How to dress a distaff with flax for handspinning linen yarn

[@CrowingHen]

Free handout for dressing a distaff with flax: permies.com/goodies/106/raven People have been pestering me for a mailing list, but that's a lot of work so I generally piggyback on the permies.com daily-ish email. So kindly agreed to host the free download in exchange for signing up for their awesome mailing list.

[@fairygrove3928]

Thank you for offering this! I love how well you describe dressing and using a distaff, and look forward to being able to download and print out a how-to!💜

[@trampledbygeese]

Beautiful. I love spinning flax into linen.

[@CrowingHen]

Me too!

[@dirtpatcheaven]

I love beautiful spinning videos like this! You made my day. I have been spinning with silk lately.

[@CrowingHen]

Glad you enjoyed it! Silk is a lot of fun.

[@nancyreading5730]

Oh you make it look so easy! I love the hitchhikers distaff. Thanks for the free download - useful resource.

[@CrowingHen]

Glad it was helpful!

[@shelleys6826]

This is a lovely video! So very informative and educational. Your voice and cadence are perfect for video tutorials.

[@CrowingHen]

Thank you so much!

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Hello from a fellow fiber enthusiast and introvert in Portland, Oregon! I just found your channel today and have been enjoying all your videos!

[@CrowingHen]

Welcome aboard!

[@GaraksApprentice]

Wonderful video. I have a mighty need for several more distaves after watching. I have some flax roving sitting in my stash, waiting to be used - now I finally know how I can put it on my distaff!

[@CrowingHen]

Wonderful! One can never have too many distaves!

[@phoebebaker1575]

I love your videos. You create a magical space I just want to be transported to. I guess I can be for a little while, as long as I have battery power!

[@AndreaAlexander]

I love the Hitchhiker's reference 😜

[@CrowingHen]

:)

[@JillianEve]

Thank you for showing so many techniques for dressing distaves. This video is a wonderful resource. I used to feel intimidated by flax thinking there was only one way to dress a distaff. Now I know there's so much freedom to make it work for me, and I've enjoyed spinning linen thread ever since! 💜🧶

[@CrowingHen]

The wonderful thing is that these are just a few ways. There are hundreds of ways to dress a distaff - the only wrong way is that doesn't work for you (but might be right for someone else). Hopefully this will help people experiment and try new ways. Thanks for watching. I love your distaff videos!

[@JosephLofthouseauthor]

Lovely. A distaff would sure make my spinning easier. LOL!!!

[@CrowingHen]

It's sped up my spinning tremendously. But every spinner has their own style so it's a matter of matching the tools to the spinner.

[@MrsPbio]

Where did you get your water bowl?!? It’s lovely!

[@valeriegaddis5973]

Absolutely love the standing distaff with built in water bowl. Can you tell me the source? Videos are very helpful. Thank you.

[@CrowingHen]

It's so beautiful, and a bit famous in flax circles. It was in Spin Off magazine and at least one of the other flax books. I borrowed it from a friend. It was made locally in the 1960s or 70s. In the book The Big Book of Handspinning Amos has a plan to make a distaff similar to this one.

[@JulianneSiddoway]

Love your video! It is lovely.

[@CrowingHen]

Thank you so much!

[@wycohibito]

I do love you videos. When my ancestors came to the new world they almost starved because they were spinners of fine linen and no one would trade with them because they didn't want such fine linen, thus they became farmers and lost this gift.

[@barbioliver4542]

Thank you for sharing

[@CrowingHen]

My pleasure

[@DreamWeavr]

How long should the ribbon be approximately?

[@CrowingHen]

It depends on the length of the distaff, length of fibre and dressing method you choose. In theory, we should have enough to wrap up and down our cone of fibre plus a bit to tie a bow. In reality, I just use whatever I have to hand and if it's too long, I do another wrap or two, and if it's two short, I don't wrap as much.

[@copperweaver13]

This video is so helpful! The best I have found so far. I am learn how to process and spin long line hemp fiber through my job at the Cannabis Museum in Athens, Ohio. We were gifted a van load of artesian French hemp fiber stalks of a variety called Futura 86. I have been learning how to ret and process the fibers over the past month. I am starting to build up a supply of long line hemp fibers, but I am a bit afraid to jump into spinning it without practicing on another material. I have years of experience spinning animal fibers, but I have never used a distaff until recently when I started working with the hemp. So far I have only spun wool and hemp tow from the distaff. The wool was not so difficult, but the tow was a challenge to draft smoothly. Are there any differences between dressing a distaff with flax and hemp?

[@karenradcliff9163]

Thank you! Distaves are the scary unknown for me, both for flax and for wool--this makes them seem more doable.

[@CrowingHen]

They were scary for me too but then I hurt my hand and it was either figure it out or give up spinning for a few months.

[@HEXfutures]

Davin was here.

[@CrowingHen]

Me too.