The whorl is the weighted part around the shaft. A top-whorl spindle carries it near the top, with wound yarn generally below it. A bottom-whorl spindle carries it lower down, with wound yarn above it. The wound bundle of yarn is called the cop.
In Spin Off’s guide featuring Maggie Casey and Abby Franquemont, low-whorl designs are described as relatively stable, while high-whorl designs need care as yarn accumulates. Weight distribution also matters: rim-weighted designs tend toward longer, slower spins; center-weighted designs toward faster, shorter spins. Whorl position alone cannot predict every spindle’s behavior.
For a first purchase, prioritize a tool with clear instructions and a fastening you understand. There is little benefit in comparing dozens of designs before you have tried controlling fiber and twist. Borrowing a spindle or trying one in a lesson can help you identify preferences before buying.
Start with prepared wool and a manageable setup
Gather your spindle, a short length of sturdy yarn for a leader, and a small amount of prepared sheep’s wool. Choose fiber that separates readily when gently drawn out. Schacht recommends opening dense roving or top before spinning, with hands roughly a staple length apart. Holding both ends of the same fibers too closely makes drafting difficult.
Keep only a manageable supply in your hand and set the rest aside. A pale, plain-colored preparation can make the developing strand easier to inspect. Choose a seat and working height that let you pause comfortably, with a clear space beneath the spindle.
Washed fleece is not necessarily prepared spinning fiber. If you are starting from a fleece rather than ready-prepared wool, our raw vs washed wool fiber guide explains the work that may remain. The wool fiber overview helps you choose the preparation stage that matches your interests.
Practise drafting before suspending the spindle
Drafting means drawing fibers out into a narrower supply. Try this with a small section of wool before adding the spindle. Then twist the drawn-out portion between your fingers and notice how it holds together. Keep the undrafted supply loose in your other hand.
Use this short exercise to find a comfortable hand position, not to make a perfect thread. If nothing moves, pause and check your grip and hand spacing. Practise releasing a few fibers at a time instead of pulling harder. Stop before your hands become tense.
Attach a leader, then use park and draft
Secure a yarn leader to the shaft and route it through the spindle’s hook or fastening according to the maker’s instructions. The route differs between designs. A loop at the working end can hold a wispy end of wool folded back into the fiber supply.
The Paradise Fibers park-and-draft lesson separates making twist from drawing out wool. For a first clockwise-spun single:
- Add twist. Pinch near the fiber supply and turn the spindle clockwise. Keep the unprepared mass out of the twist.
- Park. Stop and hold the shaft securely, for example between your knees while seated. Prevent it from reversing.
- Draft. Draw out a short section while your pinching fingers keep twist below that section.
- Release the twist. Ease the pinch so stored twist moves into the drafted wool. Keep control of the next undrafted section.
- Repeat and wind on. Add more twist when needed. Store completed yarn on the shaft and fasten the working length again before continuing.
Keep using the same rotation direction for this single. Move to drafting with the spindle turning only when you can comfortably identify what each hand is doing. Park-and-draft remains useful whenever you need to slow down or repair a join.
Troubleshoot one symptom at a time
The Joy of Handspinning’s spindle instructions cover joining, twist problems and winding on. Use these checks before changing your whole setup:
- The strand separates: support the spindle and check for insufficient twist or an overly thin section carrying its weight. Open the separated fiber ends, overlap them and allow twist through the join. Test gently before suspending the tool.
- Wool will not draft: check whether twist has entered the fiber supply. Stop and ease that twist out before drawing more fiber.
- There is an unwanted thick spot: while the spindle is supported, reduce twist locally so the fibers can move, then draft and retwist. You can also leave an uneven first sample as a record.
- The spindle becomes unstable as it fills: inspect the cop and consider winding off. Yarn adds weight; the loaded spindle will not behave exactly like the empty one.
Change one thing, make another short section and compare it with the previous one. Switching fiber, spindle and technique together makes it harder to understand what helped. Keep an early sample labeled with the fiber and spindle used.
Turn the practice yarn into a useful sample
Wind off without letting the yarn tangle. If you choose to ply, combine singles in the opposite direction to their original twist. Schacht’s lesson also covers skeining and wet finishing. Follow a finishing method appropriate to your wool, then assess the yarn after it is dry.
Before assigning a project, examine the joins and variation, and make a small swatch. Our handspun wool yarn guide helps connect the yarn you have made with project requirements. Record what you want to change in the next sample: thickness, consistency or comfort while drafting. One clear practice goal is enough for the next session.