Book Review of Spin Control by Amy King

Learn Spinning Techniques to Produce Great Looking Yarns

Jun 12, 2009

Spin Control by Amy King will help spinners better understand yarns and their spinning wheels, to produce great looking yarns and take their spinning to the next level.

Spin Control by Amy King is a book for spinners of all experience levels. In addition to covering some of the basics of spinning, Amy King also discusses techniques for creating more unusual and fancy yarns.

The Challenges of Spinning

There is so much more to spinning than feeding fiber into the orifice of a spinning wheel and being amazed at what comes out the other end. However many spinners never progress from this point and the creation of beautiful yarns is often more by luck than judgment. While this isn't necessarily a problem - and many spinners enjoy the simple pleasure of spinning rather than planning their yarns – it does mean that some spinners miss out on the opportunity to create yarns to their own specification. Being able to plan yarn production takes the guess work out of spinning and can help to reduce wasting time, fiber and, of course, the frustration when the spinning of yarns doesn't go to plan.

About Spin Control by Amy King

In Spin Control, Amy King looks to address some of the fundamentals of spinning and to help the 'spontaneous spinner' understand how yarns are created. This basic background knowledge will take a spinner from simply producing the yarn that the fiber and spinning wheel produce, through to a spinner who can specify and plan yarn creation. This is useful for many reasons. It allows spinners to spin yarns for a specific project or to create yarns that replicate a commercial yarn. Spinning yarns that are 'fit for purpose' can avoid the disappointment of spending many hours spinning yarn only to find that it is unsuitable.

Spin Control is split into two broad sections. The first, Spinning Techniques, covers the essentials of spinning. This includes learning the difference between woolen and worsted yarns, the importance of fiber preparation and different drafting techniques. The second section, Let's Make Some Yarns, explores the features of a range of different yarn types and how they are spun. The book ends with a look at less traditional techniques and the creation of novelty yarns.

Reading Spin Control is like having a personal spinning tutor. Amy King has an engaging writing style and describes even relatively difficult techniques in easy to understand terms. She provides many helpful hints and tips throughout the book.

There are many excellent quality photos and illustrations throughout Spin Control and this will help visual learners to really understand the different concepts. For instance, while many spinners will know that the twist in single ply yarns forms a bias in knitting (but, interestingly, not in crochet), actually seeing this presented in illustrative form makes the issue much clearer. In addition to illustrating the text, many of the photographs also provide inspiration.

Conclusion

Spin Control is an excellent all round spinning book. The word 'control' is extremely apt. Amy King seeks to give spinners control over their spinning, allowing spinners to create specific yarns. This is an excellent book for both beginner and more experienced spinners who are yet to truly master the control of their spinning.

Further Information

Amy King runs Spunky Eclectic, selling yarns, fibers and supplies. Amy also keeps a blog on the Spunky Eclectic website. More information about Spin Control can be found on the Interweave Press website. This includes a preview feature that allows readers to view a few pages from the book before buying.

More Fiber Related Book Reviews at Suite101

The copyright of the article Book Review of Spin Control by Amy King in Craft Books is owned by Kate Pullen. Permission to republish Book Review of Spin Control by Amy King in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.