How to Spin 20 Corespun Yarn Textures

New or interested in learning more about corespinning yarn? Watch a preview of the 20 corespinning yarn methods and educational format I offer in my online CORESPUN masterclass video series to preview what you will be learning in this classroom and if it's of interest to you.

The following artisans, farms, and online shops generously donated fibers for me to use in my How to Spin Yarn SINGLE masterclass series. This resource would not be available without their generosity! Please consider supporting their small business by visiting their website. 

Different spinners have different aesthetic and method preferences and intentions for their yarns, and I've found that these resources take a more technical approach to corespinning yarns as well as spinning traditional yarns for artisanal knitwear.

Welcome to the exciting world of corespinning! In this introductory video I will show you how I prefer to choose a core thread and how I corespin from an art batt by one of my contributors, Bricolage Studios. If you've never corespun before - this is the perfect video to get started!

In this video we will be corespinning different types of top and rovings. Corespinning is usually best done with art batts, as the fibers are prepared in a way that makes it easy to draft at a 90 degree angle without creating loops and bumps. Surprising textures happen when you corespin with top! In this video I'll try corespinning with silk, flax, rolags, and wool to see what happens!

In this video we will be corespinning wool locks. I recommend corespinning an art batt to get some practice corespinning before moving onto locks. This is a really fun way to create a "lockspun" or "tailspun" yarn texture. In my video I spin multiple breeds and colors of wool locks so you can see what they look like yard by yard!

Calling all Mohair lovers! If you don't have mohair go get yourself some mohair and check out this video that Lexi Boeger called "mohairy" in her book Intertwined. This method creates a bulky, airy, nearly translucent yarn and if you want to spin the prettiest yarn ever add a bunch of angelina sparkle into a 100% mohair art batt and see what happens. It will blow your mind.

A popular mixed media method in my corespinning series, this method teaches you how to create sculptable bendy twisty yarns that you can create 3D shapes and wearables with. Eventually I plan on making a crazy Elizabethan collar with some knit wirespun yarn to put on an art garment. Wire yarn is also interesting to use in weaving to create bends and folds and sculptable pleating in freeform fabric.

Another mixed media corespinning method, choose a stretchy core from your local craft store (there are many to choose from!) and corespin an art batt over it to create a curly stretchy bouncy yarn that creates a really beautiful "smocking" effect when used as warp or weft under tension! This yarn can also be worn as a deconstructed cowl right off the bobbin (after winding onto a 2-yard niddy noddy). Try plying this method with thread to reduce the stretch.

This yarn is unbreakable! Really! Well, with your bare hands. Under enough pressure it will break. Physics and stuff. Disclaimer over, this is my favorite method for spinning yarns to knit or crochet into market bags. Join me to corespin an art batt and locks on a special core that you can find at your local craft or hardware store! Try adding wire to this yarn to create a unique sculptable unbreakable yarn that is fun to use in freeform weavings.

What exactly is broken about this yarn? I'll give you a hint. I switch between different cores so that the core of the yarn seems to disappear between other cores. From drapey to sculptable. Can you guess? This is a great way to make a sampler yarn of different cores to see what you would like to work with next. I think it would be fun to use this method in freeform crochet, knitting, or weaving to create a 3 dimensional textile on top of the cloth with the sculptable bits. Enjoy!

Grab your by-passable or open orifice and biggest bobbin for this method where we will see how thick we can corespin yarn together! If you are working on a wheel with a closed (tube, delta) orifice, or with a wire guide or hooks on your flyer - you will need to limit your bulkiness to what will thru thru your orifice(s).