Books that assume no prior knowledge of spinning or books of interest to all spinners, no matter their skill level.

Books for
intermediate spinners.

A Weaver’s Garden is not a how-to-spin book per se, but it belongs on the shelf of every spinner. It is a treasury of traditional knowledge that has been tested by a modern fiber artist. Rita Buchanan, whose name will be familiar to long-time Spin-Off readers, is not only an amazingly talented and knowledgeable spinner, knitter, and weaver, but she also holds degrees in botany and has spent years exploring the world of plants from a fiber artist’s perspective. The book covers the use of plants for spinning and dyeing as well as the use of plants for making natural soaps, moth repellants, and textile tools. There is also a great section on designing your own “spinner’s” garden. Beautiful drawings by the author’s husband and a color insert illustrate the text.

A shorter, full-color version of the chapter on dye plants was published as a separate book (and is still in print) by Interweave Press: A Dyer’s Garden: From Plant to Pot, Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers. The majority of the material is covered in A Weaver’s Garden, but it’s worth having both books anyway. The full-color photographs of dye samples make A Dyer’s Garden a great supplement to the more complete text.

A fantastic introduction to the skill of spinning, this book really does cover everything you need to know. Choosing fiber, hand- and drumcarding, learning to spin on both spindle and wheel, developing your drafting skills, finishing and using your own yarn — it’s all in here along with clear, full-color photographs. The author provides solid guidance for using your new handspun in knitting or weaving projects of your choice.

Another good all-around book, definitely worth the hunt to find it used. The standouts for this one are the photography which is copious and large, all in B&W and very informative. There's discussion on spinning fibers other than wool -- silk, alpaca, qivuit, mohair, dog hair, and a large section on flax and cotton, all rarely found in older books.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press: 2009.

Kathryn Alexander, Amy King, Sara Lamb, Nancy Bush, Judith MacKenzie McCuin and many other spinning and knitting glitterati contributed to an updated version of the classic Homespun, Handknit. Similar to the original: all the projects are small accessories and children’s projects, all the projects are made from handspun yarn with enough information to substitute with commercial yarn. Different from the original: the projects are for intermediate+ knitters; the projects span a wide range of knitting techniques -- a variety of colorwork, texture and lace.

This is a very basic spinning and dyeing book, with 10 projects to use your new yarn. If you are curious about making and dyeing your own yarn, this book gives a good overview for those new to the craft.

New York: Lark Books, 2007

A book for inspiration. There is basic information on how to spin on a wheel and spindle, as well as brief instruction on different art yarn techniques. The techniques instruction is so concise that it's more of a reminder for those who already have spinning knowledge than instruction for those looking to begin spinning.

The majority of the book contains projects to spin a particular style of yarn with a particular type of wool. The inspiration portion of the book comes with the unbelievable photography. The photographs of yarn and fiber in this book set the standard of what all spinning book photography should be, clear, detailed and sumptuous. Each project yarn features four photographs: an image that inspired the project yarn, project fiber, spun yarn and the yarn knit in stockinette stitch.

Lexington, KY: Kokovoko Press, 1998

Spindle Spinning is one of the few books we have that is completely devoted to spindling. The author covers top- and bottom-whorl spindles, the Navajo spindle, and supported spindle. The sections on fiber prep are very brief, and the book’s focus is primarily developing the techniques you’ll need to become a successful spindler. Illustrations are primarily line drawings, but the text is clear and easy to follow.

New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2008.

40 breeds of sheep all magnificently photographed in a studio against a plain draped background. If you have ever wanted to get a good look at the animals that provide your wool, this is the book for you.

The descriptions of the sheep breeds are not specifically geared to spinners; there are discussions on breed features, breed use, related breeds, breed size and origin and distribution of each breed. There is no discussion of fleece classification, staple length, or anything that informs about spinning with a particular breed.

New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1970.

This book will be of more interest to those who have been spinning a while, especially those who are curious about handspinning’s first renaissance during the 1960s and 70s. The late Allen Fannin was a central player in rediscovering and reinventing spinning techniques.

His book, which covers woolen and worsted prep and spinning styles as well as “designer” yarns (a new concept at the time) is all the more amazing when you learn that he was self-taught. There are newer, shiner books with color photos, but I’m not sure there is anything more complete: spindle spinning, low and great wheel spinning, and yarn design are all covered. The writing style of Handspinning is highly technical, but even experienced spinners will find something to learn here.

Ashville, NC: Lark Books, 1986
2nd edition Christchurch, New Zealand: Shoal Bay Press 1999

From its publication date until very recently, this book was the go-to book for new wheel spinners -- the book that shops and teachers recommended. It's still one of the top two books for new spinners.

It goes into great detail with photographs and illustrations on the beginning aspects of spinning: fiber, drafting, plying. Field further discusses fleeces prepping, washing, carding, combing, spinning techniques, novelty yarn, dyeing, felting as well as a question and answer section from her years of teaching. There is a huge amount of information in this slim book. It should be in every spinner's library.

Christchurch, New Zealand: Shoal Bay Press, 1995

For spinners who have reached proficiency in basic skills, often the next step is making a specific yarn for a specific project. This book is exactly for that level of spinning. It picks up where Field’s The Ashford Book of Spinning leaves off. It discusses in detail, with words and photos, controlling your wheel, types of wool, carding, drafting techniques, twist, ply and finishing. It is not an exhaustive second step for spinners, but it’s just enough information to feed the curious spinner without overwhelming.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1995. Reprint, 2003

This book is the next best thing to taking a workshop on selecting, sorting, and using raw fleeces. Spinners who are ready to learn about sheep breeds and the unique characteristics of their fleeces will find this the perfect intro.

Black-and-white photos of locks of wool for each breed covered span the range from superfine to coarse fibers. Readers will learn about how textile professionals describe and classify fibers by fineness, and what all that means for handspinners hoping to make yarns appropriate for their projects. You’ll never look at a sheep quite the same way again!

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2009

This book is the ‘stranded on a desert island’ spindle book. You need no other. A lifetime of expertise guides you from choosing equipment and beginning spinning on spindles, to mastery and significant output on all types of spindles. No other book has this level of information on spindle spinning.

Cedaredge, CO: 1998.

In this classic spinning book, Gibson-Roberts makes her argument for the high-whorl spindle’s superiority. If you are a very beginning spinner and a visual learner, you may need another book for visual back up -- this book has illustrations only and they are few.

Agree or not about the high-whorl's superiority, this is a fine book of spinning instruction and spinning history. The writing is personal and engaging, told from the heart and soul of one of the fiber world’s living treasures.

Cedarridge, CO: Nomad Press, 2006

This is an updated version of High Whorling. The changes: completely new and expanded illustrations and improved layout [in High Whorling the text and drawings were not always synchronized in the layout].

Port Angeles, WA: Ask the Bellweather, 2009

This book is not a splashy four-color book from a big publisher, but it is a book packed with great information on spindle spinning, particularly for the new spindle spinner. It covers top and bottom whorl, and Turkish spindles.

The first half of the book is about choosing and using a spindle, the second half on how to be productive. This is one of few books that treats spindle spinning as a complete craft, not as spinning that you do until you can afford a wheel.

Santa Cruz, CA: Bette Hochberg, 1979.

A charming collection of spinning myths, folklore and anecdotes from around the world.

Revised edition, Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1979.

Beverley Horne’s book was one of the first to explore the characteristics of specific sheep breeds from a handspinner’s perspective.

This is a small book with line drawings and black-and-white photos; the project instructions would be considered sparse (and dated) by today’s standards, but the value of the book lies in her descriptions of individual fleeces by breed and recommendations for their use. Beginning spinners will probably find the text a bit dense going, but those who are interested in learning how to evaluate the raw fleeces offered at fiber festivals will find lots of helpful info here.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2001.

This spiral-bound handbook is designed as a quick reference to spinning terms and techniques — a portable encyclopedia, if you will. Can’t remember how a single-band, flyer-lead wheel works? Wondering what “thrown silk” is? Bobbie Irwin has catalogued the answers. Small black-and-white line drawings illustrate concepts as necessary. Both beginners and more seasoned spinners will find this a valuable reference.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2009

This book aims to help advanced beginners and more experienced spinners gain control over the yarns they are producing. Most of us learn to spin and then comfortably settle into spinning our “regular” yarn, whatever that may be. Amy King challenges spinners to become skilled enough to master our fiber and to learn to design a yarn in our minds before creating it with our hands.

To that end, the book offers detailed instruction in choosing a fiber that will give the effect we seek; understanding wheel settings and how they affect yarn production; perfecting drafting techniques and styles and learning to blend them; and designing standard and novelty yarns. Fully illustrated with color photographs. No projects (the focus here is on theory).

New York: Henry Holt, 1991.

Written in a conversational style, this book is a wealth of information. It may pale in spinning instruction compared to new and flashier spinning books that focus on the how-to of spinning. This books comes from the era of spinning books that was more holistic in approach.

Here you have the whole history of spinning from a personal point of view, history of the people who spun, what they spun, the equipment they spun with, how they dyed their yarns and fibers and what they made with it all, interlaced with making you the curious reader and spinner, part of the continuum of spinning history.

New York: Dover Publications, 1981.

This is really more of a booklet than a book, but it is inexpensive and packed with info for the beginning spinner.

Carol Kroll takes the novice from choosing and preparing raw fiber to spinning on a spindle and wheel. The book’s major weakness from today’s perspective is that it contains few illustrations — just a handful of black-and-white photos supplemented by a few dozen line drawings. But don’t dismiss it out of hand (especially if you find it used and cheap!): in spite of its brevity, this book includes fibers such as flax, ramie, corn silk, milkweed floss, deer hair, and numerous other folk materials that the author has researched.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1987

Homespun, Handknit is rather unusual in that it’s a book of small projects all designed specifically for handspun yarn. Classic designs — from folks like Elizabeth Zimmermann, Meg Swansen, Priscilla Gibson-Roberts and Carol Rhoades, just to name a few — make this book as useful today as it was twenty years ago. Projects range from simple to advanced, and all are illustrated with color photos. The photostyling is a bit dated by today’s standards, but the patterns themselves have stood the test of time.

Phoenix: Bizarre Butterfly Publishing, 1986

The Linders offer a friendly intro to flax spinning suitable for beginners who have mastered the basics. Their instructions begin with ready-to-spin line flax and black-and-white line drawings illustrating ways to dress a distaff. Plying, finishing, and using handspun linen yarns are covered, but the book includes no projects. The Linders are generally credited with unventing [to borrow Elizabeth Zimmermann's term and assumption that we are all rediscovering forgotten fiber methodologies] the no-distaff approach to linen spinning.

New York: Potter Craft, 2008

This is a book full of drop-dead gorgeous cable knitting patterns. There are 26 patterns, mostly sweaters, all knit in handspun yarn and commercial yarn in classic styles begging to become your family’s heirlooms.

A chapter on handspinning with information on wool, sheep breeds and yarns is mostly for the uninitiated.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2009

McCuin assumes the reader is already a capable spinner, and intermediate and advanced spinners will find much to enhance their practices in this book. Adventurous and motivated advanced beginners can also tackle the information, although they may need to consult other volumes for definitions and extra help.

This book is fully illustrated with color photographs throughout and covers its subject in great detail: the nature and qualities of a full range of fibers, advanced fiber preparation (including combing), and drafting techniques. A chapter also covers plying, cabling, and novelty yarns. The approach is a bit eclectic rather than encyclopedic, but the overall effect is that of taking an advanced workshop from a expert textile artist.  The four projects (both knitted and woven) are designed to practice spinning theories she has covered in the text.

Hoboken, NJ Wiley Publishing, Incorporated, 2007

A beginner’s guide to spinning both on spindle and wheel. This book gives an overview of fiber and equipment and the how-to of putting it all together. A solid beginner’s book.

If you already know how to spin you should move to McCuin’s next book, The Intentional Spinner.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1998, 2005

This is one of those books that should be on the bookshelf of every spinner. It is a detailed course in color theory for handspinners — this short entry can’t even begin to convey the knowledge packed into this text.

Menz covers dyeing and painting fibers, using combs and drum carders to blend colors, and spinning from multicolored preparations. Fully illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs and line drawings. In spite of the highly technical level of the text, Menz’s tone is clear and helpful. I’ve given this a two-spindle level rating because it’s helpful to understand spinning and fiber prep basics before reading this book.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2006

Shannon Okey approaches learning to spin with the eye of a knitter who wants to produce some yarn pronto!

She briefly covers fiber acquisition and preparation, spinning on spindles and wheels, yarn finishing — and then jumps right into the knitting. Numerous small projects make use of beginner’s yarn. Full-color photographs illustrate the spinning process step-by-step as well as projects, and profiles of spinners from all over the U.S. provide inspiration. This book will appeal to knitters who want to experiment with spinning without making a huge investment of time and money.

New York: Potter Craft, 2009

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1987

Lee Raven’s classic learn-to-spin text has stood the test of time: it’s as useful today as it was when it was first published.

She includes spinning on a hand spindle as well as a wheel and takes you all the way from preparing fiber to learning different drafting methods and yarn finishing techniques. The book covers spinning strategies for numerous animal and plant fibers and includes plenty of hints for troubleshooting. The text is illustrated with black-and-white photos and line drawings; project photos appear in color. The projects [several knitted, with one woven] are perhaps a bit rustic but will give you ideas for what to do with the fruits of your first spinning efforts.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2000.

Sponsored by Spin•Off magazine and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, the Save the Sheep project was created to promote understanding about rare sheep breeds within and beyond the spinning community.

This book is the catalog of the touring exhibit, Save the Sheep, featuring 29 projects made from wool produced by rare and endangered sheep breeds. The projects, some knitted, some woven, some mixed media art pieces have been photographed in a studio and discussed at length. There are photos and descriptions of 21 rare sheep breeds and essays on how a breed becomes endangered, the history of handspinning, and spinning for expression. This was and is an important project that involved many spinners and sheep experts from around the world; the contributors acknowledgments is a list over 200 people long.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1988.

A wonderful reference for all handspinners. With detailed illustrations, photographs and comprehensive entries on all aspects of handspinning from sheep breeds and other spinnable fibers, to technique, to equipment -- modern and ancient -- this book gives an overview of spinning like no other.

Wellingborough, Northants: Brett Associates, 1980

A 40-page booklet with just the quick facts for spinning on a wheel or spindle. There’s just enough solid information to get you started, help you tweak your yarn, and spot and fix potential problems.

Seattle, WA: Pacific Search Press, 1977

Thorough beginning spinning information from the great Paula Simmons.

Two of the most useful spinning chapters are Conquering Overtwist and Spinning for Speed, which when expanded became Spinning for Softness and Speed. There is a very thorough chapter on great wheel spinning. You can take a peek into the recent spinning past in the chapter that is a catalog for spinning wheels available in the year this book was published. In her ‘why not do it yourself’ style, there are even plans to make hand cards, a drum carder, a yarn blocker, a floor reel and a basic spinning wheel.

Seattle, WA: Madrona Publishing, 1982

Paula Simmons classic book has recently been reprinted. The crux of this book is to learn to spin one handed long draw, to create yarn that is softer, to correct over twisting yarn and to spin faster. No other spinning book has touched this technique (point of contact) with such clarity.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2000

Reprints of handspindling articles from Spin•Off magazines, many out of print. Fascinating reading for the spindle obsessed. For those of you who dismiss much of this as outdated, I argue that our near history is as important as our ancient history.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1991

Margaret Stove’s Merino is essentially a textbook for advanced spinners who are interested in taking on the challenge of spinning with superfine wools.

She covers the subject in great depth, including washing and preparing the fiber, spinning and plying techniques specifically for fine wools, and dyeing information. The author is a seasoned spinning mentor, and she explains her methods in detail. Appendices offer instructions for a few projects appropriate for superfine wools. Diagrams, black-and-white photos, and a few color photos illustrate Margaret’s techniques.

New York: Potter Craft, 2008

Small fiber farms are the backbone of the spinning world. They are thought of with reverence for the quality and their unique fiber and yarn.

This book visits 10 fiber farms across the US with two patterns knit from handspun or millspun yarns from each farm. The phenomenal photographs tell the stories of the families and the animals and their connection to each other and the fiber we all love.

Blandford Press: Poole, 1976.
Reprint, McMinnville, OR: Robin and Russ Handweavers, Inc., 1993

Peter Teal’s book on worsted spinning is highly technical and complete.

He covers the entire process of creating worsted-style yarns from choosing, sorting, and scouring fleece to combing and spinning. He even includes instructions for making English-style wool combs for the adventurous. Illustrations are primarily black-and-white photos and line drawings, but there is a color insert in the center. The book focuses on technique and does not offer projects or designs. Overall, this is a book for serious spinners who want to explore worsted spinning in depth.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001

The Age of Homespun is an academic book, but a very readable one. It is not a how-to by any means, but spinners with an interest in their history will find it fascinating since textiles play a major role in the text.

The long-standing myth referred to in the subtitle is that individual American households were self-sufficient cloth-producing factories from the colonial period to some time in the nineteenth century. Laurel Ulrich unpacks the many stories embodied in this myth, and in the process, reveals to us the lives of ordinary women and men.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2003

Originally published in 1987 and reissued in 2003, this book used to be the only book available on art or designer yarns.

Only half of the book is devoted to actual spinning techniques of designer yarn. The rest of the book is about planning and preparation, being able to control your yarn (this is not a book for beginning spinners), color including dyeing and fiber blending; really designing your designer yarn. The spinning portion is heavy on words and light on illustration -- not great for visual learners. This is, however, a fine book for those spinners who very much like to think and plan their yarns before spinning.

Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 2002

This book walks you through designing your own socks, dyeing and spinning your own yarn. It is assumed you have basic knowledge in spinning. The discussion on color in spinning is the heart and soul of this book. There is great information on preparing your roving before spinning to achieve different color effects in your yarn and how different spinning techniques -- number of plies and how colors are plied -- affect knitted fabric. There is even time spent with Kathryn Alexander’s ideas about energized singles.

The book is filled with photographs explained with copious notes. If you have interest in color, even if you are not a sock fan, this book has useful hands-on information.