How to Spindle Spin
The Basics

Your average top whorl spindle consists of a shaft (the stick) the whorl (the round disk) and a hook. For beginners the best starting spindles weigh between 1 ounce and 2 ounces. Weight is a personal preference and you should work with the spindle that works best for you.

Fiber is also important. Fibers with a short staple length are harder when you're jsut beginning. I recommend that people start with a wool blend, BFL, Corriedale or something in that range. Many people find that Merino is not a good fiber to start spinning with.
1.To start you may want to predraft your fiber. Here's my article on predrafting For ease for beginners, I start this by splitting the roving or batt lengthwise - unless the roving has stripes and I want to maintain that look then I skip to #2.

2. Or predraft by fluffing the fibers up by gently giving them a pull. This makes it easier to draft when you finally get to the spindle.
3.Attach a leader yarn to your spindle. When you get used to spinning you'll be able to make a leader using the fiber you're working on but for now we'll use a length of yarn to make it easy.

4.Now you're ready to spin. hang on to your fiber that has not been drafted out. Give your spindle a spin in the clockwise direction. Make sure that a lot of twist is in your yarn - you want too much twist at this point. Then park the spindle between your knees.

Just a note - you need to have a good length of fiber to build up twist in or this isn't going to work, so don't hook the fiber onto your spindle in such a way that you don't have any "lead" yarn.
5.Holding onto where the twist starts, start drafting out your fiber slowly letting the twist up the length that you are drafting.

6. Wind this new yarn onto your spindle and start all over again at number 1.
To check the twist of your fiber, before you do step 4 again, bring your drafting hand closer to the top of the spindle, letting the yarn twist upon itself. You don't want a wild twist but you do want it to twist back on itself.
  Continue to work in this manner until you have filled up wht shaft of your spindle. You will be making what is called a copp.There is more good information on ispindle.com and some videos to help you out with the plying.

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