Spinning Singles
My aim for this project was to turn the Herdwick into a rug, utilising the softness of the fibre, while tapping into the hardwearing nature of the fibre that is utilised commercially. I used the jumbo flyer on my Ashford wheel, spinning torn strips of batt very loosely, letting the fibre draft how it wanted, slubs and all. After spinning fine yarn recently, this made a nice change, however I struggled at times to get the balance between tension and uptake on the wheel, particularly as the bobbin filled (the video below was filmed before I noticed that I’d left the orifice reducer in – I did take it out as soon as I noticed and it did make the uptake of slubby sections a little easier!)
Below is a video of some of the Herdwick spinning on the jumbo flyer:
Setting the Twist
Since I didn’t want to ply these skeins, I washed them in quite hot soapy water and gave them a little agitation in the hope that they would slightly felt together and become more hardy. The internet seems to suggest that Herdwick felts quite readily, however, I found that although several fibres were a little stuck together, it didn’t seem to be particularly felted. Since it was spun loose, the overcoat had a tendency to shed everywhere (I’m still finding bits of Herdwick around the house!), but the undercoat held together well and I imagine that spinning the fibres tighter would have anchored the shorter, coarser fibres in better.
Happy Spinning!
Loose Ends 