Single topic issues
Single topic issues allow us to deeply explore a spinning topic from every angle. Collecting issues of PLY is like building your own comprehensive spinning library that you’ll refer to often.
Beginner to Advanced
We don’t just cover the basics, we explore and experiment. Whether you need to build skills and be inspired or advance the skills you have and step out of your comfort zone, PLY is for you.
Look and Feel
PLY is an indie magazine that looks and feels different than other magazines. With 121-128 archival-quality pages and only 15% ads, you get more information and gorgeous photography.
In the Current Issue
Spring 2026: The Experimental Issue
This issue is all about experimentation, and our contributors have put on their lab coats and safety goggles to examine a range of possibilities with fiber and spinning. We start with an article on how to design a spinning experiment and end with one that gives five ideas to experiment with so you can set up your own experiments.
In between those two articles, you’ll find experiments on combing short fibers and carding long fibers (the opposite of the typical prep) and on adding fiber to the intake drum vs the main drum on a drum carder. But do you even need tools to make a great woolen yarn? We cover that too.
Have you ever wondered if the length of draft for your long draw makes a difference? Or if it matters if you use a short forward or a short backward draw? Should you spin locks from the butt end or the tip end? And if you want to make sure your yarn is durable and strong, you’ll find several experiments that look at fine fibers and abrasion, how the prep for a worsted draft makes an impact, and how plying plays a role.
If you change your drive band to a different material, what does that do to the yarn you create? How does the weight of your spindle or the whorl placement on the spindle affect the spinning experience? How much twist can you add to your singles yarn and to your plied yarn before it creates bias in the knitted fabric? What about twist direction for crochet? And we can’t forget the importance of finishing your yarns, but how do you decide what finishing method to use?
All of these questions and more are answered in these pages.
In the Blog
Don’t miss out on everything happening with PLY!
What our Subscribers are Saying
This is the only magazine that I use and keep like a book. When it arrives, I drop everything and read PLY cover to cover. I indulge in all of the well-written content, beautiful photography, as well as the pertinent topics, discussions, instruction, patterns, tips, thought-provoking articles and product reviews. I look carefully at all of the ads as well for new tools and fiber sources! As a spinner and fiber artist, PLY is an invaluable resource that I refer back to often when dreaming up new projects. Thank you PLY for playing a vital role in my fiber arts journey!
I look forward to receiving my issue of PLY each quarter. I spend the next few weeks poring over every article and project and review. I then shelve the issue right next to my fibre reference books. I have gone back to past issues many times. This magazine is so very inspiring. Not only is there a great deal of information from many different spinners there is also a general spirit of enthusiasm and curiosity that is evident in this magazine. The contributors try so many different approaches and it really opens my eyes to all kinds of possibilities that I want to work on myself. I don’t subscribe to any other publications. I’ve never come across another magazine that is so consistently worth every penny.
PLY magazine has filled a void in the magazine publishing world. Many of the magazines have gone to less in-depth articles or in some cases, no articles; just patterns. I enjoy a magazine that I actually have to take time to read and that makes me want to pull out fiber and try some of the techniques. There is enough information and pictures in the articles that that is possible. It also doesn’t seem like a rehash of the same information presented in a different format. The limited advertising space is also a big plus. Keep up the good work. I look forward to each issue.
PLY Magazine is hands down the best money I spend on my spinning every year. I get so excited about every topic covered and the quality of the articles is not to be beat! But the best compliment I can give it is actually not mine at all. I recently had some houseguests (friends of my partner) staying in the house. While hanging out in the living room one morning, one of these fellows picked up the Cotton issue of PLY, which was hanging out on the coffee table. A non-spinner, I was surprised to see him reading the whole issue, cover to cover, and ask me questions. Fiber craft is not something he’s into, but he got so engrossed in the magazine topic that he asked if I could show him how a spindle worked. I was so happy to see that not only is it a beautiful coffee table magazine, but it does the same thing to non-spinners as it does to me – makes them excited about things they didn’t think they liked!
Combo Spinning as a Reflective Practice: Intentional Gradients
/in Spinning/by Guest Bloggerwords and photos by Gaelle Troude Reflective practice involves thinking about your actions, learning from your choices, and using this analytic process to improve your current skills and your future experience as well as the overall process itself. As a mental health professional, this manner of engaging with one’s activity has become second nature. Spinning […]