Fiber Prep For Woolen Spinning

I've spent the last 3 weeks working on spinning ~ a pound of wool using the long draw method. I found it very satisfying. The roving was prepped from a carded batt so I did not have to do anything special to the fiber to spin it long draw. However, I was listening to the Podcast Just One More Row, and they described a method of fiber prep for long draw that I had never heard of. They called it Fauxlags(Faked Rolags). I used this method with some fiber that needed some prep because it had slightly felted, and I was really struggling to draft it. So the following is a little tutorial on how I made my Fauxlags.

First I pulled apart the roving into little section. I chose to do this by color organizing darker spots and lighter blue sections.


Pulled apart each section separating the fibers until it's fairly thin. The thinner you make this the finer you can spin your single.


Use a dowel or pencil. Place it along the bottom edge of the fibers you just separated.


Roll up the fibers around the pencil/dowel loosely.


Once it's rolled up take out the pencil from the center. Do not compact the roll.


You will spin off the end of the Fauxlag. Start by pre-drafting from one end. I organized my rolls in the order I wanted to spin them. This allow you to get long color repeats.


and this was the single on the bobbin.


This method works great if you want to spin long draw and you have top or if you want to better control your color repeats on a short-color repeat roving.

Hope this is helpful