Thursday, August 16, 2007

So THAT's Pre-Drafting...

A lot of people have mentioned the importance of "pre-drafting" fiber before spinning it, especially for beginners. And I did correctly understand the term to mean "loosening up the fiber" so that it is easier to draft while spinning. I gave it a few tugs, until I felt the fibers begin to separate, and then started spinning.

And then I read about pre-drafting in Spin to Knit. As it turns out, my understanding of pre-drafting was a little off. According to the book, this is how you pre-draft.

First, you pull off a strip of fiber from the roving. It looks like this:


Then, you pull it apart gently from side to side, to get this:

Finally, you stretch it vertically, to make a long, narrow tail-like creation, like this:

And then you can spin it.

And you know what? It works!

My yarn may still be uneven, but it's definitely much, much finer. Now, if I can just figure out how to get it off the bobbin without it untwisting...

10 comments:

...Sarah said...

Ooooo. Now I know too. By the way you really crack me up! What colour are you planning to dye it?

Anonymous said...

Excellent!!! Pre-drafting was a huge revelation to me too. It really makes all the difference.

Tammy said...

Great job! You'll be knitting sweaters from your handspun in no time. Or at least a scarf for starters!

Lydee said...

Awesome! That looks pretty good!

Olga said...

huh, never knew any of that. I don't know any of what I speak, and that won't stop me, but don't you spin it back wards to set the twist or something?

Karen said...

Wow, that looks great. Quite an improvement!

Romi said...

Very nice! :)

Jane said...

Looks great. Thanks for the great explanation. This is next on my list!

Haley said...

so impressed with how this is coming along. very nice.

Sarah said...

That looks great! How are you thinking of plying it?