The Ideal Drop Spindle The drop spindle weight will rely on the kind of yarn you need to spin, like heavy spindle or heavy yarn. A drop spindle weighing more than 4 ounces, or similar to a medium-sized apple may be too heavy for regular use. The 1/2 ounce drop spindle weighs about the same as a walnut. When the threads are finished, they can be now dyed and treated with different chemicals so that shrinkage or unnecessary creasing is prevented, if not totally avoided, before they are woven into a particularly patterned fabric. Forming filaments The earliest tools which Natives used for forming filamentous substances into a thread that is continuous, is most probably the spindle and the distaff. Using a spindle Before anything else, the basics of using a spindle should be learned. Getting to spin with a spindle is not merely a stepping stone for spinning with wheels. Even if people have already mastered the skill of spinning, they still use spindles. What exactly is a spindle? A spindle is actually comprised of a whorl, which is basically a wide disc that gives the proper momentum and weight that are both necessary for a long spin. This will stabilize the yarn then balance the whorl spin. Bring the leader yarn back up over the whorl side then loop it on the hook. Leave 2 inches of yarn to begin the fiber on. Beginners are encouraged to spin on the spindle first, before progressing to spinning on the wheel. To Start Spinning You will need a few things to begin spinning. Once you get to the opposite end of the base, loop the string over to the side then weave again to the side where you started. Continue weaving over and under evenly, but now in the opposite position. More About the Process Keep weaving the yarn back and forth until everything is done and you are fully satisfied with the size of the colored stripes. The spinner sits and starts pumping the treadle by foot. The drivel wheel then turns through the crankshaft and a connecting rod. Both hands are then free for drafting the fibers, which is important in short-draw spinning. Short-draw spinning is the most basic technique used for the treadle wheel. A lot of modern wheels use a flyer-and-bobbin type that twists the yarn and winds the yarn onto a spool continuously.