A method and apparatus are described for piercing severed yarn to a sliver in a spinning machine in a manner to prevent formation of an excessively long or frail piecing portion by passing leading yarn Y' through a twist device T; driving draft rollers 1, 2, which have been stopped following severance of the yarn to remove the thinned, tapered tip of sliver 6 from the front roller 4; and then introducing sliver for piecing into the twist device while removing a portion of the fibers constituting such a sliver to make the piecing portion thereof more nearly as thick as the leading yarn.