I recently went shopping at a store that specializes in spinning fiber, and I was smitten by something that I was too intimidated to purchase: a huge bag filled with Blueface Leicester locks. So shiny! So gorgeous! So soft! But what the heck do you do with them?
The locks were not the same as raw fleece: they had already been scoured, and were clean and shiny and ready for spinning. They simply had not been combed or carded into the blended fiber that most of us are accustomed to spinning.
After returning home, I did some research. There are several ways you can handle full locks:
1. Card them into fiber.
If you have a drum carder, this is a great way to go. You can do it with hand cards too, but man, that is a lot of work. This is a great choice if you want to blend the locks with another fiber, or blend up the colors of dyed locks.
2. Hand-pick the locks apart and spin them up directly.
This is the most expedient way, and it works pretty well. You just fluff up the lock, spin it, then join on the next one.
There is a lot of debate about whether you should spin from the butt or the tip. The best answer is, as always, "it depends." Try it both ways and see what you think. It will vary based on the wool you are using, since each type has a different kind of scale or "tooth."
3. Corespinning or tail spinning
If you're into art yarn, and your wheel's orifice is big enough to take it (I'm sorry, I can't say that without giggling), locks are fun to use in these two methods. Corespinning winds a smaller thread around the locks (or vice versa). The locks retain their curl, and the tips are usually left to poke out and give it more texture.
Tail spinning is a similar technique where you only spin in the butt end of each lock, and the top part hangs loose. This creates a fun, fleecy yarn that would be great for edging.
Image courtesy Flickr/fuzzyballfibreart
0 comments