As you will recall from our discussion of the short draws, short draw has two basic requirements: 1) the spinner’s hands must be no further apart than one staple length plus a wee smidgen, and 2) no twist is every allowed to pass into the drafting zone behind the spinner’s forehand. With the long draws, twist must be allowed into the drafting zone and staple length is not a factor.

To define a few terms:

1. Double drafting: drafting and stretching at the same time. In other words, there is pull at both ends of the draft.
2. Drafting against twist simply means that twist is present in the drafting area., either between the spinner’s hands or, in the case of one-handed drafts, between the drafting hand and the orifice or spindle tip.
3. POC or point of contact refers to the point where the advancing twist meets the unspun fibers.
4. Supported means that the draft requires the use of both hands.
5. Unsupported means that the draft is one handed (drafting or back hand only).

There are two types of long draw: supported and unsupported.


Traditional Long Draw:
Traditional Long Draw is also called English long draw, The Mabel Ross long draw, Scottish long draw, supported long draw, and double drafting. It is an old spinning technique going back to Ancient Egypt. Mabel Ross, Writing in “The Encyclopedia of Hand Spinning” offers the following quote from “Methods of Handspinning in Egypt and the Sudan” by Grace M. Crowfoot: “ This pull at both ends of the thread, called double drafting….always makes for evenness of thread, the simultaneous drafting and twisting enhances this…For speed, also, this method has never been surpassed.” This is the draft used for traditional woolen spinning.

To spin Traditional Long Draw, have a supply of well-prepared carded fibers ready. Remember: the fore hand controls twist, the back hand controls the fiber supply. Start spinning and allow just a bit of twist back into the drafting area, then draft back with the back hand and clamp down with the back hand so that no more fibers from the fiber supply can move into the drafting area. Let in a little more twist and again, draft back with the back hand but do not allow more fibers to come forward into the drafting zone. What is going to happen is that the fibers in the drafting zone are going to be pulled and stretched between the hands until the yarn being spun is of the proper size and has the right amount of twist. As you keep moving your back hand back and allowing more twist into the drafting zone, you will see that the new twist is jumping to the already twisted, thinnest areas of the draft. As you keep drafting back, this twist will move into the areas that are still being thinned out by drafting back. Once the draft is completed, more twist can be added before the yarn is allowed to wind on. Move your hands forward, but do not slide the finger of the fore hand down the yarn, to allow the newly made yarn to wind on and pinch down on the yarn about 3 to 4 inches ahead of the supply of fibers. Then draft back again, using the built up twist in that 3 to 4 inches of yarn to run into the drafted fibers and start the next draw.

American Forward Long Draw:
This is another supported long draw but it’s quite different from the Traditional Long Draw. This is a worsted style of drafting.

In this form of long draw, the back hand lightly holds the supply of fibers and does not clamp down. It differs from a short draw in that the fiber supply is held several inches back from the fore hand, rather than just a staple length back. The forefinger and thumb of the forehand grip the yarn right at the point of contact, pinching down on the last bit of spun yarn. These fingers then rotate in the direction of the twist and then the forehand moves forward towards the orifice to allow for wind on and slide back down the fiber supply to be in position from the next draft.

American Supported Long Draw:
This is another point of contact drafting style. The front hand remains stationary with the fingers opening and closing slightly to control the amount of twist entering the drafting zone. The back hand moves back, allowing fibers to slip into the drafting area, also at a controlled rate so fibers are being fed into the zone as twist advances. When the draft is completed, the back hand moves forward while the fingers of the forehand open to allow the yarn to slide under them so it can wind onto the bobbin. This is also a worsted type of draft.

American Sliding Supported Long Draw:
In this drafting style, the fore hand slides down the yarn, pinching at the POC as needed. The only difference between this and a short draw is that it is done over a longer drafting length. It’s often called “short draw at a distance”. It’s another worsted type of draft.

Unsupported Long Draw:
In this draft, the point of contact is always just ahead of the supply of fibers. This one handed drafting technique is excellent for spinning short staple fibers such as cotton. The fiber supply is held very loosely in the back hand, which moves back to draft and forward to wind on.