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
Autumn 2026: The Sericulture Issue
This issue explores a lustrous and versatile fiber: silk. Typically we think of silk as shiny and strong, and it definitely can be that, but there is so much more to this fiber, and this issue does a deep dive into all the different types of silk that can be used for spinning as well as the different preps you can find for silk.
We start off with a silk spinning primer from Coleen Nimetz to give you a foundation for working with this fiber, Michael Kelson explores different silks in top form, and Amelia Read Garripoli talks about spindle selection for silk spinning. Sprinkled throughout the issue are photos of silk in various forms and drafts, from top to cocoons to lap to mawata.
Articles explore blending silk with other fibers, looking at different blending tools and the percentages of silk in blends. You’ll also learn about spinning silk for drape, for elasticity, and for luster; about dyeing silk with both acid dyes and natural dyes; and about how different finishing methods affect silk yarns.
And the issue wouldn’t be complete without explorations into the history of silk, from China to reeling with a Zaguri to recreating a Viking tablet-woven band to how silk has been used in the medical field. And Michael Cook shares his personal history with this Queen of Fibers.
Whether you’re experienced with spinning silk or you’ve never spun silk before, you don’t want to miss this issue!
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!
Ask Jillian: Keeping It Smooth
/in Ask Jillian!/by Jillian MorenoI like my yarn absolutely smooth, with as little fuzziness as possible. I know to spin a worsted preparation with a worsted draft, but sometimes my yarn still comes out with a halo. What else could I be doing that makes my yarn fuzzy? Nicole Hi Nicole, You already know the two most important elements to creating a smooth yarn – a worsted prep […]