Fiber ~ drafting

Drafting is how you go from a cloud of fiber, to a strand of yarn. Of course the spinning wheel spins, and that's what twists the fiber into yarn. But I don't usually think about what the spinning wheel is doing. I get a nice rhythm going pedling the spinnig wheel, which doesn't take much thought. It's the drafting that gets my focus.

I take a cloud of fiber:



I put the cloud of fiber in my lap, pushing it up with where the strand is coming off my spinning wheel. On my lap is a cloud of fiber, on the spinning wheel is a strand of yarn, with my hands in the middle. Between my two hands is where drafting is taking place:



There are different techniques to drafting that will create different kinds of yarn. I admit, I'm not that experienced of a spinner for any of that. I know I could do it, I just haven't ventured to learn it yet. So far I've stuck with basic drafting of pulling the fibers smoother between my hands, and letting them twist after it goes through my 2nd hand, closer to the spinning wheel.

All this creates a strand of yarn: