Yarn Spinning with a Modern Twist

Publisher’s Weekly, 11/17/22

The colorful debut from spinner Kroening teaches crafters how to make yarn using a drop spindle. The author breaks down how to use the simple instrument to turn raw fleece into thread, helping readers get started with advice on how to choose a fleece (matted wool is hard to spin, and kemp doesn’t dye well), clean it (tease the fibers apart and soak them in warm water), and card it (she prefers using a blending board, which resembles a small easel with sharp-toothed tines on it). Step-by-step photos show how to use the spindle, which dangles in the air from a strand of wool that tightens into yarn as one spins the tool. The author’s variations on drop spindle technique are a highlight, showing how to incorporate beads, sequins, and other embellishments. She also shows how to adjust the way one feeds wool to the spindle to create different yarn textures; for example, intermittently adjusting the angle of one’s wrist downward as one pushes the wool creates a “thick-and-thin” thread that leaves tufts in the yarn. The bounty of photos ensure readers will know how every step should look, and Kroening’s knowledge of the craft impresses. This makes yarn spinning easy.


Library Journal

“Here expert spinner Kroening (TheSpinnersStash.com) shares her love of spinning wool. She presents spinning as a relaxing way of creating one’s own yarn and implies that using a drop spindle is all one needs to do it. She opens with sharing information about wool, but then her presentation becomes much more detailed and complicated. Spinning wool, in fact, requires many steps, which Kroening illustrates and explains clearly. The drop spindle is only one of several tools needed to spin wool. The author presents each tool that can be used and shows how to use it, but she does not recommend the best vendors for purchasing wool or tools.
VERDICT This book may be intimidating for readers who have no experience with or easy access to raw wool. It is geared much more to those who are already spinning wool and seeking more specialized advice.”