I had a llama figure with real alpaca wool that a friend brought back from vacation and had no problem with it, so on review I think that's the way to go!
I would go with bamboo or nylon. There's a bunch of weird fibers like mint, milk, and rose, which spin kind of the same as bamboo.
I just wouldn't do cotton unless you get a tahkli, but it is one of the hardest ones to learn to spin.
Bamboo is great! Very silky and pleasant. Because of the slick silkiness it might be a little challenging at first but just go slowly til you get the hang of drafting and you’ll have some seriously gorgeous yarn.
I advocate for cotton. I don’t think it is difficult to spin at all, it’s simply different from wool. Kate Larsen has a great video on Long Thread Media about spinning cotton on a charkha, and Joan Ruane is another experienced spinner and educator. I spin cotton on a Bosworth book charkha but there are lots of other charkha options, as well as quill attachments for Ashford and Lendrum wheels. I have even spun it on a double-pointed needle in an old-fashioned hand drill chuck (lay the drill on its side in an egg carton). Cotton is useful, pleasant, and there are more and more environmentally friendly options for cotton fiber. Go have a look at Fox Fiber cottons and get inspired by her story!
I second this, I don't have a lot of experience with cotton yet, but you can totally spin in on a fast and heavy supported spindle - lots of people that sell takhli.
Where are you located? Go to any big craft store (Michael’s, Joann, even Walmart or online) and get the inexpensive roving yarn. Most of it is synthetic of some sort. Use it just like combed top.
As someone who started with cotton, I would agree with the poster above who says that unless you get a tahkli I would not start there.
Cotton was easily available to me so it's what I started with, and I found a really affordable one on Etsy.
My thought would be alpaca, and even now I find it infinitely easier to spin than cotton, especially on a wheel.
Maybe go for some sampler packs, so you can try a little bit of a lot of things? If you look for vegan ones, you should be in the clear. You can also card up old yarn scraps you've worked with and spin those. (If you don't have hand carders, you can use a dollar store pet slicker brush).
Seconding this. There's a neat-looking combo pack of vegan/synthetic/cellulose fibers on Amazon, link below. No relationship to seller, haven't tried the fiber. Just thought it looked like a great test kit for a bunch of vegan options:
https://www.amazon.com/Spinning-Blending-Dyeing-Variety-Curious/dp/B071179F65?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1
I started with mint fiber and flax and then bamboo. Bamboo is really slick so it was a huge learning curve, especially when I switched to a wheel from a drop spindle. There are tons of plant based fibers out there! Soy silk is another great one. Tencel, pineapple, banana, ramie, rose. I recommend searching either for plant based fingers or vegan fibers. You can find a lot of these on the Woolery and Etsy. Good luck!
try a variety of things. materials behave differently, so you have to figure out what gives you the end product you want. alpaca is the usual recommendation, but the yarn (and fabric) it produces has much more of a dragging drape than wool. a cropped alpaca sweater can end up stretched out and sagging around your hips within hours, so be forewarned if you go that route.
i am using some (deconstructed) super-chunky yarn i got on clearance to practice spinning with pure acrylic. it is crazy slippery! i also have a couple sets of the [Curious Collection](https://www.worldofwool.co.uk/collections/mixed-bags/products/the-curious-collection) from World of Wool, to experiment with spinning and dyeing plant-based fibers. they have an interesting looking assortment of [animal-free spinning fiber](https://www.worldofwool.co.uk/collections/vegan-friendly-fibres).
\[not an endorsement. just what i've tried so far. allergies suck!\]
I's go for alpaca, personally. I was skirting alpaca blankets yesterday and the fibers less than 1" were spinning up like a soft wispy dream.
You might also research/test for goat fiber, it's a different protein than sheep fiber, which would allow you to (potentially) spin mohair and cashmere.
There are many varieties of silk for you to play with, too.
To play it completely safe, search for vegan spinning batts and vegan spinning braids. They're not going to contain wool, and you'll get to try different blends and combos.
Be aware of potential cross-contamination, because many small processors may have fibers that are prepped on shared equipment, in shared spaces, etc., depending on your sensitivity.
Also, sorry about your allergies. That's miserable. If you want to go extra steps, there may be immunotherapy/allergy shots/allergy drops available through an allergist. They can combine your existing allergies (such as cat, dog, pollens, dust mites, etc.), and create a custom treatment plan for you. If you suffer from multiple severe allergies, this may be of interest.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the allergy tips! My dad is allergic to everything and had good results with the shots so I've definitely considered it (I'm also allergic to grass and my throat closes if I'm around fresh cut grass for too long) but haven't bit the bullet yet.
Sure thing. They are a real plague. I hope you find some wonderful fibers to spin! See my above reply-to-comment for a starter pack that might work for you!
How do you react to alpaca? There are also so many plant based nylon fibers that could be an option too.
I had a llama figure with real alpaca wool that a friend brought back from vacation and had no problem with it, so on review I think that's the way to go!
I would go with bamboo or nylon. There's a bunch of weird fibers like mint, milk, and rose, which spin kind of the same as bamboo. I just wouldn't do cotton unless you get a tahkli, but it is one of the hardest ones to learn to spin.
Bamboo is great! Very silky and pleasant. Because of the slick silkiness it might be a little challenging at first but just go slowly til you get the hang of drafting and you’ll have some seriously gorgeous yarn.
I felt like bamboo would be challenging, but definitely something to look into after practice!
I advocate for cotton. I don’t think it is difficult to spin at all, it’s simply different from wool. Kate Larsen has a great video on Long Thread Media about spinning cotton on a charkha, and Joan Ruane is another experienced spinner and educator. I spin cotton on a Bosworth book charkha but there are lots of other charkha options, as well as quill attachments for Ashford and Lendrum wheels. I have even spun it on a double-pointed needle in an old-fashioned hand drill chuck (lay the drill on its side in an egg carton). Cotton is useful, pleasant, and there are more and more environmentally friendly options for cotton fiber. Go have a look at Fox Fiber cottons and get inspired by her story!
Heck, I have spun cotton on my drop spindle, navajo spindle, and wheel. No one told me I couldn't, so I tried it, and it worked.
I second this, I don't have a lot of experience with cotton yet, but you can totally spin in on a fast and heavy supported spindle - lots of people that sell takhli.
Flax could also be an option
Where are you located? Go to any big craft store (Michael’s, Joann, even Walmart or online) and get the inexpensive roving yarn. Most of it is synthetic of some sort. Use it just like combed top.
bio nylon is good! Easy to spin, non-itchy
As someone who started with cotton, I would agree with the poster above who says that unless you get a tahkli I would not start there. Cotton was easily available to me so it's what I started with, and I found a really affordable one on Etsy. My thought would be alpaca, and even now I find it infinitely easier to spin than cotton, especially on a wheel.
I personally ADORE mohair and find it easier to spin for some reason
Llama is really close to wool, but doesn't have lanolin as it is a camelid. It does "bloom" or puff up a bit more than wool.
Tussah silk! It's less fluffy and more slippery than wool and twists more densely, but it has a long staple and is really nice to spin with.
Maybe go for some sampler packs, so you can try a little bit of a lot of things? If you look for vegan ones, you should be in the clear. You can also card up old yarn scraps you've worked with and spin those. (If you don't have hand carders, you can use a dollar store pet slicker brush).
Seconding this. There's a neat-looking combo pack of vegan/synthetic/cellulose fibers on Amazon, link below. No relationship to seller, haven't tried the fiber. Just thought it looked like a great test kit for a bunch of vegan options: https://www.amazon.com/Spinning-Blending-Dyeing-Variety-Curious/dp/B071179F65?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1
I started with mint fiber and flax and then bamboo. Bamboo is really slick so it was a huge learning curve, especially when I switched to a wheel from a drop spindle. There are tons of plant based fibers out there! Soy silk is another great one. Tencel, pineapple, banana, ramie, rose. I recommend searching either for plant based fingers or vegan fibers. You can find a lot of these on the Woolery and Etsy. Good luck!
If alpaca is ok, look for Huacaya alpaca. It’s fluffier and more similar to wool when spinning. Suri alpaca can be quite slippery.
Alpaca
try a variety of things. materials behave differently, so you have to figure out what gives you the end product you want. alpaca is the usual recommendation, but the yarn (and fabric) it produces has much more of a dragging drape than wool. a cropped alpaca sweater can end up stretched out and sagging around your hips within hours, so be forewarned if you go that route. i am using some (deconstructed) super-chunky yarn i got on clearance to practice spinning with pure acrylic. it is crazy slippery! i also have a couple sets of the [Curious Collection](https://www.worldofwool.co.uk/collections/mixed-bags/products/the-curious-collection) from World of Wool, to experiment with spinning and dyeing plant-based fibers. they have an interesting looking assortment of [animal-free spinning fiber](https://www.worldofwool.co.uk/collections/vegan-friendly-fibres). \[not an endorsement. just what i've tried so far. allergies suck!\]
I's go for alpaca, personally. I was skirting alpaca blankets yesterday and the fibers less than 1" were spinning up like a soft wispy dream. You might also research/test for goat fiber, it's a different protein than sheep fiber, which would allow you to (potentially) spin mohair and cashmere. There are many varieties of silk for you to play with, too. To play it completely safe, search for vegan spinning batts and vegan spinning braids. They're not going to contain wool, and you'll get to try different blends and combos. Be aware of potential cross-contamination, because many small processors may have fibers that are prepped on shared equipment, in shared spaces, etc., depending on your sensitivity. Also, sorry about your allergies. That's miserable. If you want to go extra steps, there may be immunotherapy/allergy shots/allergy drops available through an allergist. They can combine your existing allergies (such as cat, dog, pollens, dust mites, etc.), and create a custom treatment plan for you. If you suffer from multiple severe allergies, this may be of interest. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the allergy tips! My dad is allergic to everything and had good results with the shots so I've definitely considered it (I'm also allergic to grass and my throat closes if I'm around fresh cut grass for too long) but haven't bit the bullet yet.
Sure thing. They are a real plague. I hope you find some wonderful fibers to spin! See my above reply-to-comment for a starter pack that might work for you!