With the current resurgence in fiber arts, there has been an increase in the number of new books coming onto the market. Most of these cover quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, or weaving but few new offerings cover the craft of spinning. Because of this, news of a new book on the craft of spinning travels fast and the release date is eagerly anticipated. This month brings the release of Judith McKenzie-McCuin’s newest offering The Intentional Spinner , published by Interweave Press in Loveland, Colorado USA.

As we can derive from the title,The Intentional Spinner focuses on taking a considered, thought out, planned approach to spinning. If the intent of the book is in any doubt, the sub title A Holistic Approach To Making Yarn clears up any question. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, holistic means “emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts”. This book does just that.

The book begins by classifying the fibers we all love to spin into three main groups: Cellulose, Protein, and Manufactured explaining where each fiber comes from and how they are grown or manufactured. Fiber facts are generously interwoven with interesting historical snippets making these chapters an interesting and informative read. The discussion of fibers is followed by an all too brief chapter on the “Science of Fibers”: characteristics, testing, identifying, count systems and a good discussion of small tools and inexpensive spinners can use to analyze their fibers and yarn. A well laid out burn test chart is included as is a good chart listing the characteristics of the various types of fibers.

This is followed by an excellent discussion of drafting techniques. The focus here is on preparation of fibers, and the difference between woolen and worsted spinning and the techniques used for these two types of drafts. The question of the semi-woolens and semi-worsteds is clarified as is spinning from the fold. There are many helpful hints throughout the chapter on spinning and on choosing the right fiber or fleece for a project. From there, the author goes on to discuss plying and spinning novelty yarns. Twist and its importance is explained as is balance.

The chapter on yarn design explains using the properties of the fiber and twist to control the diameter of the yarn and how to make your wheel work for you so you can spin the yarns you want. There is a flow chart to use as an aid in setting your wheel to control the diameter of your yarns and a chart of pulley sizes explaining the use of different sized pulleys and their uses. The chapter ends with information on how to finish your yarns and the excellent advice to “sample, sample, sample”.

We are then treated to four interesting projects all using different fibers. Each project is complete with information on selecting the fibers, how to spin them, finishing the yarns, and complete instructions for making the project. Two of the projects are knitted, one is woven, and one can be either knitted or woven - or both.

If that weren’t enough, there is a final chapter on caring for your fibers and textiles. This covers common pests, such as moths, that damage fibers and how to prevent insect damage. The section on wool storage is sure to interest anyone with a stash of fibers to protect and textile collectors will enjoy the hints and techniques for displaying and storing their collections.

The book contains many photos of fiber plants, animals, equipment and techniques. A very few of the photos are a bit dark making it a bit difficult to see exactly where the yarn is but it is the hand positions that are important and those are always clear.

From fiber to finished project, the message of this book is clear: Know your fiber, know your equipment, know your techniques, sample, sample, sample, and your project will be a success. Judith has done an excellent job of putting the entire process from raw fiber to finished item together in one interesting and informative book.