A Drop Spindle is the simplest tool to spin your fibers into a twisted yarn. Most people are familiar with a spinning wheel designed for this purpose, but a spinning wheel is a huge piece of furniture and quite expensive. We can make a spindle with a few cheap supplies. And with practise you can create quality yarns by your own hand. Very satisfying .
You will need some polymer clay, a pencil, and a paperclip. Soften a wad of clay by squeezing it in your hand, enough to make a 2″ ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, about a 1/2″ – 1″ thick. Find the center of the disc (if you trace the disc on a paper, cut the circle out, fold it in half, and in half the other way, you will have the perfect center). This clay disc is called the “whorl”, and it is the weight that keeps the spindle spinning. Push the pencil through the center of the whorl. At this point you can decorate the clay by pressing a pattern into it with different objects. Bake the clay whorl, with the pencil still in the center, according to the package directions. After baking, cut the paperclip and push one of the curved pieces into the eraser end, to be used later when spinning. Test out the balance of your spindle by spinning it from the pointed end. Does it wobble or spin well.
These whorls are ready for use. The one on the left is using a dowel rod instead of a pencil. It adds extra length to hold more yard while your spinning. The spindle on the right is a commercial spindle made of wood and has the hook at the bottom instead of the top. Both ways work. The middle spindle is a finished sample of the directions given here, and cost me about $1.70 to make. Coming up next will be how to use your spindle creations for handspinning your yarn.