Posted by Maria Hummel on Monday, 25 August 2003, at 5:25 a.m.:
In Reply to: HELP US! WE NEED TO KNOW HOW TO MAKE STRING WITH COTTON WOOL! posted by Auscube on Sunday, 24 August 2003, at 11:43 p.m.:
Hi,
I do not know where you are or what resources you have, but you can spin cotton on a spindle or even just a stick with a metal hook on one end. Simply put the hook in the fibers, to catch some of them, pull just a little bit, roll the stick to twist the fibers until they are strong, pull a little bit, twist, pull a bit, twist, etc. When you have enough yarn that you can not spread your arms any more, then roll your yarn on the stick, wind the last of your yarn up to the hook, hook it and keep going. Pull, twist, pull, twist, pull, twist....wind, wind, wind, wind. When your stick is full, Put it to one side, make another one, and fill it. Then you have 2 sticks of yarn you can twist together. Twisting your yarns together is called plying. It makes your yarn stronger and thicker, but a little bit shorter. You will of course need another stick to ply with/onto.
You can use just one stick for all of this if you wind your yarn off of the stick and into a ball. Your stick is now empty and ready for more spinning or plying. Good luck,
Maria