Margaret Miller

I have been asked to compare and obtain a commercial equivalents to the handspun (based on wpi). The only one I have which is close is Opal sock wool. The recommended needle size for this yarn is 2.5. On the assumption that socks are normally knitted tighter than other garments I am choosing to do the three swatch sizes in 2.25, 2.75 and 3.25. Using a fine X-breed from Ringrove, handcarded and spun longdraw.

I have been watching Abby Franquemont's Drafting: The long and Short of it  DVD as well as Mabel Ross's  Handspinning: Advanced Techniques  video to try to get a grip on the subtle variations in ways of doing long draw. It seems to me that a true woollen long draw has to be done one-handed as this would have been how wool was spun on Great or Wool Wheels. The use of the second hand may have come about when rolags/rovings were spun on flyer/flax wheels. Possibly because spinners were so used to using both hands that they couldn't help themselves or that the support hand added extra stability for the yarn when the fibre hand draws back. (Why doesn't a Wool Wheel need this? Is it something to do with the direct drive spindle mechanism?) I think I will also dig out a variety of reference books (old and new) to see if they can help clarify things.