Mixing Things up for a Sweater

words and photos by: Johanna Carter

I always admire those who are able to spin mountains of yarn for a big project, ready to knit a wonderful sweater or cardigan. It is a satisfying feeling when you finish all that work, especially if you started with washing and combing the wool or even raising your own sheep.

Mixing spinning and knitting

The typical way to work through a larger project is to spin all the singles first and ply them in a particular order so you get the yarn even throughout the whole project. I don’t have so many bobbins, but my bigger problem is that I am quite impatient and want to get on with knitting once I have an idea. And normally, my brain is full of ideas for fibre work and the limit is the time, as I am a musician and teacher. I can’t sit at the spinning wheel for a long time if I’m not on holiday, so during the school year I mostly knit, and during the holidays I can dye, spin, use my drum carder, and do lots of fibre work. The only time I was able to produce bigger quantities of yarn before I knitted them up was during the Tour de Fleece in the two years during the pandemic, when we did not go on holiday at the beginning of July.

A highly photogenic collection of naturally dyed fibres.

I like to finish knitting one big project like a sweater or cardigan before I start the next one, or at least until I can’t carry it in my bag easily anymore, so I have an excuse to begin the next one. Sometimes it is good to have a second project on the go – I call it mindless knitting, where I don’t have to look very much – which I can keep my hands busy during Zoom or other meetings, which helps me listen.

Mixing colours and fibres

Usually I dye my yarn with plants which I collect in the woods or get from garden flowers. I also use cochineal and indigo, which I buy, to get lots of different colours. I really love the greens and blues I get from dyeing with indigo. I have lots of dyed wool, and all those colours give me inspiration for further projects.

Beautiful greens and blues dyed by the author using indigo and other natural dyes.

Blending the wool on the drum carder I can get even more shades. I like to blend with fibres like silk, alpaca, or plant fibres, and I love sari silk, to get those little bits of colour in my yarn.

Fibres of different types and colours are blended on a drum carder for elegant results.

When I have an idea for the next sweater, I start carding, and then I can begin to spin. Once I have spun enough yarn – say, for one day – I cast on and start knitting, usually top down, so I don’t have to decide too much in advance about length and width.

An idea for the author’s next sweater in the gathering stages.

When I spin on my wheel, I have to sit at home, but while spinning I can read a book or talk to others during online meetings. I also like to spin on my spindles, and that works on a walk, or a museum visit. I take them on holiday as they don’t need much space, and when I spin for a lace shawl, I don’t even need much wool either. At home there are spindles all over the place; I can spin when I am waiting for the kettle to boil, when the computer is slow, when I am cooking. Like that I can make good use of a short time and the yarn still grows.

Knitting as soon as the yarn is spun helps the author complete sweater projects in a timely manner.

I can take my knitting almost everywhere, which is why I don’t want to wait to get started until I have spun all the yarn for a whole sweater. I knit at home, on the bus or train. The only thing I have to make sure of is to be one step ahead with the yarn.

I love to knit Fair Isle sweaters. My favourite method is to use only one bobbin, which I don’t even fill, because I need smaller quantities of lots of colours. Then I wind a ply ball and ply it on itself. For that I put my thumb through the ball, so I can tension the two singles with my fingers and they don’t get tangled, as long as my thumb (or a cardboard roll or a pencil) stays in the middle. I don’t have any leftovers from plying, and it is quick when I suddenly need more yarn.

Several charming sweaters dyed, spun, and knit by the author.

I have never had problems with the yarn not being consistent enough throughout a project. I just know what yarn I want and my fingers seem to remember what to do. I am sure it is good advice to have a little card tied to the spinning wheel with a bit of the singles you are aiming for, so you can check and make sure you are spinning a consistent yarn.

Mixing breeds

There are so many different breeds, but some of my favourites are Shetland, BFL, and Jämtland – a Swedish breed. After dyeing them, I often forget what I have used, so when I do a new project it often turns out that I have used different breeds and fibres just to get the right colour. For the Fair Isle knitting I want to juggle lots of colours, which is more important to me than making a sweater out of only one breed.

Recently I made a pullover for my husband using about 12 different breeds and colours, even mixing short and long draw. For me it was a breed experiment and a way to use up lots of smaller quantities of wool I had in my stash. For that sweater I used combed top without blending.

Mixing in knitting during the spinning process is a wonderful way for a spinner to avoid being overwhelmed during a sweater project.

My feeling is that some people don’t dare to start spinning for a bigger project because they get overwhelmed by the quantity they have to spin and then all the knitting there is to do, especially when you want to spin the yarn entirely on spindles. Mixing the spinning and knitting for the same project is more interesting; you get more variety and more freedom to choose what you want to do next as long as you don’t run out of yarn. It breaks the project down into smaller, less daunting parts. The only thing you might want to plan is to have enough fibre at the start, but even that is not necessary, there is always a sheep growing more wool.

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Book Review: The Handspinner’s Companion by Amanda Hannaford

The Handspinner’s Companion: From Fibre to Yarn

by Amanda Hannaford

Publisher: The Crowood Press
Paperback, e-book, 144 pages
Publication date: August 12, 2025
$31.49

(As this title is published out of the UK, the physical book will not be widely available outside of the UK until February 10, 2026. However, the e-book is available now!) 

Buy now at crowood.com

Review by Meagan Condon

One of my favorite things to tell students is to read multiple books on the same topic and listen to multiple teachers or watch multiple videos. Every teacher and writer says things a little differently, and sometimes it takes hearing the same information presented differently for it to click. If you’ve struggled to learn how to spin, there are so many fantastic books geared toward learning the basics of how to make yarn. 

The Handspinner’s Companion, by Amanda Hannaford, is a great introduction to the world of spinning. The book, based on the author’s intensive 6-hour beginning spinner course, starts not with the tools but with the fiber itself, explaining how to choose and prepare wool from fleece. Many beginner lessons skip this important step and start with the spindle or the wheel. Hannaford provides enough information in the early part of this book to give readers a foundational vocabulary that lays out a pathway for future learning. 

The entire book is chock-full of detailed, close-up photographs of techniques accompanied by descriptive captions. I often find it difficult to follow photo tutorials, but I found Hannaford’s instructions easy to follow.  

Despite lots of clear photos, I will say this book is very text-heavy. If you are a crafter who likes to deep-dive quickly, this title will appeal to you. It is less of a “quick skim” book and more of a true companion to guide you through your first few months of spinning. This will make a great addition to any fiber guild’s library! 

PLY Guild: Second Season Drop – Episode 4

It is that time again!  The fourth episode of the PLY Guild is here!  And you won’t want to miss it!  As we continue our journey through worsted spinning this season, this episode is all about spinning plant fibers worsted.  

Patsy Zawistoski teaches us about growing and processing flax.  Even seasoned linen spinners will find this useful!  

Watch the episode now! [link to episode] 

We’ll see you again with a new episode in six weeks (but in the meantime, come see us in a spin-in)! If you haven’t already gotten your membership, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!  

Join the PLY Spinners Guild here!

If you’d like to learn more from your favorite fiber instructors, make sure your membership is active! Each month is jam packed with new instructional videos and virtual spin-ins. Membership is cumulative, meaning you get access not only to the current episode, but also to every previous episode and recorded spin-in as well.  

The PLY Spinners Guild (PSG) hosts three 90 minute spin-ins every month:  

  • On the first Sunday of every month, guild members meet and spin at 5 p.m. Pacific.    
  • On the third Sunday of every month, guild members meet and spin at 10 a.m. Pacific.  
  • On the third Thursday of every month, guild members meet and spin at 5 p.m. Pacific. (This is the Building Skills Spin-in for spinners who want a less technical experience than our other spin-ins!) 

The guild is priced at $85/year or $12/month. This is a very good deal for the amount of information and community you will get, especially since new video lessons are added every six weeks! This fee allows us to pay for the substantial hosting required by so many high-def videos and the charge per member to access the site, along with fairly compensating the teachers, editors, and everyone involved in making the guild work.  

If you aren’t already a member, we think you’d definitely enjoy it!  


The PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners at all levels of spinning. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners and welcomes everyone to create a brave space to question, challenge, and support one another. We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone who meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe. 

Mood Board: Winter 2026 – Short Draw

Mood Board: Winter 2026 – Short Draw

Proposals due by: December 1, 2025

Final work due by: May 15, 2026

What do you know about spinning worsted yarns using short draw techniques? We want to hear all about it. Can you explain how each short draw draft works? Can you help spinners work with the wheel they have, no matter the drive system, to spin short draw? What about spindles? Which is best for spinning short draw and what should a spinner look for? What about consistency? What about plying and finishing? How do you finish your worsted yarns and how does it affect them? 

What about fiber preps? Which are more traditional for worsted spinning? Which are less traditional but still work well? Can you explain each option and the impact it has on the final yarn? What about doing the prep yourself? Can you explain how to use various tools, such as combs, for a worsted-style prep? 

How do you change diameters while spinning short forward? What if you want to spin a very fine yarn? How about a super bulky yarn – any tips? How do you find the right amount of twist for a worsted yarn? How do you make sure you’re taking care of your body, especially your hands, when drafting with a short draw? 

And we’d love you to share your ideas for projects featuring these sleek and strong yarns. Do you have a design in mind for a knitting, crochet, or weaving (on any type of loom) project? How can you showcase the best qualities of a worsted yarn? 

We want to hear from you about all of this and anything else you can think of! 

Article and project proposals due by December 1, 2025. 

You’ll hear back from us in January 2026. 

Final articles, samples, and projects due by May 15, 2026.