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🌀 Drop Spindle Spinning: (Top Whorl)

🧶 Step 1: Drafting

• Split wool top lengthwise into 8 sections
• Check staple length (length of fibres)
• Gently pull fibres along each piece to thin and even them out
• Wind up each drafted piece into a loose bundle (called roving)

🪢 Step 2: Starting Off

• Cut ~20 inches (ca. 51 cm) of drafted wool as your starter (leader yarn)
• Hook one end onto spindle
• With spindle hanging, roll shaft down your left leg (thigh to knee)
• “Park” spindle between knees, let twist travel up roving
• Repeat until twist runs through entire length
• Remove from hook, tie ends together
• Create a loop on shaft below whorl, twist up and hook over

🧵 Step 3: Spinning

• Hook roving to leader yarn
• Roll spindle down leg → park → let twist travel up roving
• Spin ~12 inches (ca. 30 cm) of yarn, unhook and wind onto shaft
• Hook yarn again and continue spinning
• When confident, drop spindle to spin freely
• Re-spin when it slows down
• Join new roving by:

• Overlapping and drafting together
• Twisting ends by hand
• Thinning and rubbing for smoother joins

🧶 Step 4: Plying

• Use 2 spun yarns to create a stronger strand
• Twist in the opposite direction of original spin
• Roll spindle down your other leg (usually right)
• Wind onto shaft as before
• Let yarn sit on spindle 24 hours to set twist
• Finish: roll into ball or wind into skein