Master the Fundamentals of Handspinning Quickly and Easily

Go from confused and confounded at your wheel to comfortable and calm, using proven frameworks that have helped hundreds of spinners make more yarns they love.

You want to make your own yarn

And you’ve picked a great time to learn to spin. Right now is the best time in history to be a spinner. Never before have spinners had access to the enormous range of excellent tools and high-quality materials that we have at our fingertips. 

But with all those possibilities come choices. Spindle or wheel? If you picked spindle, do you choose high-whorl, low whorl, Turkish, Russian, or Tibetan? If you picked wheel, do you choose an e-spinner or a more traditional treadle wheel? Should you get Scotch tension, Irish tension, or double drive? (And what do those terms even mean?)

And what about fiber? Should you start with wool, silk, cotton, or linen? If you picked wool, which wool? Is Corriedale, Cormo, or Cotswold best for a beginner? Should you get combed top or carded roving? (And what’s the difference anyway?)

And who’s going to guide your spinner’s journey? YouTube and social media are chock full of folks offering spinning advice. How do you choose among them? Who can you trust to give you truly useful advice in a form and format that you can access and understand? 

If you’re trying to learn to spin and you’re feeling overwhelmed, that is completely understandable.

five different kinds of spinning fiber in Sheepspot's brand colors or orange and teal.

As an aspiring spinner, you should be making yarn you love and can’t wait to use. But if you’re like most of the new and self-taught spinners we know, you’re probably feeling frustrated, discouraged, and confused about how to move past the lumpy-bumpy “art” yarn stage and toward spinning with ease, enjoying the process, and feeling proud of your yarn.

Do any of these sound familiar?

Instead of experiencing spinning as relaxing and fun, you may be: 

  • frustrated with your wheel, because, to be honest, you don’t completely understand how it works or how to help it help you make the yarn you want

  • unsure about whether the fiber you’re working with is even appropriate for a spinner at your stage of the journey

  • confused about all the drafting methods you’ve read or heard about, stumped as to how to actually get your hands to perform those drafts, and baffled about how different drafts affect your yarn

  • befuddled by how to ply your yarn without ending up in a giant tangle

  • guilty about the money you’ve already spent because you just don’t seem to be able to “get” this whole spinning thing

  • stuck, because you don’t know what to do to get better

An extreme close-up of handspun yarn in Sheepspot's brand colors of orange and teal

I know exactly how all that feels. Because when I started spinning, I was terrible at it.

I was using the wrong wheel, trying to spin the wrong fiber, and trying to learn from the wrong teacher. I had no idea that there were different ways to spin–I was having enough trouble with my own made-up drafting method. My every attempt at plying ended with me and my yarn in a jumble. And I had no idea what I should be focusing on or in what order. 

After a grim encounter with some beautiful, hand-dyed Merino wool, which I could not spin for the life of me, I came very close to packing it in—just a few days after I bought my first wheel.

But I’m stubborn, so that’s when I got serious. I read spinning books and blogs. I listened to fiber podcasts. I took every spinning class I could find. 

And everything about my yarn and my yarnmaking experience changed. 

Now, fifteen years later, I can spin any yarn I can imagine. 

What made the difference for me? Clarity.

Clarity about the shape of spinning know-how as a rich and complex body of knowledge. Clarity about how to break that body of knowledge into pieces and work on one thing at a time.

I realized that the totality of spinning skill and knowledge can be broken down into what I call the Pillars of Skillful Spinning™—things like befriending your tools, mastering a range of drafting techniques, and developing a set of practices around plying that will ensure your success every time.

And, based on my own experience and those of my students,  I developed a framework for understanding the path that the most masterful spinners take on their way to becoming skilled, knowledgeable, and versatile yarn makers. I call this The Spinner's Journey™.

A diagram of Sheepspot's proprietary framework, The Spinner's Journey™

The Pillars of Skillful Spinning™ and The Spinner's Journey™ are a one-two punch that have allowed me to create a spinning curriculum that will take you step by step through the fundamentals without frustration, overwhelm, or decision fatigue. 

I’ve distilled that curriculum into a five-month course on the fundamentals of handspinning called Spin School.

Spin School will allow you to:

thoroughly understand your wheel and know exactly how to set it up so that it will help you make the yarn you want

know which fibers are beginner-friendly, so that you can sidestep the frustration of fighting with your fiber

become adept at several different drafting techniques, so that you can make yarns with a variety of characteristics

know everything you need to know to ply your yarns successfully every time

rest assured that you can get the most out of whatever fiber you choose to spin

get unstuck and stay that way; by the end of Spin School, you’ll know exactly how to take the next steps in your journey

Imagine sitting down with some beautiful fiber, choosing the drafting method that will give you a yarn with the characteristics you want, making some quick adjustments on your wheel, spinning lovely consistent singles at just the right diameter, plying them easily and proficiently, and ending up with a yarn you’re shout-from-the-rooftops proud of and can’t wait to use. 

Spin School can get you there.

A closeup photo of handspun yarns in blues and warm grays.

But you don’t have to take my word for it.

Here’s what Spin School students have said about their experience in the course:

  • “Great lessons and easy to follow. Step by step process to become a great spinner.”

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What’s Inside Spin School

So what is Spin School, and how can it help you master the fundamentals of making your own yarn?

Spin School covers 7 of the Pillars of Skillful Spinning™ and is designed to get you through the excitement and commitment stages quickly and easily.

  • Whatever kind of wheel you have, if you and you’re wheel aren’t sympatico, it’s almost impossible to make good yarn. And a wheel that has been misassembled, needs lubrication or replacement parts, or isn’t adjusted properly is guaranteed to turn spinning into a frustrating chore. That’s not what I want for you.

    You’ll learn everything you need to know about how your wheel works and how to turn it into a yarn-making ally instead of an arch-nemesis. Working with an e-spinner, like the Electric Eel Nano? No worries! We’ll cover both treadle wheels and e-spinners in this module.

    Module 1 Highlights:

    • Learn the parts of your wheel and what they do

    • Check to make sure your wheel has been assembled correctly (!)

    • Understand the different ways wheels can work (a/k/a the different “drive systems”) and their advantages and disadvantages

    • Learn how to adjust the take up tension on your wheel

    • Understand the importance of twist and how to set up your wheel to achieve the twist you want

    • Learn how to maintain your wheel

  • Drafting is the process of choosing how much fiber your wheel will twist together to create yarn, and how you draft makes a huge difference in the characteristics of your yarn. In this module, you’ll how to draft in a variety of ways and how to choose a drafting method that will produce the yarn you want.

    Module 2 Highlights:

    • Know and understand the difference between “woolen” and “worsted” yarns (and why it matters)

    • Know which fiber is most appropriate for new spinners

    • Learn how to set up your wheel for drafting success

    • Learn how to do a short forward and short backward draft

    • Take a deeper dive into twist

    • Learn how to spin “from the fold”—and why you might want to

    • Identify and troubleshoot common drafting problems

    • Bonus lesson: supported long draw

  • When we ply, we twist together two or more strands of yarn in the direction opposite that in which they were spun; this balances the yarn’s twist and makes it stronger and more user-friendly. In this module, you’ll establish good plying habits and learn how to make two- and three-ply yarns with consistent ply twist throughout your skein.

    Module 3 Highlights:

    • Learn about the tools you’ll need to ply easily and successfully, and how to use them

    • Learn the mechanics of plying

    • Understand how much twist your plied yarn should have

    • Ensure even ply twist by counting your treadles

    • Learn and experiment with different ways of finishing your yarns

    • Know when to choose one yarn structure over another

    • Identify and address common plying problems

    • Bonus lesson: chain plying and low-twist singles yarns

  • In this module, you’ll learn why you should start using your handspun yarns to create cloth as soon as possible (yes, your yarns, right away)! You’ll also discover how to measure your yarns, so you can substitute them for commercial yarns easily. I’ll share some of my own handspun projects and show you exactly how to use Ravelry’s huge pattern library to find the best options for projects using your handspun.

    Module 4 Highlights:

    • Learn how to gather crucial information about your handspun yarns

    • See sample handspun projects

    • Use Ravelry’s advanced pattern search to choose the best patterns for your yarn

    • Start a handspun project of your own

    • Bonus lesson: Designing a yarn for a specific project

  • We begin this module with an overview of the wide range of plant and animal fibers available to spinners before diving deeper into the enormous variety of sheep and their wool. You’ll also learn about how fiber is prepared for spinning, and how to spin each of the fiber preparations widely available to handspinners.

    Module 5 Highlights:

    • Learn about what can you spin (hint: lots of things!)

    • Learn why wool is the best fiber to start with

    • Become familiar with different types of sheep and wool

    • Understand how wool is processed and prepared for spinning

    • Learn how to spin roving, batts, and rolags

So how much does Spin School cost?

Spin School includes: 

  • five carefully crafted modules on wheel mechanics, drafting, plying, finishing, using your handspun, understanding fiber, and understanding fiber preparation (a $1365 USD value)

  • access to Spin School for as long as I offer the course, and to any updates and additions I make to the class

  • weekly emails to encourage you and keep you engaged in the class when life starts life-ing ($100 value)

  • access to a private, moderated, ad-free online-community ($125 value) 

  • two monthly office hours where you can ask questions and get answers from me and my team ($750 value)

  • the Spin School workbook ($70 value)

  • preferred pricing for The Guild, Sheepspot’s membership for intermediate and advanced handspinners ($50)

That’s a total value of $2460 USD. 

But you can enroll in Spin School for $600 USD

Think about how much it would cost you (in money and time) to figure all this out for yourself

With time, patience, and money, you could figure this whole spinning thing out yourself. After all, that’s what I did.

Here’s exactly how I did it: 

  • I took every in-person spinning class I could. Often this involved a three-hour drive in each direction and an overnight stay (or two). Sometimes I even flew across the continent to take classes. 

  • I enrolled in every video and online course I could. 

  • I bought and devoured every book on spinning I could find.

  • I created a podcast about learning to spin.

  • I drove long distances (10-14 hours) to fiber festivals to gather tools and materials.

  • I spun daily for at least an hour. For years. 

Granted, I was obsessed—and determined. So I didn’t mind spending all my free time and all my discretionary income on spinning. (And, as a professional academic researcher, learning new things was right in my wheelhouse.) 

Most of the time I loved it.

But if I’m honest, there were also lots of times I felt uncertain and alone. 

And I didn’t know then what I do now: that sometimes the tiniest conceptual shift or tweak to technique can make a huge and immediate difference, both in the process of spinning and to the product. 

With access to those shifts and tweaks, I would have gotten where I wanted to go much sooner. Not having access to them meant that I definitely took the long way around. 

Add to that time the time I spent unlearning bad habits and the money I spent on gorgeous fiber that I turned into decidedly meh yarns. 

In short, going it alone for me required major investments of both time and money. I probably spent ten times the cost of Spin School on travel and lodging alone. 

Here’s one thing I know for sure: if someone had offered me a comprehensive course on the fundamentals of spinning for less then $4 a day, I would have jumped at it.

Spin School opens twice a year, in October and April.

Will you take the first step to becoming a skillful, versatile, and knowledgeable spinner? Or will you put your dream of learning to spinning well on the back burner (again)?

Spin School includes:

  • five carefully crafted modules on wheel mechanics, drafting, plying, finishing, using your handspun, understanding fiber, and understanding fiber preparation (a $1365 USD value)

  • access to Spin School for as long as I offer the course, and to any updates and additions I make to the class

  • weekly emails to encourage you and keep you engaged in the class when life starts life-ing ($100 value)

  • access to a private, moderated, ad-free online-community ($125 value) 

  • two monthly office hours where you can ask questions and get answers from me and my team ($750 value)

  • the Spin School workbook ($70 value)

  • preferred pricing for The Guild, Sheepspot’s membership for intermediate and advanced handspinners ($50 value)

That’s a total value of $2460 USD.

But there are a couple of additional bonuses I haven’t told you about yet: 

  • the Jumpstart Your Spinning mini-course, which gives you five immediately-actionable ways to move the needle on your spinning fast ($100 value)

  • the Get Your Mind Right mini-course, to help you develop a growth mindset and vanquish the five biggest mindset blocks I’ve seen in my students that prevent them from making progress ($100 value)

These two essential mini-courses bring the value of Spin School up to $2660. 

Pay in Full (and save 15%)

$600

Pay in Five Installments of

$138

Try Spin School Risk-Free

Spin School comes with a 14-day guarantee.

You will receive all of module 1 and have two weeks to watch the lessons and do the exercises.

If you decide the course isn’t for you, let us know within 14 days. Show us you’ve put in the work, and we’ll refund your investment.

You can find full details of the refund policy here.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Absolutely! I created Spin School with brand-new spinners in mind and you can rest assured that these materials have already helped lots of spinners get started and progress quickly toward making yarns they love.

  • First of all, let’s celebrate the fact that you’re already spinning, and that you’ve had the determination to get started on your own! 🥳

    Many self-taught spinners have already benefitted from these materials, so yes, this course is for you. Spin School will fill in important gaps in your knowledge and ensure that you understand best practices and build good habits. You’ll get where you want to go much faster and more easily than you would going it alone.

  • You’ll need a wheel in good working order, three bobbins, some inexpensive wool to practice with, a lazy kate, and a niddy noddy. I highly recommend that you invest as well in some storage bobbins and a bobbin winder, and a notebook to store your notes on course materials and spinning projects.

  • No. A new module is released every month for five months, so you’ll be able to focus on just one thing at a time, and you’ll have plenty of implementation time to do the homework for each lesson. I’ve found that this is the best way for students to quell overwhelm and build a solid foundation in each topic we cover.

  • Great question. You’ll get the lessons for each module on the first of the month. Expect watching the lessons and doing the homework to take 2-3 hours per week.

A picture of Sasha Torres wearing a blue and cream flora dress

Spinning isn’t magic . . .

Let me let you in on a secret. I don’t teach spinning because I’m passionate about twist angle, achieving the perfect grist, or the wonders of wool (though I am). 

I teach spinning because I want to share what I get from spinning: a foolproof way to quiet my sometimes-overactive brain, endless occasions to practice self-compassion, and regular opportunities to do battle with the perfectionism that drives me to work way too much.

I teach spinning because I deeply believe that spinning makes us better. Spinning invites us not just to do but also to be: to be creative, to be in the present, to be connected to the generations and generations of spinners that came before us. To hear ourselves think in this noisy world. To rest. To refill our cups so we can serve others from the saucer. To fail sometimes and to keep going.

I want you to tap into all that spinning has to offer. Because we both know it’s not just about the yarn. It’s about you becoming your best self.

But it is a kind of superpower. 

A photograph of Sasha Torres wearing a black and white checked shirt and black pants.

About Sasha Torres

Sasha Torres, a recognized expert in hand spinning, boasts a PhD from Cornell University and almost four decades of teaching adult learners as a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario and as a former faculty member at esteemed institutions such as Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, and Johns Hopkins. Founder of Sheepspot, she has spent over a decade in the fiber arts business, excelling as both a spinning teacher and fiber dyer.

In addition to her scholarly contributions, which include a book, an anthology of scholarly articles, and numerous articles in academic journals, Sasha's impact extends to broader audiences through articles in Ply Magazine and features in Spin-Off.

Additionally, she has created and hosted two spinning podcasts, The SpinDoctor Podcast and The Sheepspot Podcast, which together have amassed over 200K downloads.

Sasha's innovative approach to spinning education is encapsulated in The Spinner's Journey™ and Pillars of Skillful Spinning™ frameworks, a comprehensive curriculum guiding students from confusion and frustration to the joy of consistently creating yarns they love. Her proprietary methodology ensures spinners of all levels find satisfaction in crafting yarn they genuinely adore.