Book excerpt: A one-stop guide to preparing and spinning cotton, flax, and hemp! Over the last few years, focusing on specific types of fiber or spinning techniques has become more and more popular. In The Practical Spinner's Guide: Cotton, Flax, Hemp, author Stephenie Gaustad offers a detailed overview of each plant, the fiber it produces, and how to properly prepare, spin, and finish yarns made from each fiber. Cotton, flax, and hemp behave very differently from wool, and special handling is required. Stephenie discusses how each fiber behaves and how best to work with them, specifically touching on trouble spots such as drafting and adding twist. She also covers finishing yarnsâ€"cleaning, setting twist, and plying--as well as what dye processes are best for adding color. Finally, she includes a discussion of spinning for both knitting and weaving, covering fabric properties of each fiber, and what spinners need to take into account when using the yarn in a subsequent project.