In this blog I am going to briefly discuss the main drafting methods in hand spinning, how you do them, and the resulting yarn; you can obtain more detailed information from various books and videos. This is probably of most interest to spinners, but good for folks who knit or crochet so you can better understand the handspun yarn you may utilize.
The main terms that will be discussed are Worsted and Woolen. A worsted preparation yields a yarn that is smooth and dense with luster. It will have good stitch definition, is not fuzzy and will not pill as much as other yarns and generally has good drape. It will also not be as warm as other yarns - as the yarn has less air in it.
To make a pure worsted yarn you would use combed top with either a short forward draft or a short backward draft and have no twist between your hands. (You can use roving, instead of combed top; some would say this is then a semi-worsted yarn.) For the short forward draft (sometimes called inchworm), your wheel/forward hand pulls the fiber forward and then the wheel hand slides back over the fiber smoothing the yarn; no twist is allowed to enter between your hands. The draft distance should be 3/4 of the staple length (or shorter) and should be consistent for each draft. For a short backward draft, the back/fiber hand pulls the fiber backwards (pulling back 3/4 of the staple length or shorter, consistently for each draft) and the wheel hand moves down the fiber smoothing it out. Again, there is no twist between the two hands. Backward draft can be less consistent than short forward – as it can be harder to get the distance of draft the same, but this does depend on the person. Some find the backward draft more relaxing than the short forward draft (and perhaps less monotonous).
The next major change moving along the worsted- woolen spectrum is to let twist in rather than smoothing the yarn. This adds more loft and airiness to your yarn and the yarn looks fuzzier. Letting twist in is called a woolen preparation. The fiber used can either be combed top or roving; roving (carded) fiber will give you a loftier yarn than combed top as the fibers are not all aligned. This can be done with either a short forward draft or a short backward draft. For a short forward draft, simply pull forward (again pull/draft 3/4 or less of the staple length and endeavor to draft consistently) and then let go of the fiber with your wheel hand and let the twist in. Then repeat by grabbing to pull forward where your yarn becomes fiber. For a backward draft, you simply pull the fiber backwards with your fiber hand (3/4 of the staple length or less, being consistent) and release your wheel hand to let the twist into the yarn. For this technique, there is usually not much difference between drafting forward or drafting backwards. (Although, foreshadowing the last major technique, many use the backward draft.)
The last major technique, the epitome of the woolen method, is called Long Backward or Long Draw. Long draw can be a faster way to spin and is ideal for carded roving and shorter fibers. It produces the loftiest, airiest, softest, most fuzzy yarn. (And will have less twist than a worsted yarn.) The recommendation is to use roving/carded fiber. To start: pinch the fiber with the wheel hand, pull back with the fiber hand, let go with the wheel hand to let twist in; continue to pinch (in the same spot), pull back and let go; when you pinch you provide friction to pull against; it really doesn’t matter where you pinch. When you pull back, you are drafting; when you let go, twist runs up the yarn to the draft and twist goes in. After you have done this awhile and are a ways back with the fiber hand, let the yarn go onto the bobbin and repeat the procedure.
Plying and finishing are different for worsted versus woolen yarns. For a worsted yarn, inconsistencies in the singles can show more obviously in the ply – so try to fix issues as you spin. For a woolen yarn, you can fix issues as you ply. For example, with a woolen yarn if you see a thicker spot of yarn in your ply, roll your fingers to compress the yarn and make it thinner. For finishing, for a worsted yarn the general technique is to soak in hot water approximately 20 minutes (and you can provide a little bit of friction by squeezing it), then snap the yarn between your hands a few times, roll in a towel to remove excess moisture and hang to dry. For a woolen yarn, you will need a bowl of hot water and cold water. Put the yarn in the hot water and squeeze a few times, then go to the cold water; squeeze the cold water out and then back to the hot water. Then repeat this 2 to 5 times. Then snap the yarn between your hands, twack it (to help redistribute twist), roll in a towel and hang to dry.
This was a real quick overview of woolen versus worsted and I did not discuss a lot of items - e.g. how to make your yarn thicker or thinner, whorl size to use, etc. I also avoided (mostly) using terms like semi-worsted and semi-woolen. Instead, when describing your yarn, it is best to describe the specific technique you used, the fiber preparation (e.g. combed top or roving/carded fiber) and the nature of the fiber (e.g. Merino, mohair). And I discussed the pure techniques; many spinners have evolved to some combination of the techniques that they feel comfortable with. Following is a summary of the spectrum of yarns:
# Smoothing – big part of a worsted yarn; short forward draft probably a bit more even than short backward; both produce shiny, even yarns
# Not smoothing, i.e. letting twist goes in, gets to a more woolen yarn; yarn is fuzzier and airier
# Roving helps makes yarns that are airier, loftier than combed top
# For woolen, whether we draft forward or backward does not matter as much as we are not smoothing
# Short forward or short backward and not smoothing, letting twist in, is a stepping stone to long draw; this is sometimes called the “poor man’s” long draw
# The fiber you use will make a difference in the characteristics. And saying semi-worsted or semi-woolen may not convey what was done; better to discuss the drafting technique and fiber used.
At Withers Wool we have roving and batts, both carded fiber. However, the roving from the different mills we have used can have different characteristics. For example, roving from one mill may be fairly linear (and close to combed top) while roving from another mill may have many more cross-fibers and be a classic carded fiber.
I will occasionally change my spinning technique to produce a different yarn. That is, for a smooth liner roving, I will generally use short forward draft to produce an even, dense, lustrous yarn while with a roving (or batt) with lots of cross fibers, I will occasionally use the short backward draft letting twist in to yield an airy, lofty, fuzzy yarn.
David showing excellent Long Draw technique at an informal workshop at Withers Wool