A process for preparing a piecing operation in an air jet spinning arrangement is described. The air jet spinning arrangement comprises a drafting device, whose main drafting zone is bordered on its entry side by an apron roller pair and on its exit side by a delivery roller pair. The apron roller pair is connected to a first drive, the delivery roller pair to a second drive. When the spinning process is interrupted, the delivery of a closed staple fiber strand is stopped in the main drafting zone and a new starting end of the staple fiber strand is created. This new starting end is to be pieced together with an end of a thread already spun. To create a new starting end of the staple fiber strand suitable for piecing, the apron roller pair and the delivery roller pair are each controlled separately when the spinning process is interrupted and are shut down one after the other, in such a way that in the main drafting zone a new starting end of the staple fiber strand is formed.