Have you ever wanted to learn to spin wool? Hand spinning is a relaxing, practical craft that connects you with natural fibres and traditional skills. At The Spinning Barn near King's Lynn, Norfolk, beginners can discover the joy of turning fleece into yarn in a friendly farm setting. What happens at a wool spinning workshop? Our hands-on workshops introduce the essential stages of spinning wool: preparing fibre, understanding twist, using a drop spindle or spinning wheel, and building...

Lately, it’s hard not to feel that the world is a bit… unsettled. Things feel uncertain. Prices rise, systems feel stretched, and there’s often a sense that so much of modern life is slightly out of our control. And in the middle of all that, I find myself coming back, again and again, to something very simple: Making. Spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet—these aren’t just lovely, calming crafts (although they are that too). They are practical, grounding, and, I would argue, increasingly...

I have been reading and hearing a lot recently about the benefits of making something ourselves so I decided it was time to reflect on this in relation to hand spinning. Do let me know if this resonates with you. There’s something magical about making something with your own hands. You know the feeling—the wool slips through your fingers, the wheel hums beneath you, and suddenly you’ve turned a fluffy little bundle into something real, something you’ve made. But did you know there’s actual...