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Down fibers are the fibers found in the soft undercoats of fiber-bearing animals. They are short and fine and some of the softest and warmest fiber known to man. Examples of down fibers are cashmere, yak down, buffalo down, quiviut (muskox) and camel down. These animals have more than one coat, a coarse outer coat, called guard hairs, and the soft short warm fibers that help keep the animal warm. Down bearing animals shed their downy coats in warmer weather and the down is harvested at that time.

Down fibers can be bought raw or processed. The raw fibers need to be washed and have the guard hair removed. Processed down fibers should come to you clean and dehaired. Down fibers can come in a loose fiber or in a processed top. Because down fibers benefit from being spun woolen, rather than worsted, a combed prep is not really necessary, however combing can help ensure the uniformity of the fiber.

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To begin spinning a down fiber, you must first learn how to hold the fiber. The best way to spin down fibers is a woolen spin with a long-draw. To do this you must hold the fibers loosely in your fiber hand and well back from the drafting zone. You don't want to be pinching and choking the drafting triangle, because you want to allow the spin to enter the fiber source and pull out the fibers.

To spin these fibers with a spindle, you want to use a supported spindle. Supported spindles do not use gravity to pull fibers into the twist, therefore it is possible to do a long draw on them because the fibers are not pulled in as fast and your hands can keep up and control the long draw. A supported spindle has a pointed top and a pointed bottom, you spin by twirling the spindle with the bottom of the spindle resting in a small bowl or on your thigh.

To start the spin, grasp the spindle at the top between your thumb and first two fingers and "snap" your fingers rolling the spindle through them. Immediately you should take your thumb and middle finger and form a circle around the tip to corral the spindle so it won't stop, but without hindering its spin. The spindle will touch your circled fingers and eventually stop, but you have successfully built up spin in your thread.

While your spinning hand is snapping, spinning and corraling the spindle, your left hand is holding the fibers but not actively pulling back to make thread. The spin step is meant to build up spin in the thread leader coming off the spindle. Once the spin is sufficiently built up, perhaps 2 or 3 snaps (or more, you will learn by feel over time how much is right), then it is time to begin drafting. To draft, hold the top of the spindle stationary and gently pull back with your fiber hand drawing away from the spindle. At this point you are letting the stored twist energy run into the fiber supply and draw out a thread.

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If you find you have slubs (thick spots in a thinner thread), pinch off the twist between the slub and the spindle tip and grasp the thread ahead of the drafting triangle with your fiber hand. Both hands should be grasping spun thread. Then gently pull back with your fiber hand to draw out the slub and allow the twist to enter the slub. If your slub won't budge, you may have to slightly untwist your yarn by rolling your pinching hands in the opposite direction of the twist and then drawing back. When you let go, the twist will run right back into the slub which is now thinned out from drawing it.

Down fibers really benefit from plying. Because the fiber is so short, you don't want to use a down fiber single in knitting because the yarn will be unstable. However, you could use it in a tightly woven piece. If you intend to use your fiber in a lace knit pattern, a 2 ply is sufficient. If you plan to knit other types of garments, a 3-ply is ideal as it will give the yarn a more rounded cross section, and more luxurious loft.

To finish off a down fiber yarn, you want to wash it and help the fibers set and bloom. Wash your skein in warm water with a little soap, then squeeze it gently or put it in the washing machine on spin cycle (with no water running or agitation) to remove the excess water. Then take your skein and give it a nice cracking whack against a table top or other hard smooth surface. Whack it several times on one end, then switch your grasp to the other end and whack again. The whacking helps the fibers bloom and will give you an incredibly luxurious and lofty yarn for the most delicious textiles!