Many people feel that while, interesting, spinning is a space intensive hobby. And while that is true to some extent, it is not a requirement. While you will have better quality thread at a much faster rate it is possible to spin simply with your fingers, but to do so more accurately and quickly you use a spindle.
The hand spindle is a stick with a small disc at its end. These discs can be made of wood, stone, clay, or metal and have a hole in the center for the spindle. The tool is called a drop spindle because it is lowered or "dropped" during spinning. The thread is tied to the spindle and twisted as the wheel rotates. The spinner adds more fibers to the yarn, taking them from a flake that holds with the hand or has been rolled onto a stick called the wheel.
However, the spinster often stops and winds the thread produced in the spindle. The spinners have made yarns like this all over the world until the mechanical spinning lathe was invented.