Why I spin with a spindle instead of a spinning wheel
Last year, I spun at least 2500 yards of plied yarn using only spindles. I love spinning yarn without a wheel, I don't own a wheel, and I don't want one.
(I do own an Electric Eel Wheel e-spinner that I use exclusively for plying because I don't enjoy plying on spindles.)
In my experience, beginning spinners tend to see spindles as a necessary evil to learn the basics before buying a wheel. The typical path goes:
- buy a drop spindle.
- get really frustrated because it falls all the time.
- spin just enough yarn to know you enjoy spinning.
- buy a wheel.
More advanced spinners tend to say "that's so much spindle spinning!" when I share my work. But it's not "spindle spinning" to me, it's just spinning. I honestly think I get more spinning done on spindles than I would on a wheel.
I truly believe spindles can be the destination, not a pit stop along the way to a wheel, and they absolutely are the destination for me.
What spindles do I use?
I have a modest collection of spindles, including some Turkish spindles, some top-whorl drop spindles, a couple mini dealgans, and a spindle stick with removable bottom whorls for suspended spinning. But my absolute favorite spindles are my support spindles.
Honestly, I hardly ever use any of the spindles in the bottom row these days. It's all support spindles all the time.
Why I love spindle spinning
Spindles make spinning an incredibly portable hobby. I've spun in the car on long road trips, on the plane, in countless hotel rooms, and most recently on a backpacking trip in the Colorado wilderness.
I can spin with a cat on my lap and he isn't disturbed by my lap moving up and down as I treadle a wheel. (My cats do think drop spindles are toys, but they leave my support spindles alone.)
I can spin while reclining on the couch! No straight-backed spinning chairs for me!
Spindles are easy to pick up for a few minutes here and there. I don't need to sit down with a chunk of dedicated spinning time.
It takes very little set-up to get going, spindles take very little space, and they require next to no maintenance.
Each spindle on its own is also cheaper than a wheel, but let's not add up the cost of my entire collection.
Have I ever tried a spinning wheel?
Yes! When I first learned to spin, I borrowed a spinning wheel (the Ashford Kiwi 2) from my local library a couple times. I spun two full skeins of yarn on it, one two-ply lace weight and the other a three-ply fingering weight. I definitely prefer spindles for all of the reasons listed above!
Aren't spindles slow?
People commonly assume spinning with a spindle is slow. And sure, I imagine you can create more yards per minute of actual spinning time on a wheel, especially since you don't need to pause to wind the spun length on.
However, because I can pick up my spinning on spindles here and there throughout the day, which I wouldn't do with a wheel, the time it takes me to finish spinning a skein of yarn does not feel slow at all.
Okay, so what are the downsides?
Since I prefer support spindles, this does limit me to spinning only woolen or semi-woolen yarns. I have to use long draw to spin successfully on my support spindles. Because most of the fiber I want to spin is combed top, which is a prep for worsted spinning, I have to spin it from the fold to be able to spin comfortably and successfully.
Woolen spun yarns are not the best for all applications, which means it isn't practical to use my spindle-spun yarn for all things. But that's okay! I like to buy yarn, too!
Project showcase
I hope this post has inspired you to think about spindles differently and maybe even to give them a try. If you've ever wondered why you might want to spin with a spindle, or looked for reasons to use a spindle beyond learning the basics, I hope this helped.
In case you still thought spindles didn't make sense for large quantities of yarn, here are some large shawl projects I knit or wove from yarn spun entirely on spindles. 😊
