Once the fiber is prepared (shorn, picked, scoured and carded) it is ready for spinning.
There are two common techniques for spinning, with a drop spindle or with a spinning wheel. With both devices a leader (scrap yarn) is attached either to the spindle or to the bobbin of the spinning wheel.
With a drop spindle, the leader is then wound, hooked, or tied in place. With a wheel, the leader is threaded around hooks on the flyer and through the orifice.
Twist is put into the leader. With a spindle, the spindle is spun in a clockwise direction when viewed from above. With a wheel, treadles are pedaled which cause the bobbin and flyer to rotate, such that the wheel rotates in a clockwise direction when viewed by the person spinning.
When twist is built up into the leader, fiber is held against the leader above the twist and the twist is allowed to travel up into the fiber. This twists the leader and fiber together.
Now it is time to draft. The fibers are gently pulled lengthwise so that some fibers slide in the drafting hand while others remain held in the twist hand. This thins the bundle of fibers to the desired thickness so you can spin fine yarns as well as thick yarns as desired. Twist is allowed to travel up into the drafted fiber. This locks the fibers together. The newly twisted fiber is wound onto the spindle, or on a wheel the spinner allows the wheel to pull the strand through the orifice, over the flyer hooks and be wound onto the bobbin.
Once the spindle or bobbin is full the single strand can be plied with other single strands. Plying is the process of twisting two single strands together. Plying is done in a counter clockwise direction.