Book Review: Start Spinning by Maggie Casey

Start Spinning: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great Yarn by Maggie Casey is a well-written, well-photographed book, ideal for anyone that wants to learn how to spin. In case you aren’t familiar with Maggie, she is quite well-regarded in the spinning community, having taught at SOAR and several other fiber festivals. In fact, she is teaching again at this year’s Estes Park Wool Market. She also is a frequent contributor to Spin-Off magazine.

Start Spinning begins with Maggie’s explanation of why you might want to use wool for your first attempts at spinning, and does a nice explanation of the differences between different fiber preparations. The next chapter covers basic spinning terminology such as drafting, the drafting triangle, and s- versus z-twist.

The next chapter is devoted to spinning yarn on a handspindle. Here, Maggie talks about the differences between supported spindles and drop spindles, gives some tips on what you should look for in a spindle, and then gives detailed instructions on how to spin with a spindle. While not as helpful as watching someone spin, the explanations and pictures in this section of the book will give even the rank beginner a really clear idea of how to work with a spindle.

The next couple of chapters are devoted to spinning with a spinning wheel. These chapters cover the types of spinning wheels, the parts of a wheel and how to adjust it, give you some tips on how to choose a spinning wheel, and finally, give you very clear instructions on how to spin. Again, the explanations and photographs are excellent. There’s even a troubleshooting section that tells you how to adjust your spinning or your spinning wheel to correct particular problems you are having.

The last few chapters of the book illustrate how to ply your yarn and finish it after it’s been plied, and also go deeper into drafting methods and techniques. Finally, in the appendix, Maggie talks about the different types of sheep breeds and what to look for in a fleece, how to prepare and card raw fiber, including how to use hand carders and drum carders, and how to maintain your spinning wheel.

In short, this is one of the most thorough and well-written ‘learn to spin’ books around. If you’re just learning to spin, or need a refresher course, I’d recommend adding this book to your library.

If you’re looking for more spinning books for your collection, you may want to check out the mini-reviews in the books section of this site.