This past summer I purchased an EEW nano spinning wheel from dreaming robots! Here are my thoughts!
I really wanted to get into spinning because you know I really needed another yarn related hobby haha. I received a drop spindle and some roving from knitpicks to try and while I enjoyed the idea of it in practice it was HARD!I found it hard on my shoulders and hands and wasn't really enjoying it. I still wanted to try spinning though so I went looking for an affordable electric spinning wheel. I didn't want to spend a thousand dollars on a full sized electric spinning wheel incase I ended up also not enjoying spinning at all.
Dreaming robots has a larger sized electric spinning wheel and a small travel sized one which is what I got. It is still a bit pricey at $110 USD but WAY cheaper then an ashford which is the main electric spinning wheel I had heard about previously which will run you around a grand.
I have been using my nano for about 6 months now and I really enjoy spinning. I find it relaxing and I like being able to knit with yarn I made. It did take me awhile to get the hang of it, but this I think is just spinning in general as opposed to a nano specific issue. I honestly at first was like what did I do I can't use this machine at all! After watching multiple youtube tutorials and lots of practice I got the hang of it. My first I think 5 attempts at spinning and plying were not great haha. I went through the whole process though just to see. I am not really able to knit with the first I think 5 small skeins I spun as they are super lumpy and uneven but it was great practice. I have since gotten much better and can now spin much more even and thin yarn. I have actually knit two pairs of socks from my handspun. One is still a bit bumpy as it was my first time spinning tweedy yarn, but still very useable!
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| Tweedy Handspun |
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| First pair of sock using handspun |
So what are the pros and cons of this spinner:
Pros:
-affordable
-small and compact, does not take up much space
-a great starter machine
Cons:
-small size, you can only fit so much yarn on each bobbin
-tiny motor, mine sometimes overheats if I am spinning too long and will stop working well and I have to take a break and let it cool down
I think this is a great machine if you want to dip your toes into the world of electric spinning wheels, but if you are an avid spinner go for a bigger machine for sure. I am happy I bought this little guy to make sure that I actually enjoyed spinning and to see if it was something I wanted to stick to. I said I would give myself a year and if I was still spinning away I would invest in a larger more heavy duty spinner.
If you are a spinner or are getting into spinning some great places to get roving are knitpicks (very affordable), I love divinity fibres (great selection) & I recently started a yarn store and have a small selection of roving currently in stock. Another great option is to check out local farms. This fall I went to a local alpaca & goat farm and they were selling bags of the alpaca roving!
Are you a spinner or thinking about getting into the world of spinning?
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