Spindles

These hand-carved rustic spindles are about 20-25cm long, and are made from combinations of eucalyptus, cypress, and cherry wood.  Each is hand-tested to make sure it spins well.  The two spindles on the left have eucalyptus whorls and cypress shafts, while the one on the right has a cherry whorl and eucalyptus shaft.   (Available wood depends on what we can collect locally.)  Generally, cherry is darker  than  eucalyptus.  Cypress shafts are pale, with lots of interesting markings where little branchlets have been removed, while eucalyptus shafts are darker.   All spindles are oil-finished.  Particular combinations, or close-ups of what we have stock, are available on request.

We also have spindles with pottery whorls modeled on medieval spindle whorls, which are particularly recommended for spinning silk (slightly heavier than the wooden whorls).  The current whorls are glazed in rich browns;  other glazes available on request.

Please specify whether you want a notch at the top of the spindle  for standard modern dressing, or no notch for medieval-style dressing.

All spindles come with a brief instruction leaflet.

$7.50 each

Carders are used to brush wool into a fluffy cylinder called a rolag, and are sold in pairs.

Pine handle and  back, sanded to a smooth surface and oil-finished.   Teeth area 14 x 10 cm. 

$50.00 per pair

Flick Carders

Flick carders are used to tease out single locks of wool into parallel strands, ready to spin a smooth, strong thread.  Teeth area 8 x 4.5 cm.

Student/Child's flicker:   pine handle and back, metal teeth.   $7.50 each

Regular flicker: pine handle and maple back, metal teeth. $10.00 each

Spinning Kits

Kits contain a drop spindle, 100g of wool, a flick carder, and an instruction book.

$22.00 each   (Separate value $24.50 - save $2.50!)

(Boxed weight, 350gm.  Shipping within Australia is $4.50 by parcel post.)

Spinning on the Drop Spindle, or Rock  (Chris Robertson 2006)

34-page instruction booklet covering preparing fleece through to plying thread, with brief accounts of spinning and cloth production in medieval times.  Clear drawings and practical descriptions guide the novice spinner in learning this most enjoyable craft.

$7.50 each

Raw Wool

We have both white and natural grey Merino or Corriedale cross fleece.  It can be spun straight from the bag without any preparation, or combed or carded as you prefer.  This wool is fine quality and has a long staple (2 years' growth), excellent for hand or wheel spinning. There very little vegetable matter and not much dirt, but it does have the odd desiccated beetle and lots of lanolin.   Definitely no dags.  The unwashed white wool looks very yellow,  but will wash to a sparkling pure white.

We can also supply the wool scoured (washed) for no extra cost;  it will be nice and clean, but may still have the odd seed, burr, or  beetle.   Scoured wool will need  to be carded, combed, or teased.  Please specify raw or scoured when you order.

100g, $2.00  (large ziploc bag size)
500g, $8.00  (supermarket bag size)
1kg, $15.00  (small garbage bag size)