How To Make and Spin Fauxlags

What are rolags and what are fauxlags? The answer to both of these questions is happy little burritos of fiber. They look the same, spin the same, and create the same kind of yarn - an airy woolen handspun. These preps also have added benefit of being quick to spin since the speedy long-draw or a variant is a must to easily draft them. Plus, they’re fun to to make and spin.

The giant difference between the two is how they’re made. Traditionally, rolags are made on hand cards or blending boards and rolled off into a tube. Or they can come straight off a drum carder. Fauxlags are generally made from pre-made batts, carded roving, or top. The only tool you need to make a fauxlag is a long smooth stick-like object such as a dowel, a knitting needle, or a chopstick. Fauxlags are easier to make than rolags because you don’t have to learn how to use hand cards. Plus, a simple dowel is much cheaper than a drum carder (I still want one though), a blending board, or hand cards. Making fauxlags is also an inexpensive way to see if you like working with this prep before investing in dedicated tools for rolags. 

Let’s get rolling!

To make fauxlags, you’ll need fiber - roving, top, or a batt all work - and something long and smooth to wrap it around. Dowels, knitting needles, and chopsticks all work. 

I’m using an 8” dowel and a Fantasy Batt from GwenErin Natural Fibers.

Before we get down to tearing and rolling, we’ll need to prep the fiber. If you’re working with a dense, thick batt, loosen up the fiber by pulling on the sides. We’re not trying to tear it into strips yet (unless you want to change up the colors or textures), just thin out the batt so it’s easier to work with. Fluffing up the fibers helps with roving/top too if it’s compacted or slightly felted. 

Before we start striping the batt, pull out a few strands to measure staple length. If the fiber is 3” long, you’ll want to space your hands at least that far apart. Any closer and the batt/roving won’t separate because you’re holding both ends of the staple.

Batts can be difficult to tear evenly and the dowel lets you hold the batt evenly across it’s width for a neater edge. Hold down the dowel with one hand and pull the batt into strips with the other. It’s totally okay if the strips don’t have a clean edge or come away in clumps. Before you roll, you can stretch and pull them into a uniform piece.

If you’re working with roving, you can skip the dowel for this step. Just grab the fiber between your hands and start pulling it into chunks.

This is the same piece that was torn off in the above photo. I tugged and pulled it out to even the edges and make it easier to roll. When you’re happy with the shape and distribution, put the dowel on the bottom edge. Wrap the edge around the dowel and start rolling. If you're having a hard time holding the bottom edge, you can use a second smaller dowel to hold it in place. 

After the fiber is all wrapped up, I like to roll it a few more times with a little extra pressure. Those last few rolls secure the outside edge of the strip and create a firmer fauxlag. I’m not trying to create a super dense prep - that would be hard to draft. The right amount of pressure keeps the fauxlag squishy yet firm which stops it from collapsing during spinning.

The last step is slipping the rolag off the dowel. Now repeat these steps to your heart’s content.

Here’s my finished batch. I got 9 fauxlags from this 1.1 ounce batt. The first two I made are a little thicker because I didn’t roll them as tightly - didn’t make any difference when I spun them up. 

Time to spin!

Pick an end and slowly pull it out to pre-draft the fauxlag like so. I draft just enough to join a piece to the leader or the previous fauxlag. Since the fibers are all rolled up together, long-draw is the best way to draft these beauties. 

Thanks to the magic of tripods, cameras, and video editing software, I was able to put together a video of the spinning process. I hope this helps answer any questions about how to spin fauxlags and rolags. It’s my first video tutorial so let me know what you think!

Handspun Corriedale

I’m glad I saved all the batts I made on the drum carder to spin during Tour de Fleece. Haven’t been able to spin all of them, but the batts I have spun have been worth the wait. They’re both fun to work with and very versatile. If you want a worsted yarn, you can spin them in one big chunk or tear them into strips like I did with the Mystery Batt. For a woolen yarn, you can tear batts across the “grain” and roll them into fauxlags (same as rolags which come off hand cards instead of a drum carder).

The fate of my only Corriedale batt was being torn up and made into 11 ever so squishy fauxlags. I split them in half by weight and started spinning. Seems like I say this every time but I had so much fun working with these. Scout’s honor, fauxlags/rolags are my favorite thing to spin. It’s a shame that I don’t that work with them more often. Definitely a good thing that I also love the lofty woolen yarn fauxlags become.

The finished yarn is squishy and nice even though this batch of Corriedale isn’t the softest. It’s even a consistent thickness. The thick and thin spots lend character instead of defining the skein as a whole. Looking forward to knitting it up once I’ve got the right pattern in hand. In the meantime, back to spinning through the last weekend of Tour de Fleece!

The Specs:

Fiber: 40g (1.41 oz) Corriedale

Yardage: 90 + 18

Weight: DK - Worsted

Dates: July 13 - 18, 2014

Slow and Steady Tour de Fleece

Tour de Fleece is well underway with 8 days down and 13 left to go. This year, I’m doing things a little differently. As in previous years, I’m aiming to challenge myself and learn something new but at a rather relaxed pace. I’m not trying to spin all the things, clear out my fiber stash, or make myself spin every free moment of the day. In an afternoon, I might turn a batt into rolags and start spinning them that night or the next morning. No rush. The yardage isn’t exactly piling up but I get to spend more time enjoying the process. Plus, at the end of it all, there’s beautiful yarn waiting for me.

My goals are pretty simple.

• Spin up the batts I made during my adventures with the drum carder. 
• Spin new fibers. I’ve got Romney, Alpaca, Angora, a BFL/Silk/Angora blend, and silk hankies. All fibers that have been hanging out for far too long in my stash and I’m ready to try my hand at them. Bonus, I’ve turned a few of them into batts. 
• Try new techniques and read up on spinning. Top technique on my list - A tutorial by Lisa Raynor that shows how pulling a single through several flyer hooks to lessen tension makes it easier to spin fine yarn. I haven’t yet been able to spin a fingering weight yarn on my wheel and this tip might get me one step closer. As for reading, I’ve got the latest issue of Ply to keep me occupied.

The relaxed pace of this year’s tour is growing on me and the last 2 weeks should be a breeze. How’s your Tour de Fleece spinning going? Achieving your goals or throwing everything to the wind?

Handspun Nebula

As unassuming as this skein looks, it is actually spun from wool and a whole lot of firsts. The skein was made from the first batt I turned into fauxlags, aka fake rolags. It’s the first time that I’ve spun a true woolen yarn. The first time that I’ve spun black wool. As well as the first time that I’ve spun long-draw from a traditional prep. More than a sample anyway. Having spun this yarn and to now be holding it in my hands, makes me feel like I’ve leveled up to become a better, more knowledgeable spinner. Still one that still doesn’t know what to make with her ever growing stash of handspun either.

The batt had been sitting in the stash for years without a purpose. It wasn’t until seeing a demo on rolags and actually spinning one that I had some clue of what to do with the fiber. Unfolded, the batt covered my entire balcony table. What exactly had I a gotten myself into? Remembering the demo, I spent the next couple of afternoons turning the batt into 37 fauxlags. They covered most of my kitchen table. Couldn’t help but wonder, again, what I’d gotten into but all those worries disappeared once I started spinning.

Big or small, long or short, the rolags were incredibly fun to spin. Spinning the 37th was just as enjoyable as spinning the first not just because of the different sizes but also the colors. One rolag would be black with bits of purple and the next would be full of eye popping blue. Despite their differences, the rolags combined to form a fairly consistent yarn. Well, as consistent as a lumpy, bumpy, woolen spun yarn can be. Plying definitely evened out some of the more mountainous sections. After a bath and a few good thwacks against the shower wall, the yarn plumped up nicely. I’m ready to prep and spin another skein just like it.

The Specs: 

Fiber: Spinner’s Hill Batt - 4 oz of mystery wool

Color: Storm (combo of blue, black, purple, and brown)

Yardage: 440 yds + 11

Weight: Sport, 10 - 12 WPI

Dates: March - April 26, 2014