The Intentional Spinner: A Holistic Approach to Making Yarn

by Judith MacKenzie McCuin

Offering a blend of technical knowledge, history, and easy-to-use tips, this inspiring collection of spinning wisdom deftly explores the three fundamental areas of yarn understanding fibers, managing yarn structure, and making yarns that precisely meet the spinner's needs. The rich, historic traditions of plant and animal fibers are fascinatingly juxtaposed with recent advances in synthesized fiber and mankind€™s use of fibers in the past, present, and future, while detailed, image-laden instructions for four intermediate projects demonstrate the range of possibilities, from sturdy, plied yarns to playful, novelty yarns. Spinners are also offered guidance on planning a project from start to finish, as well as how to care for and store completed projects.

Genres: Nonfiction, Crafts, Reference, Knitting

152 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2008

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally I don't "Goodreads" (yes, I'm using it as a verb) knitting/spinning/fiber/craft books because usually I don't read them. I flip through, skim, and maybe make something from a pattern. They aren't read, they're reference.

But this I actually read, cover to cover. True to the title, The Intentional Spinner is all about spinning the yarn you want, rather than sitting down at the wheel, spinning something and then trying to figure out what to do with what you ended up with (after jumping up and down and marveling over the fact that you made yarn, actual yarn, from mere fluff). Not that there's anything wrong with that. Right? It's like an intermediate spinning class for when you're ready to take that next step, only in book form. Lots of tips and tricks, and some interesting techniques that I can't quite wrap my head around while it's just on the page. But I'll definitely be putting it to practical use.

Oh, and my copy did not include the DVD, just FYI.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, this is more of an upper 3.5. It's wheel spinning focused, while I am more interested in spindling. There's great coverage of some basics, she goes into more detail about fibers than most, as well as caring for fiber and products, pest issues, and so on. Great section on art yarn. It may not be extremely in depth but it's the best I've seen so far, it covers a good number of techniques and seems to provide quite practical information for each of them, not merely abstract definitions. Haven't seen the dvd. This is a book I'll come back to when I'm interested in art yarn. Not sure if I'll want it as soon as I get into wheel spinning--have to take another look over it before I return it to the library.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A broad reference for fibre and technique with a lot of charm in the writing

[Rachel Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of history and a little advanced for a beginner spinner but interesting and helpful nonetheless.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Apr 2020] This was a marvelously soothing read. When the news is bleak, there's a surprising amount of comfort to be found in reading about fiber-bearing animals of the world, or how to hackle flax. Try it and see!... Of course, it's also a thorough treatise on wheel spinning, with an emphasis on planning and control: making the wheel do what you want it to (hence the "intentional" part of the title) rather than simply producing "default" yarn. The chapter on art yarns is definitive and enlightening; many of the techniques in this chapter are ones that I didn't even know were possible.

[Varina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awwww yeah, here's some highly technical information on the chemical and physical properties of a wide variety of fibers, the mechanics of spinning wheels and twist dynamics, all presented in a highly readable and understandable way. There's even a yarn diameter control algorithm
Because sometimes you have to

before you can

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. Chock full of info about fiber and turning it into yarn. This is one I'll reread again and again!

[Meagan Condon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful resource for spinners who have the basics down and are looking to improve their yarn. The information and photos in this books are well-presented, clear, and precise. The text can be somewhat dense at times. This is a book that needs time to be digested and would benefit from multiple readings.

[Sparrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clear descriptions of different methods of spinning, drawing, plying, and cabling, including how small changes affect the end result. Awesome flow chart of how to adjust your wheel to change the yarn instead of trying to adjust your natural rhythm.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a book that could explain how I can spin different types of yarn. This book has lots of technical detail. There are photos but not one of every step as it covers so much. Now I need to try out some of the examples included.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written. A history, science lesson and technical treatise on Spinning and textiles.

[Renee Huttle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite how to spin book. The accompanying DVD is especially helpful.

[JSchafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will read again to mark passages and tips to remember. Lots of great ideas to elevate your spinning skills.

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for improving your spinning!!

[Tina Ambury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread as a refresher before restarting spinning with my wheel.
Extremely well informed narrative. Quite technical.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

TIS opens with a wonderful run down on different types of fiber, including a lot of different more rare and luxury fibers that I had never even heard of before. I did find the technical explanations about different approaches to spinning hard to follow at times - due to the layout of the book, you would have to bounce between the text and the pictures they were referencing, which made it hard to follow along. I also didn't particularly click with her technical explanations - it was hard for me to visualize exactly what she was saying and how I would apply it to my own spinning. Mackenzie McCuin obviously has a lot of technical expertise, and I'll definitely be on the look out for classes taught by her in the future, but I would say that this book is definitely a "check it out from the library before you buy" for me.

[Violinknitter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library in order to browse through it & see if I could find anything interesting in it. I think I will actually have to buy this book, however. Judith MacKenzie has included so much valuable information, and I think I could use this book as a reference for years to come. Highly readable style, too. With all the detail, this could easily have been a dry read, but it's not at all.

[Janis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that is rich with Judith's knowledge of spinning and fiber. Very high-level and abstract in some ways and I kept feeling that I wished some topics were covered more in depth, but I'm still processing the information I gathered. I think this is a book I will come back to repeatedly in order to figure out more spinning skills in the future.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a great resource, and I'd like to read it again sometime. It's definitely based on wheels rather than spindles, so it's not very useful to me now (I don't think I can do most of the plying tricks with a drop spindle--not enough hands), but if I end up with a wheel someday, I might go and buy it.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly detailed book. As a more experienced spinner I rarely find something new in spinning books but this one is chock full of facts!
I learned the most from the fiber sections - detailed info on how every fiber goes from plant to yarn! Awesome!

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've seen on handspinning yarn. It covers all the different fibers extensively and contains interesting information on them that I haven't seen elsewhere, and it is filled with great tips and information. I highly recommend it to anyone who spins.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The DVD (included) helped with with plying--I'm a beginning spinner, but the early chapters with a taxonomy of fibers, where they're found, how their processed, what they're used for and why is absolutely engaging. Author seems just quirky enough to be really interesting.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am trying to improve my spinning skills, and read this book for some ideas and advice to help me. As a spinner, it kept me engaged, and I did actually read it cover to cover. Highly recommended for spinners.

[Grayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the spinning book I needed! I want to be able to design yarns and not just be happy with whatever comes off my wheel (although don't get me wrong, that's a lot of fun too). I'm going to do some experimenting tomorrow using the ideas in this book. I'm quite excited.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author discusses some simple procedures for making yarn and thread from various materials without using a spinning wheel. She discusses some of the materials, provides color photographs, and even presents a couple of projects.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just started but loving the info so far.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven't read every word of this, but thumbed through... well-written, lots of information, detailed. I need to remember this book when I'm spinning more again.

Read through 12/2010.

[Supisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book for handspinner. I espcially love the spinning for perfect sock yarn and the knitting pattern toward the end of the book.

[Jennie]

Rayon and tencel are the same thing. Optim is actually treated wool.

[Kristine]

this was very in depth about fibers and history. most is spinning wheel knowledge vs spindle spinning. I left confused about plying vs cabling, so need to reread those.