Teach Yourself VISUALLY Handspinning

August 1, 2007
A textile artist of 30 years who has taught handspinning throughout the United States and Canada, McCuin is eminently qualified to instruct on the craft. Beginners will find this a good general introduction to spinning with hand spindle and spinning wheel, while experienced handspinners will learn from its detailed information on spinning novelty yarns. Throughout, McCuin highlights inexpensive ways to sample the craft before purchasing costly equipment, e.g., by experimenting first with an inexpensive homemade warp-weighted loom. Libraries may want to supplement with an instructional DVD (e.g., Patsy Zawistoski's "Spinning Wool: Basics & Beyond") as the Achilles' heel of this otherwise superb work is the photography: many of the images are too small or taken from too far a distance. Still, it is well worth purchasing, especially for public libraries catering to potential spinners.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.