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.
The “World’s Cutest Sheep” in Colorado
On a dusty road, halfway between Denver and Fort Collins, sits the thirty-five acre farm of Davis Family Livestock, with stunning views of Long’s Peak to the west and the piercing blue sky overhead. My focus, however, is much closer to the ground: on the new lambs chewing on my shoelaces. Affectionately called “the world’s cutest sheep,” the Valais Blacknose are the showstoppers of the Davis farm. The breed originated in the Valais region of Switzerland, and though endangered, it has grown in popularity though Europe, Australia, and the United States in recent years. While many breeds of sheep tend to be wary of people other than their shepherds, the Valais eagerly demand attention from everyone.
The Davis family began breeding Valais Blacknose sheep in a roundabout way. A friend of Anne’s had told her about a British show with the cutest sheep, and it piqued Anne’s interest. After much research and discussion, Rob and Anne decided that the Valais Blacknose sheep would be the perfect animal to start their farm because the Valais have to be marketed differently than other breeds. Due to their rarity, newness, and novelty, one doesn’t need to run thousands of heads on massive acreage to make money. Plus, at the time, no one else in Colorado was raising the breed.
“There’s no mystery on how to raise sheep,” Anne told me. “We’ve been doing it for thousands of years.” But breeding Valais Blacknose does come with some unique challenges. The USDA does not allow the live import of sheep or goats. The only way to introduce new breeds of sheep to the U.S. is through imported semen and embryos, which go through rigorous genetic testing. Additionally, breeders want semen from rams that meet the Swiss standards for size, quality of fiber, and coloring. It takes a long time to meet all these requirements. In 2016, New Zealand was the first country to export Valais Blacknose semen to the U.S., with embryos following later. A couple years ago, the UK began exporting semen, and in 2024 began exporting embryos as well.
Then it’s a matter of time and careful breeding. By the fifth generation of lambs, both ewes and rams are U.S. purebred Valais Blacknose sheep. The Davis family began their breed-up program with several Scottish Blackface sheep, and some first- and second-generation Valais sheep. They were purchased from a woman in Idaho who had started the program on her farm but had to stop due to some personal health challenges. The Davis family bought her sheep and continued the work she started. Anne told me that the two of them are friends to this day.
Rob and Anne Davis purchased their 35-acre farm in 2020, the same year they began breeding Valais Blacknose sheep. Both come from agriculture backgrounds, Rob from a ranch in Colorado, and Anne from a fruit and vegetable farm in Oregon, and when Rob retired in 2017, the family began considering their next steps. Rob has a PhD in Agriculture Economics and Anne holds a master’s degree in Plant Pathology, but both wanted something more tangible to leave as a legacy for their two children. Their daughter Maddie has a passion for livestock and plans to take over the farm in the future.
Higher education has been a significant part of the life of the Davis family, and they highly value the role that education plays in communities and relationships. Tours of the Davis farm are always free because Rob and Anne want their farm to be as accessible as possible. During the 2024 lambing season, they gave several tours a week, with lambs being delivered during a couple of the tours! Their tours typically begin with a walk around the farm to meet all the animals. In addition to the Valais Blacknose sheep, the Davis farm currently has Scottish Blackface sheep, Rambouillet sheep, a guard llama and alpaca, and several horses. The tour wraps up in the barn where Anne has put together an in-depth display of the fleece-to-product process. The display includes raw fleeces, a skirting table, handspinning tools, a dye pot, looms, and felting tools. I’ve led several handspinning demonstrations for tours, which allows visitors to watch and learn to spin yarn from Valais wool. In 2024, the Davises also bought an authentic sheep herder wagon from the early 1900s to add to the tour!
Anne and Rob want their farm to be a resource for people of all backgrounds. They also mentor other breed-up programs. Anyone who buys sheep from the Davis family and has questions about breeding is welcome to give Anne a call, and she will help in any way she can. They are transparent with everything they do. “This is a small enough breed where we need to be supporting and working together,” Anne told me. “We need to be cooperating instead of competing.” The Davis family was the first to bring the Valais Blacknose breed to Colorado and produced the first purebred Valais ram in the state. They are proud to have led the way and now get to celebrate the success of other breed-up programs in Colorado.
The farm invites CSU vet students to gain experience by watching procedures, and in the summer of 2024, the Davis family welcomed their first intern: a local high schooler interested in studying large animal veterinary science in college. Her work on the farm will also gain her school credit, so the program benefits both the Davis family and students interested in exploring agricultural vocations. There is always plenty of work to be done on the farm, and while Rob and Anne’s children, Roy and Maddie, help out when they are available, both currently have other jobs away from the farm.
The last time Anne and I met for coffee, I asked her about the biggest challenges in running their farm. She didn’t hesitate. “The physical demands. Especially the heat.” The summer heat on the high plains isn’t just difficult for farmers, it can also be hard on the sheep. Colorado is so dusty that the dust irritates the sheep’s lungs and can lead to dust pneumonia. The Davises monitor their sheep closely to prevent pneumonia. To breed and raise healthy sheep, the farmer needs to be familiar with the environmental and climate factors that affect their livestock. But Anne isn’t discouraged by these challenges. To the Davis family, being close to the land and having a purpose is incredibly rewarding for them. The family gets to see new life and watch their animals grow and thrive. They get to see the joy on the faces of young children visiting a farm for the first time and the memories that are brought back for older visitors who haven’t been on a farm in years. Anne told me she especially loves when people come back for return visits. “If you think we are cool enough that you want to take your time to come back, that’s pretty special.”
Anyone interested in touring Davis Family Livestock is welcome to contact Anne through the contact page on their farm website: https://www.davisfamilylivestock.com/contact
Rowena Zuercher is a freelance editor and researcher who dedicates most of her free time to fiber and textiles. She lives in Aurora, Colorado with her husband Ryan and their turtle, ball python, and aquarium of fish. You can learn about her many heritage craft explorations on Instagram @homesaponified.
Words and photos by Rowena Zuercher (except Davis family photo, which is from Anne Davis)
Knitting with Dog Hair: New Edition!
In 1997, the first edition of Knitting with Dog Hair by Kendall Crolius made its way onto shelves. I remember my horrified fascination (a misplaced psychological reaction) the first time I picked it up with all my preconceived notions about what could and should be spun. This book was an absolute eye-opener for me, and it has helped me cope with the loss of some of my furry family members!
Now on its third revision and printing, you can get the updated book just in time for the giving season. To celebrate its latest release on December 3, I had the thrilling opportunity to interview Kendall.
Thank you for taking the time to share a little bit about yourself and your book. There are many in the PLY community who have benefited from your work.
Q: Before you were the world’s leading authority on dog hair knitting, how did you first start spinning?
A: My beloved husband gave me a spinning workshop for my birthday – at a fiber arts store in our neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. My spinning teacher mentioned “you don’t have to limit yourself to sheep wool – you can spin anything, even dog hair.” I had a sheddy Golden Retriever at the time and started spinning her fuzz.
Q: What drove you to write about working with dog hair?
A: Writing about it wasn’t my idea! I had dear friends, Barbara Binswanger and Jim Charlton, who were book packagers. They had a Great Pyrenees, Ollie, and brought me Ollie fuzz every time we got together. One weekend, I decided to spin it to make them mittens and ended up with enough yarn to make a sweater for Barbara and a vest for Jim. Jim said, “This would be a great book.” And great visionary that I am, I said, “No it wouldn’t – that’s ridiculous.” Jim and Barb wrote it up as a book proposal and pitched it for TEN YEARS before St. Martins decided to publish the original edition.
Q: What are the benefits of working with dog hair and which breeds are the easiest to spin?
A: The most important benefit is having a garment from a beloved pet. For many breeds, the yarn itself is superior to wool. Any dog that sheds is an ideal candidate. My preferred breeds are Samoyed, Great Pyrenees, and Golden Retriever but that’s because I have specific dogs I love.
Q: Before you were a writer, you had an incredible career leading the G100 Leadership Network, and before that, in businesses like Forbes and McCann-Erickson. Can you tell me a little bit about your career and how that impacted your choices when writing Knitting with Dog Hair?
A: This is great question! My career and my interest in dog knitting don’t have a lot of intersections. I can say that writing this book has solidified my reputation as an eccentric and a creative thinker. I spent the last 15 years of my business career running a program that helped prepare very senior executives to be the next CEO of their company. When the participants googled me, of course the first thing that popped up was Knitting with Dog Hair – it was a great icebreaker when I onboarded new participants. The leadership lesson is be who you are and bring all of you to your business career.
Q: What is your favorite part of the book to write?
A: I have loved writing about the people who have created cottage industries focused on spinning yarn from beloved pets. With this edition, it was much easier to connect with artisans simply because of the internet. I have formed real friendships with the fabulous people who have adopted this craft.
Q: You are now on the third revision of your book. What has the journey through this all looked like for you?
A: I am so gratified to have connected with people who have embraced this craft. There are so many people who have created businesses spinning dog yarn for dog lovers who want to create a memento of a beloved pet.
For those who have read the book before, what updates should readers keep their eyes out for?
I have updated the list of “Spinners Guide to Dog Breeds” with data on breeds that were not recognized in the nineties, including the “designer dogs” like LabraDoodles that were not included in the original edition.
For more than twenty-five years, Kendall Crolius has inspired us to boldly experiment with pet fiber. Her unique insights have expanded the domain of fiber artists everywhere and helped create a niche community of spinners who help dog lovers celebrate their furry family members.
The revised copy of Knitting with Dog Hair is now available. If you don’t already have a copy, now is a great time to pick one up!
Swapping to a Polyurethane Drive Band
I am incredibly hard on my tools. By that I mean I put hours of use into them. And I make sure I take care of my tools so I can put even more hours on them!
One part I replace frequently is the drive band. For cotton drive bands, my rule is to replace the drive band after eight hours of use. The drive band stretches over time, loses its elasticity, and can abrade.
The photo to the left is the drive band I just removed from my Ashford Elizabeth II. If I’m honest, this drive band saw a little more than eight hours of use. You can clearly see it is frayed and at the end of its life.
When a drive band gets to this point, it is prone to slipping and snapping.
Cotton drive bands have their own benefits. They are easy and cheap to source. A ball of cotton kitchen twine will keep you stocked on drive bands for years. They are also simple to replace by either knotting them or stitching the ends together.
Remember, though, I am hard on tools. With my usage, I change cotton drive bands out at least once per week. I needed something a little longer-lasting. I decided to swap my cotton drive bands for polyurethane bands.
Many wheel manufacturers have designed their newer wheels (castle-style wheels in particular) to use polyurethane bands. There is a good chance that you’ve already got a poly band on your wheel. Vintage wheels or more “classic” wheel designs are not often equipped with a poly band. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be.
I use my Elizabeth II in double-drive mode. I kept this in mind when selecting a poly band. I settled on a 2mm band, which is thinner than what is usually provided by wheel manufacturers.
Once I cut off my cotton drive band, I used it to measure out the correct length of poly band. I threaded the poly band on my wheel just as I would with a cotton band. The trick to polyurethane is in the join.
To join the two ends of poly band, I used a lighter to melt the two ends, then pushed them together. Before the plastic fully cooled, I took a folded piece of paper and rolled the join back and forth between the paper. This rounded the join so that it would pass through my wheel smoothly.
The resulting join is strong and flexible.
Like cotton drive bands, these have their benefits and drawbacks. The poly band lasts years instead of weeks. However, it won’t work well with every wheel. Depending on how deep the wheel groove is and the finish of the wood, the poly band might slip out. It is more likely to jump the groove in a double-drive setup, especially if the groove is narrow. The two bands compete for space in a way that cotton bands don’t. This is one of the reasons I chose a thinner band.
The poly band also tends to have more grab than the cotton band and can create stronger uptake, which may throw off your default spin.
Twenty hours of spin-time in, though, and it is serving me well.
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