Woolen drafting is my default draft. I don't do a long draw often, it makes my shoulder unhappy. I tend to stick to a shorter draft, and can move either forward or backward. I happily draft woolen on both worsted (combed) and woolen (carded) preparations.

You can see the yarns in both preparations look loftier and less consistent than my worsted drafted yarns from previous posts.

I love the yarn a woolen draft makes yarn. A woolen yarn is:

Fuzzy
Less defined in stitch patterns
Very airy and warm
Light
Less drapey
Less shiny

To me a woolen drafted yarn looks organic. If you are looking for super crisp stitch definition you should draft worsted not woolen.

To spin woolen, you draft, and open your fingers to let the twist run into your fiber. You don't have to open your fingers much, twist does not need an engraved invitation to slide through.

A woolen draft can be daunting to a spinner that mostly spins with a worsted draft. There is always a worry about the twist getting away from you and locking up in the fiber supply.

A great way to start or practice with a woolen draft is to spin from the fold.

Here are some other tips for spinning woolen:

Slow down. Treadle slower than usual or move to bigger whorl to feel more in control of your twist. If you are newish to woolen your hands will be moving slower and it's easy to gather too much twist.

Stop treadling. If anything feels off, or you feel like the twist is getting away from you, stop. Take your feet off of the treadles or turn off your espinner. Don't just slow down thinking you can fix it on the fly, stop altogether and assess what's going on.

Open just a little. You really only need to separate your fingers the tinest bit to let the twist through. You don't have to move your hand away, your fingers can hover over the fiber, and open just a smidge.

If you feel like you still need some more control while learning a woolen draft, you can use a park and draft method. You may have done the same thing when learning to spin on a spindle.

If you are new to woolen drafting, it take some practice and a leap of faith those first few times you open your fingers. Be kind to yourself when trying or practicing something new, you aren’t looking for perfection, you’re looking for new possibilities!