Learning to Spin Yarn

Spinning can be very difficult to learn from text descriptions and diagrams. It's a very manual skill, and full of small motions and nuances. I recommend finding a spinning teacher, either in person or on video, and paying attention more to their hands than what they're saying. There are often motions that are almost unconscious that are nonetheless really important.

Cotton

Cotton has, shall we say, a "reputation". I hear over and over that it's harder to spin than wool, harder to learn. In my experience, that's not really true. The trouble is that a lot of people learn on wool first, and cotton is similar-but-different, so there's a certain amount of un-learning that has to happen to transition from wool spinning to cotton spinning. I have watched a lot of people learn to spin, and taught a few myself, and in my experience, brand new spinners do just as well with either fiber. If your real interest is spinning cotton, I recommend learning on cotton, and pick up wool later if you still want to.

In many parts of the US, cotton spinning is rarely taught. It's worth seeking out, but you may be looking more for an individual spinner willing to teach than a professional teacher.

Another good option is finding a spinning video lesson. I rather like these because you can back up and watch the same bit again and again until you think you really understand what is happening.

The video I learned from was by Stephanie Gaustad. It was available on DVD. I believe this may be the same video, but offered online: Spinning Cotton This video covers preparing and spinning cotton on several different spinning tools, from support spindles to electric spinning wheels.

If you search on YouTube, there are lots of videos of varying quality. It's worth watching a bunch of them - you can learn a lot just by watching people spin and noting what they have in common and what they do differently.