The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 4,690 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—6,500 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ
Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …
For this week’s Beginner Level Stitching and Crafting/Spinning Merit Badge, I was excited to try my hand at spinning! Well, actually, my legs. After all, spinning had been all the rage at my local gym for a few years now, right alongside Water Aerobics and Jazzercise, and …
Oh, THAT kind of spinning.
Yes.
(I knew that.)
Okay, off with the sweat band and leg warmers. On with the flannel pajamas and slippers I like to sport while crafting. Now we’re ready!
Step one:
Learn what spinning is. Cancel the gym class.
Step two:
Collect wool fibers and carders. What are carders, you may ask? (Go ahead, ask! I know the answer! Pick me – oo, oo, pick me!)
They look like flat paddle dog brushes. You know, the kind with lots of tiny bristles for getting snarls and mats out of Poochy’s ears? Those kinds. You’ll need two.
Step three:
Pop the DVD (or VHS, if you’re old skool like me) of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty into your machine. Why? Because it’s the only movie I can think of that sorta/kinda/maybe shows some spinning. Okay, okay, if you find a better one, let me know! Anyway, I’ve always loved Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather … especially during the cake-making scene. I have soooooo been there, girls!
Alright, now that you’re settled, take your first carder and lay it flat in your lap. Position your fibers on top, then scrape the second carder through. Do this several times, but be gentle. What you’re trying to do is separate those pesky fibers into something airy and light. Like a poodle. Or a cloud. Or a cloud shaped like a poodle.
Step four:
When your poodle cloud is ready, gently roll it along the carder towards the handle. This is called a rolag. Add that to your arsenal of new and nifty words! Gently roll your rolag between your palms (you know, like you’re making a snake with play dough).
Step five:
Pause Sleeping Beauty while you watch a YouTube video on how to spin with your fingers or a simple spindle. I’ve done the finger weaving before and nearly tied myself up in knots, so I went with the spindle option. Seriously, I broke three nails, cut off my own circulation, and was trussed up tighter than a Christmas turkey! I still have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder over that day. Twitch, twitch.
Step six:
Resume your movie and have fun spinning! (Don’t prick your finger. Unless, of course, your Prince Charming is nearby and puckered up).
Step seven:
Bask in the warm glow of your own craftiness.
I’d love to try my hands at spinning some pure cotton. As a lark, a few of my gardening pals tried growing some cotton from seeds last year. When I was little, we sowed some cotton seeds at home in small pots just to see it bloom & touch it. Probably old hat for some but since I have lived in the city all my life, I thought it was amazing to see!
First time I remember hearing of or seeing a spinning wheel was when I read the book, Rumpelstiltskin. Even back then spinning straw into gold seemed an impossible feat (:-) but it was soon explained to me that was the general concept for spinning cotton into thread for clothes. Don’t believe I actually saw a real spinning wheel until we took a field trip/visit to Mount Vernon?…or was it Montpelier?…
If I find a local spinner I would seriously consider taking a class. It looks like a lot of fun but I’m sure it takes plenty of finesse & skill to make something durable out of soft clouds of fluff.
I would love to see this in action. It actually sounds more complicated than I imagined. I am lucky to have my Grandmother’s spinning wheel and I assume all the parts are there. For me, this would definitely need to put me in a class with someone to watch and answer questions. But spinning the yarn that is then knitted into something to wear would be really fun!
A good project for beginning spinners is to weave a coaster or placemat with your finished product. This will be durable even if your yarn is maybe not so much! I have a drop spindle I picked up at one of our local missions. Kind of fun actually.