Posted by robin siegel on Tuesday, 15 March 2005, at 1:58 p.m.:
In Reply to: electric v. manual spun yarn - apperance difference? posted by Jessc on Tuesday, 22 February 2005, at 2:07 p.m.:
Your spinning won't look different when using an electric spinner, you are still performing the same task, drawing the fiber out by hand and you are in charge of the rate of twist and the rate of take-up. What can happen though is getting sloppy by going too fast. You need to get used to the speed by gradually working up to higher speeds (actually this takes less time than you would think) and remember that you are still the one creating this yarn, nice stuff or inferior stuff, it's still up to you. You also have to consider that as you are applying the twist to your yarn, you are not dealing with twists per treadle as with a manual wheel, but you are dealing with twists per second, so time is the thing you are measureing against. If you find that you have trouble working at a regular rhythm to apply evenly distributed twist, I suggest using a metronome for keeping time. An inexpensive tool and readily available at music stores. Personally, I find spinning on an electric spinner to be wonderful for plying but very dull and uninspiring for spinning singles. I feel like an automaton, all the charm is gone out of what is normally a delightful hobby.