More spindles...

I've been making spindles again; I had promised spindles to a few fibre friends ages ago, so finally got my fimo together & made a few more.

The most difficult part of making these spindles is trying to get the whorl balanced; placing the hole in the very centre of the fimo. Graph paper certainly helps.

Since my first attempts to use the bottom-whorl spindle, I've become much more comfortable with it. Bottom whorl spindles are a lot more forgiving of slight imbalances, which is good for an imperfect home-made attempt.

The fibre is easier to secure without a wee hook on a bottom whorl too; I first secured my yarn as in the photo below; down over the whorl, around the end of the chopstick, back up over the whorl & secured at the tip of the spindle shaft with a half hitch.

I've since learned the trick of wrapping the fibre up the shaft at an angle, & then securing with a half-hitch. This feels much more secure.

I've since handed out the spindles to some fibre-loving friends, who also managed to spin something yarn-like. The friends seem to like them, but that could be just the sparkles!