The first thing you want to do is get yourself a spindle and some wool. I bought my spindle and wool from Hello Yarn, as a spindle kit. (As of writing this tutorial, I don't think there's anything left, but there should be a shop update soon.) Alternatively, there are plenty of other spindle sellers, or you could make your own. In the pictures in this tutorial, I'm spinning 100% merino wool, although I hear Blue-Faced Leicester wool is also good for beginners.
Next, you want to take the time to pre-draft the fiber, to loosen it up and make it easier to spin. Pull off a length of fiber about 2 feet long. I find anything longer than that is too much to work with, although I've seen some tutorials that recommend longer.
This is how I predraft my fiber. I split it into smaller strips, which make it easier to work with. How thin the strips are used to depend on how thin I wanted my yarn, but I find I'm drafting much better now, so it's not really necessary.
From half of the original strip of fiber, I got a little bit more than this much fiber (see below). This is a couple hours worth of spinning. I try to keep my strips as separated as possible so it's easy to just pick one up and add it on when I'm ready.
I've also heard that "cracking the whip" with your original fiber helps loosen up the fibers and makes it easier to draft, although I keep forgetting to try it for myself.
Now that you've got your fiber ready, you want to pick up the spindle and tie on a leader. To do that, take a small piece of yarn, at least 8 inches long and tie it onto the shaft of the spindle, leaving enough of a tail that you can bring it up and hook it onto the hook. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of a leader right now. I used a yarn that had some wool content (Wool-Ease), figuring it would be easier for the wool fibers to cling to while spinning. You can also use your spun yarn as a leader, but at this point, you probably don't have that. For the record, I still use the Wool-Ease for my leader.
This is how you bring the yarn around the hook of your spindle. You want the end (about an inch and a half) of your leader to be frayed and loose so that the fiber will intertwine when you spin.
And now, back to the fiber. You want to take your fiber in whatever hand feels best to you and hold it sort of like this, wrapped around your wrist/forearm.
I'm right handed, so it's more natural for the fiber to be in my left hand. Take the end of the fiber and lay it against the frayed part of your leader. Pinch the fiber and leader between your index finger and thumb.
At this point, I gently spin the spindle, clockwise, with my right hand to put twist in the leader until the leader and the fiber join together and I can let the spindle dangle without it dropping. You'll notice the leader yarn twist up tight, with your fiber twirling into it. When there's enough twist, you can spinning for real.
The method I recommend for new spinners is called "park and draft". It's one of the more common methods in a lot of internet tutorials I read before I started spinning. To do this, you spin the spindle, clockwise, making sure that none of the twist goes past your pinch and up into your fiber. Let the twist gather for a little while; you should feel it gradually tighten under your finger and thumb. Stop the spindle from spinning. "Park" the spindle between your legs, grab the fiber you have pinched in your left hand with your other hand, and draft out more fiber and pinch down again.
After drafting out more fiber, let go of the pinch in your right hand and let the twist go up the drafted fiber to the pinch. To help the twist go up the fiber, you can roll the fiber between your right index finger and thumb. Then just repeat until you get almost to the end of your fiber strip (about 2-3 inched away from the end).
To add more fiber, lay a new strip up along the end of the previous strip, just like when you put your first strip along the leader. You can just continue spinning in the same manner.
That's basically it. As you get the hang of things, you can try drafting while the spindle is spinning. Hopefully, I've done a good job with this tutorial, but if not, here are some links that might help clear up any confusion.
http://www.icanspin.com/toc.htm <-- This site has videos of spinning, which I found really helpful, and will probably help you understand drafting and spinning better. 3nodding
http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/
http://www.handspinning.com/lollipops/spininst.htm
http://www.mielkesfarm.com/spndl_inst.htm
If there are any other questions about spinning or problems with my tutorial, don't hesitate to ask. I love talking about spinning. biggrin
Oh, and don't get discouraged if you have trouble at first. It took me a while to get the hang of it, too. 3nodding
